Overview

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 covering voters' rights, school finance reform, and a myriad of civil liberties and free speech cases. 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. 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.

Full Product Details

Author:   David Richards
Publisher:   University of Texas Press
Imprint:   University of Texas Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.70cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9780292745919

ISBN 10:   0292745915
Pages:   296
Publication Date:   01 April 2002
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 1. Texas, Our Texas 2. Coming of Age in Waco and Austin—1950s Style 3. Off to Dallas to Practice Law 4. The 1960 Election: The New Frontier Beckons 5. Returning to Dallas Hat in Hand 6. Representing Labor Unions in Dallas, Texas 7. Dallas, 1966: The Federal Courts and the Winds of Change 8. The Radical Left Shows Up in Texas 9. A Gleeful Return to Austin 10. Changing the Face of the Texas House of Representatives 11. Life and Times with U.S. District Judge Jack Roberts 12. The Texas Department of Public Safety Gets Caught Snooping on ""Radicals"" at the Unitarian Church of Dallas 13. Frank Erwin and UT Take on the Rag 14. Law and the Counterculture 15. Austin Politics—Come the Revolution 16. Student Voting Comes of Age 17. Redistricting East Texas in the 1970s 18. Mad Dog Memories 19. Of Time on the River 20. A Decade or So of Voting Rights Wars in Texas 21. ""The Times They Are A-Changing"" 22. The 1982 Elections: Triumph of the Yarborough Democrats 23. The 1990s and the Last Guffaw 24. The Trail Doubles Back

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Author Information

An attorney in private practice since 1957, David Richards 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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