Once Upon a Time in Texas: A Liberal in the Lone Star State
David Richards
Jul 2010 · University of Texas Press
Ebook
296
Pages
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About this ebook
A prominent lawyer colorfully recounts a lost and lamented era in Texas politics: “Fascinating . . . Vivid, insightful commentary.” —Houston Chronicle
Once upon a time in Texas, there were liberal activists of various stripes who sought to make the state more tolerant (and more tolerable). David Richards was one of them.
In this fast-paced, often humorous memoir, he remembers the players, the strategy sessions, the legal and political battles, and the wins and losses that brought significant gains in civil rights, voter rights, labor law, and civil liberties to the people of Texas from the 1950s to the 1990s. In his work as a lawyer, Richards was involved in cases addressing the historic exclusion of minority voters; inequity in school funding; free speech violations, and more. In telling these stories, he vividly evokes the glory days of Austin liberalism, when a who’s who of Texas activists plotted strategy at watering holes such as Scholz Garden and the Armadillo World Headquarters or on raft trips down the Rio Grande and Guadalupe Rivers.
Likewise, he offers vivid portraits of liberal politicians from Ralph Yarborough to Ann Richards (his former wife), progressive journalists such as Molly Ivins and the Texas Observer staff, and the hippies, hellraisers, and musicians who all challenged Texas’s conservative status quo. Written with an insider’s insights, this book records “a sweeter time when a free-associating bunch of ragtag Texans took on the establishment.”
“An invaluable memoir of the time.” —Journal of Southern History
Includes photos
Once upon a time in Texas, there were liberal activists of various stripes who sought to make the state more tolerant (and more tolerable). David Richards was one of them.
In this fast-paced, often humorous memoir, he remembers the players, the strategy sessions, the legal and political battles, and the wins and losses that brought significant gains in civil rights, voter rights, labor law, and civil liberties to the people of Texas from the 1950s to the 1990s. In his work as a lawyer, Richards was involved in cases addressing the historic exclusion of minority voters; inequity in school funding; free speech violations, and more. In telling these stories, he vividly evokes the glory days of Austin liberalism, when a who’s who of Texas activists plotted strategy at watering holes such as Scholz Garden and the Armadillo World Headquarters or on raft trips down the Rio Grande and Guadalupe Rivers.
Likewise, he offers vivid portraits of liberal politicians from Ralph Yarborough to Ann Richards (his former wife), progressive journalists such as Molly Ivins and the Texas Observer staff, and the hippies, hellraisers, and musicians who all challenged Texas’s conservative status quo. Written with an insider’s insights, this book records “a sweeter time when a free-associating bunch of ragtag Texans took on the establishment.”
“An invaluable memoir of the time.” —Journal of Southern History
Includes photos
About the author
Today, David Richards lives in Mill Valley, California. An attorney in private practice since 1957, he has also served as head of litigation in the Texas Attorney General’s Office, as general counsel for the Texas AFL-CIO, and as a cooperating attorney for the Texas Civil Liberties Union.
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