Statewide Leadership Council
Mission
We, the Statewide Leadership Council (SLC), are formerly incarcerated and system-impacted Texans committed to ending incarceration in this state. Our current criminal legal system is rooted in slavery and racism, and those consigned to Texas cages have been disproportionately and intentionally African-American. Our system has devastated countless Texas communities and denied members of those communities a viable path to a sustainable, dignified life while intentionally excluding them from any transformative process.
We claim our right of inclusion and leadership in that process, based on the reality that incarceration has traumatized us, our families, and our communities. Our lived experience with this trauma compels us to dismantle current criminal legal policies and practices and seek alternatives to incarceration, always placing the desires of our communities at the forefront of transformation.
Steering Committee
Advocacy Team
The SLC’s Steering Committee is supported by a growing Advocacy Team of system-impacted people across Texas.
Are you system-impacted?
Do you want to fight for change at the Texas legislature and in your community?
Statewide Leadership Council in Action
- Press release on the urgent need for emergency planning in Texas prisons following weather crisis | Click Here »
- Statewide Leadership Council's video hub, including webinars on policy | Click Here »
- Photos of the first meeting of the Statewide Leadership Council’s Steering Committee | Click Here »
- Blog post on how formerly incarcerated and system-impacted people are leading the fight to mitigate COVID-19 | Click Here »
While the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC) sponsors the Statewide Leadership Council (SLC), the SLC’s work is largely independent and participant-led.
Ideas expressed by the SLC and its participants do not necessarily represent the positions of TCJC.