African American survivors of sex trafficking are rarely acknowledged even though statistics show they are disproportionately becoming victimized. One sex trafficking survivor, Sophia Strother, wrote this piece to shed light on this important topic. She wrote, "I consider myself to be a champion of 'life after abuse' — a victor in realizing real love doesn’t hurt. After surviving child sexual abuse at the age of 9, child neglect by parents addicted to crack, familial trafficking to support my parents’ drug addiction, and domestic violence, I refuse to be silent." Read more here.

At 11:00am on Saturday, October 27, the NAACP will be hosting a meeting to discuss Child Protective Services' disproportionate removals of African American children from their homes. In Travis County, they are 8 times more likely to be removed than a Caucasian child. 

I've seen the discrepancy in treatment amongst different races myself. Two mothers, one white and one black, lost their children. Both mothers were in domestic violence situations with their significant others. They were the same age, and they had the same circumstances. One of them had their child returned to them by CPS. The other will never have contact with her child again.

Come learn more about how we can change this on October 27 at 1709 E. 12th Street, here in Austin, Texas.

​-Katie Watson, NAACP Communications Committee Member

In cities like Jacksonville and St. Louis, maps of mortgage approvals and home values in black neighborhoods look the same as they did decades ago, before the passage of the landmark fair housing law. Read more here.

The Center for Justice Research at Texas Southern University has discovered disappointing racial distinctions in the delivery of punishments to students throughout the Madisonville Consolidated Independent School District (MCISD). Read about their findings here.

Austin activists are seeking book donations for children and teens in a juvenile detention center in Travis County.


Those interested can drop off their donations any day this month — except Sundays — to the Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library at 1161 Angelina St. in East Austin.
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The book drive is a joint project with Huston-Tillotson University’s NAACP student chapter and the Austin Justice Coalition.

Four years ago, Ora Houston became one of the first Austin City Council members elected under a system of geographic districts that included an “African-American opportunity district.” Now, as Houston prepares to leave office and a bevy of candidates competes to replace her, a strong early showing by a Hispanic woman raises the possibility that the council might no longer include a black representative. Read more here.

Did you know that the Texas Civil Rights Project in 2012 reported that inequitable funding was actually endorsed by the Austin Independent School District (AISD)? The report stated, “AISD allows and supports the private subsidization of higher-income (or 'higher-equity') schools, sometimes by as much as $1,000/student more than the amount of funds that support Black and Latino students in lower-income (or ‘lower-equity’) schools." Click here to read the improvements made by AISD. Do you see these changes at your schools?

"Any vulnerable child can be a victim of sex trafficking, but we can no longer gloss over the fact that the majority of those who are victimized are girls of color. By illuminating the problem, and potential solutions, we are taking the first steps toward ending the abuse and exploitation of our most marginalized girls." - Gabrielle Union

This article seeks to describe the vulnerabilities of African Americans and other people of color to exploitation in the sex trafficking industry. Read more on the Dressember blog.