The Newsletter of the Deeds Not Words Community

Hey #Changemakers, 

Although I have lived in Texas my entire life, this is the first legislative session that I am truly involved in. Reading the daily content of the bills filed has been more than an eye-opening experience—it profoundly changed my understanding of this system. As legislators witness the power of Changemakers when we are organized and moved to action, many of them are now doing everything in their power to attack our movement. The first step came at the beginning of the session when they restricted our public testimonies and refused to enter our written concerns into the minutes on record. Next came a flood of bills to stop us from exercising our basic human rights, like the right to access abortion care, and imposing restrictions on our civic duty. As a result, so many freedoms are at stake this session, especially voting and reproductive rights. 

Texas is already incredibly disenfranchised when it comes to voting, but some people in power are pushing for even more barriers. This session comes with anti-voting bills that would make it illegal to advertise and distribute voting by mail, make it harder for people to assist voters who need assistance, require people to "show their papers" when they register to vote, and much more. Voting is one of the many hard-earned ways we hold our leaders accountable. While these bills may move quickly, it is important to make noise and contact our legislators who represent us. Without public testimony, it is especially important for us to make ourselves clear on the importance of voting and reproductive rights. In doing so, we can make our voices heard as the Texans whom these decisions will ultimately impact the most. 

This session has shown me the importance of electing representatives who can advocate on behalf of ALL of their constituents. We need lawmakers who can advocate for comprehensive sex ed in schools, improve access to reproductive care, champion anti-discrimination policies, invest in community resources, protect our environment, and work towards a future where we are all FREE. We are already too far behind to be moving backward. 

In solidarity,
Janet Asante
Deeds Not Words, Policy & Communications Intern

#Changemaker of the Week: Braelynn Barborka 

“I joined Deeds Spring 2020, right before we all had to endure a pandemic. I remember going to my first Deeds Not Words meeting and feeling so empowered to be in a room with individuals who dedicate their time to making our community better for everybody. It was one of the first times where I felt comfortable and excited about what I could get done during my time at UT but also beyond college. Then we were ambushed by a pandemic, but that didn't stop Deeds Not Words from doing good things for our community. Deeds Not Words is an organization that gives me hope. It reminds me that there are people out there who are listening and are trying to make our society truly better. The opportunity to write a testimony against a bill that would further oppress individuals allowed me to take the energy I felt the first meeting I attended and release it on something that can hopefully show our representatives that they have the power to make our communities better, but they also can, unfortunately, cause more oppression that can last for generations. Our government must be reminded of this all the time and they must be held accountable and sharing my testimony was my way of doing just that.”
— Braelynn Barborka