Dear John,   

Reflecting on this year, I could not be more grateful to you and the passionate advocates who have given so much to our cause for social justice at the Texas Freedom Network. With your support and activism, our movement continues fighting back against political extremists who want to turn back the clock.

I won’t sugarcoat it: the political landscape in Texas is dark right now.

We see it in abortion bans and the criminalization of private health care decisions. 

We see it in the cruel persecution of transgender youth and their families. 

We see it in the profoundly un-American efforts to censor classrooms and ban books in our public schools and local libraries.

And we see it in the far right’s shocking attacks on voting rights and democracy itself. 

Through it all, TFN has been here, fighting back and empowering our communities to do the same for nearly three decades. Ours is a year-round effort, and I am so proud of the work we did in 2023—work that would have been impossible without your support and partnership.

We fight for you, and our track record in 2023 proves it:

We mobilized against voucher schemes in the Regular Session AND the four special sessions called by the governor.

We organized powerful events, including our Gone to Texas Lege Advocacy Day, a read-in to protest book bans in classrooms and libraries, and a sing-in with progressive people of faith in support of our transgender community.

We published original research evaluating how proposed science textbooks up for adoption by the State Board of Education address climate change and evolution.

And so much more.

As I look ahead to 2024, I know there will be many opportunities and challenges—but I’m confident that we can overcome them together.

With gratitude,

Val Benavidez (she/her/ella)
TFN President

TFN is a statewide non-partisan, grassroots organization that is building an informed and effective movement working toward equality and social justice.

Texas Freedom Network
P.O. Box 1624
Austin, TX 78767
United States 
Phone: (512) 322-0545

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