Once Upon a Time in Texas: A Liberal in the Lone Star State (Focus on American History Series) - Softcover

Richards, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0292745915 ISBN 13: 9780292745919

Publisher: University of Texas Press, 2002

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

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.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0292745915
• ISBN 13: 9780292745919
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 296