A racial reckoning is taking place in Austin as activists seek justice.
March 11, 2022
Tychanika Kimbrough’s grandmother instilled within her the resolve to create social change for the Black community through hands-on activism. Kimbrough remembers marching to the Austin Capitol alongside her grandmother as a child, yet the nation is still grappling with the same racial injustices they protested against 20 years ago.
Kimbrough and Austin activists have decided to take their protests from the streets directly to the government. Evolving from waving signs and posters, these activists are now sitting across the table from government officials advocating for justice and change.
“By these different organizations and activists coming together, we're making that stand that we're not tolerating the same status quo anymore, and we're being clear about the fact that we want change,” Kimbrough said. “I think that's why change is coming.”
The Black Lives Matter movement has evolved since it began in 2013 as those in the Black community have transformed their activism from neighborhood and citywide protests to helping create and implement government policies that promote accountability, equity and restorative justice.
After the shooting death of Michael Ramos by an Austin police officer in the summer of 2020, protests erupted across the city as a racial reckoning swept the country. During these protests, multiple people were left hospitalized with severe injuries including fractured skulls, broken bones and brain damage. As over-policing, the use of excessive force and institutionally racist government policies continue to suppress communities of color in Austin, some advocates are choosing to stand against racism and intolerance.
Kimbrough, founding attorney of Kimbrough Legal, PLLC represented protesters pro bono. These cases would normally cost the client $3,000 to $5,000. However, Kimbrough said she had an obligation to serve her community.
“Most times I'm the only Black woman in court,” Kimbrough said.
Black attorneys make up about 5% of all lawyers in the U.S., according to the American Bar Association. The incarceration rate among African Americans is the highest rate of any ethnicity in the country.
“It got to the point where my firm was receiving hundreds of calls from people needing help or trying to be connected with law firms across Texas or trying to understand what their rights were,” Kimbrough said.
Kimbrough said she received countless calls from people in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio, some who were preparing to attend protests and some who had already been arrested.
All of the misdemeanor cases Kimbrough took on were dismissed. She is currently working on dismissing a felony charge in which a protester was accused of taking a weapon from a police officer, a case she has been working on for over two years.
“I was one of the attorneys in the Austin area that stepped up and said I'm going to represent people for free who were charged at the protests and were peacefully protesting,” Kimbrough said.
Almost two years after the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Michael Ramos, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, the use of excessive force is under scrutiny. In Austin, the use of “less-lethal” ammunition and weaponry such as rubber bullets and bean bag rounds are in question as 19 Austin Police Department officers are being indicted for aggravated assault against peaceful protesters.
Kimbrough said the indictments are refreshing as the status quo has been unacceptable.
“It's good that the police are being held accountable because for so long police felt that they could just get away with anything and they feel as if they're superior,” said Kimbrough. “The police are protected in so many ways due to the law.”
Kazique Prince, current board chair for the Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce, executive director for the Central Texas Collective for Racial Equity as well as the global director for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at NI (formerly National Instruments Corporation), said he is glad to see people in positions of authority being held accountable for their bad behavior after generations of seeing no recourse.
“It's heartbreaking because I think about the generations of people, many of their names have been lost, who suffered at the hands of law enforcement and no one will ever know about them,” Prince said
With over 25 years of experience in activism both within the government as well as for-profit and nonprofit racial equity organizations, Prince has been working to create meaningful change for the Black community.
Prince became interested in activism work during his college years in the early 1990s at Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black university in Texas.
“I was really interested in the issues of Black folks, and Black love, and Black joy and all that good stuff,” Prince said. “I was interested in trying to alleviate the suffering people experience because of unfair housing practices or unfair educational systems.”
Prince also worked with Mayor Steve Adler’s Task Force on Institutional Racism and Systemic Inequities, an initiative created after the shooting death of David Joseph, a 17-year-old boy, by an Austin Police Department officer in 2016.
This project began as a means to address police brutality but over the years transformed to focus on intersectional issues of housing and education within communities of color.
