2015 Latino Summit: Texas Freedom Network
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The Texas Freedom Network founded Texas Rising in 1995 to counter religious influence and invest in young progressive organizers. Texas Rising uses an organizing model to engage 18-29 year olds and mobilize over 14 campus chapters across Texas. As a non-partisan group, Texas Rising registers voters, advocates for public policy issues, and turns out voters through various get-out-the-vote methods like phone banking and texting. Their work in recent election cycles has included registering thousands of voters and contacting tens of thousands of people through calls and texts.
2015 Latino Summit: Texas Freedom Network
- 2. Val Benavidez Outreach & Field Director, Texas Freedom Network/Texas Rising
- 3. TEXAS RISING A project of the Texas Freedom Network TFN - Founded in 1995 by Cecile Richards to counter religious right - Religious Freedom, Civil Liberties, Public Education TEXAS RISING - Leadership dev program invests in young organizers - Grassroots Organizing, Public Policy Advocacy, Civic Engagement
- 4. Evergreen Organizing Model – Wellstone Triangle
- 5. 30 + yo 18-29 yo Young people represent 25% of the Texas electorate!
- 6. TEXAS RISING - SCALE 21 PAID STUDENT ORGANIZERS – 14 CAMPUS CHAPTERS ? University of Houston ? University of Houston Downtown ? Trinity University ? Texas State University ? Collin County Community College ? University of North Texas ? El Paso Community College ? University of Texas El Paso ? University of Texas RGV (Edinburg) ? University of Texas RGV (Brownsville) ? University of Texas Dallas ? University of Texas Austin ? University of Texas Arlington ? University of Texas San Antonio
- 7. TEXAS RISING IMPACT 2012 Election Cycle ? 4,021 – Voter Registrations ? 2,033 – Pledge-to-Vote Cards ? 6,001 – GOTV Calls ? 6,024 – GOTV Text Messages ? 508 – Doors Knocked 2014 Election Cycle ? 3,510 – Voter Registrations ? 11,137 – Pledge-to-Vote Cards ? 11,137 – GOTV Mailer ? 13,282 – GOTV Calls ? 24,000 – GOTV Text Messages Non-partisan Civic Engagement
- 8. Public Policy Advocacy ? Advocacy Days ? In-District Briefings ? Rapid Response Network ? Policy Briefings TEXAS RISING IMPACT
- 10. Claudia Yoli Ferla – Texas Rising El Paso Field Organizer
- 14. Questions? ? Val Benavidez, TFN Outreach and Field Director val@tfn.org ? Claudia Yoli Ferla, TFN El Paso Field Organizer claudia@tfn.org
Editor's Notes
- #2: Everyone here is aware that when young folks rise to the occasion, we can create meaningful change. However, in Texas, that’s a lot easier said than done.
- #3: Hi! My name is Nick. I’m rom Texas Rising. Like most of us here, I became civically engaged in college and realized the power that young folks hold.
- #4: Texas Freedom Network recognizes the impact that young people can make and our role in sustaining the progressive movement. When Texas Freedom Network was started by Cecile Richards 20 years ago, she brought her labor organizing experience to table and built an organization that values grassroots power.
- #6: We rank 51st in civic engagement (if you include DC). That means that, in Texas, we’re working from ground zero.
- #7: Texas Rising is on 11 college campuses across the state – with 20 paid student leaders and 5 fulltime field staff that train, mentor and support their work.
- #8: Our student chapters aren't your typical social group on campus, they’re full blown organizing shops! They work year round to ensure that we’re building and leveraging power at all levels of the process During election cycles, we run a massive non-partisan voter engagement program. Last year we made over 63,000 voter contacts.
- #9: During legislative sessions, we’re actively working to hold our elected officials accountable through Advocacy Days, In-District briefings, and constituent outreach programs.
- #10: We work at the State Board of Education around textbook adoptions to ensure we teach the role that people of color played in the development our country – that students are taught real science that includes evolution and climate change – and that Sex Education is fact-based and inclusive of the diverse families that we have in Texas.
- #11: Texas is a hard state for progressive organizers, but our students are taking victories all over the place! This is Allison, our chapter president at UT Austin. She’s passionate about science education and when she learned that the TX SBOE was trying to replace evolution with creationism in science textbooks, she worked with TFN to start a “Stand Up For Science”. After a long fight, real science won and Texas students will continue to learn about things like climate change.
- #12: This is Michellee, our student leader at the University of Houston Downtown. Last election cycle, Michellee turned out thousands of young voters in Houston. Her efforts increased voter participation by over 11% compared to the city average for millennials.
- #13: This is Adriano, He’s our student leader at UT El Paso. Adriano believes that just because we live in Texas doesn’t mean we have to tolerate discrimination against Transgender people. When the Texas Legislature introduced 23 anti-LGBT bills last session, the most in the history of Texas, Adriano fought to make sure that not a single one of them moved on to the Governors desk.
- #14: We’re a new generation rising in Texas. Thanks for your time!