Texas Civil Rights Review

The Student Struggle to Preserve Civil Rights on Campus

An Appeal to the People’s House

University students appeal to the Texas legislature to preserve civil rights on campus and oppose the Anti-DEI bill SB 17 in 2023. The legislature passed the bill on May 28. (Photo TXStudentsForDEI)

University student stands in the gallery of the Texas House of Representatives, with the brass railing of the gallery to her back as she checks her cellphone for networking messages.
Photo courtesy of Texas Students for DEI

Taking the Case to the Texas House and Senate

Two women sitting next to each other with pen in hand filling out forms
University students fill out documentation for a visit to a legislative office at the Texas Capitol.

Preparing for Visit

A woman on the left and a man on the right face to the right of the frame. The woman is speaking and raising her left hand for emphasis. Behind them is a large window with sunlight streaming in . The young man wears a t-shirt that says "Thriving."
At the Texas Capitol, University students explain the need to preserve civil rights on campus.

Making the Case

Two women standing together n a hall of the Texas Capitol. Woman on the right is messaging on a cell phone as she cradles a red folder in her left arm. The other woman looks on.
University students message legislative offices to coordinate a visit to discuss the need to preserve civil rights on campus.

Coordinating Visits

Several university students stand together with signs that advocate for ethnic studies curriculum.
Photo Credit: M. Minton (cropped to fit)

The Roots of Civil Rights on Campus

“Cultural centers on college and university campuses in the U.S. are deeply connected to student activism such that institutions were prompted by protests staged by Black, Asian American, and Latinx students to establish the first ethnic-specific centers in the 1970s and the first multicultural centers in the 1980s.” – Kristen N. Wong (2021)