“It's really just using government to help facilitate that process, but then working with nonprofits to create a network so we can get these things done effectively,” Prince said. “It’s a combination of integrated activities that have helped to deal with these issues.”
Prince said activists do not need to have years of experience to make a meaningful difference in the fight for social justice. He suggests working with groups such as the Austin Justice Coalition that are led by people of color and are making strides in redirecting government policies to be more equitable and tolerant.
“They got together and said we want to do something about this,” Prince said. “They didn’t wait for someone else in authority or someone who's been here a longer period of time to do something. They went and did it on their own.”
Chas Moore, founder and executive director of Austin Justice Coalition, a racial justice group that advocates for communities of color in Austin, has helped create policies that hold officers accountable when they do use excessive force.
Austin Justice Coalition was founded in 2015 when Austin had the highest per capita rate of police shootings in Texas. Moore said after the death of Trayvon Martin, young activists wanted to advocate for institutional change. He said he wanted young activists to go beyond rallying in the streets and instead insert themselves at the “decision-making table.”
“We really created AJC to be a voice for people that wanted to fight different,” Moore said. “It's just a different mentality for this generation and how we approach things.”
Moore said the process for taking problems of equity to the government starts with analyzing a problem faced by people of color nationwide and within the Austin community, building support for their cause, looking into current policies then utilizing the AJC team to create solutions. Often, this process involves testifying at city hall or the Capitol.
“We just look into laws, and we find the loopholes in the laws and we try to make them better or we try to take them away,” Moore said.
The Use of Force Policy was created by Austin Justice Coalition in 2016-2017 to set a standard of behavior among police officers to discourage brutality and excessive force. This policy clearly defines how and when the use of force should be applied after de-escalation tactics have been completely exhausted.
At the same time, the Austin Justice Coalition team successfully fought against a faulty Austin Police Association Union contract, which created barriers for holding police accountable and reinforced impunity. These faulty police union contracts mandated paid leave for officers who killed citizens, required the city to pay for misconduct settlements and prevented civilian oversight organizations from interrogating or subpoenaing officers.
In the summer of 2020, the Austin Justice Coalition campaigned for the reallocation of $150 million from the Austin Police Department’s budget to begin the process of creating public safety alternatives to policing. More than $20 million of these funds went to Austin domestic violence shelters, housing for displaced individuals, community health paramedics, parks and recreation.
“We knew that asking city council to take away at least $100 million was going to be an uphill climb. So what we had to do was build an army of people,” Moore said.
Moore said the work Austin Justice Coalition does is conducted through a “special group of people.”
Chris Harris, director of policy at Austin Justice Coalition, said the group’s biggest strength is the team of activists and community members who want to create change.
While the Austin Justice Coalition works to solve housing issues, food insecurity, public transit accessibility and K-12 education initiatives, at the forefront of its mission is putting a stop to over-policing and addressing other criminal justice issues.
“Police have special power in our society,” Harris said, “They have weapons, training to use those weapons, they have authority to use force, so if they're allowed to get away scot-free with things, it's an extra level of danger for everyone else.”
Harris said activism is needed in Austin because of its long-standing history of racism. From redlining and segregating neighborhoods to over-policing and criminalizing people of color, these problems are widespread.
“It's really about those opportune moments where change is possible to get as many people engaged and ready to act and chime in whether it's making calls, or sending emails, or showing up somewhere speaking their mind, testifying and putting pressure on the people in charge,” Harris said.
He said despite having the community rally to create government change, barriers exist at every turn when trying to hold police and cities accountable for their injustices. In 2021, Texas legislators passed a bill that prohibits cuts to police department budgets in large cities.
The Austin Justice Coalition team continues to work with the community to create lasting and tangible change within the government. Harris said the goal is to build a world where policing, criminalization, and punishment are no longer prioritized over restorative justice.
“Most of what we're doing, we're doing it because there's organized opposition, so that makes things more difficult,” Harris said. “But that's how you also know that you're doing something meaningful, right?”