Photos Courtesy of Joi Louviere
Not voting was never an option for my sister and me. For as long as I can remember, I listened to my mom, who grew up in the dawn of the Civil Rights era in Central Texas, talk about the importance of voting. With a childhood greatly defined by segregation, sit-ins, and staying on your side of town, voting is a privilege she won’t take for granted.
About five years ago, my mother, Dr. Renay Scales to those of you who weren’t birthed by her, moved back to Texas after more than 20 years away working in higher education. With a PhD in ethics, she doesn’t just pull from her own life experiences to inform her opinions, but from those of the thousands of students, educators, and cultural leaders she’s worked with.
Not unlike so many other people across the state, my mother has thoughts about what’s happening in Texas and throughout the country, which she shares with me frequently. And while I have never been sprayed by water hoses or had dogs unleashed on me by bigots, our experiences in this country might not be so different, she says, when it’s all said and done.
Knowing my mother to be far more open-minded than others from her generation, I decided to interview her about what’s going through her mind this election season. I spent my childhood listening to conversations about the nuance of cultures, the sects of different religions, and the expansion of sexual orientations. Our dinners were with refugees, multi-racial couples, and college students from the inner cities sending slices of their scholarship money home to their families. And still, my mother is a Black, Christian woman from the South— a reminder that in 2024, stereotypes are as mythical as political decorum. Oh, and she’s a registered independent.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Talk about your history with activism.
I integrated my high school in Corsicana, Texas, before integration was forced, and experienced lots of mistreatment from parents, staff, and students. But even before that, I was the little child who was running around on my bicycle, campaigning for Rev. George Willis, who would have been the first Black person in the Texas House of Representatives since 1899. I experienced all of the fun that came with that, to being chased by dogs and spat on. We had such pride and conviction with that.
What’s inspiring your vote this year?
I have significant concern about us continuing as a democracy, and I understand what’s at stake.
Why are you living in Texas if you disagree with a lot of our state policies?
I came back for reasons relating to my family and it’s been really challenging. I’m not saying there aren’t some things in the state that I’m really proud of—there are so many things that I treasure about my upbringing in Texas and I’m trying to find things to treasure now.
What do you want to see for Texas?
About reproductive rights: I want to see a reversal of almost all the legislation that has happened in the last few years with regard to women’s bodies, period. Whatever it is that an individual woman believes that she or they want, that should be able to happen.
About gun safety: As an original Texan, I had family members growing up who owned farms and used guns to get food for the family. I just think there’s no need for assault weapons. Perhaps, for a protection agency, but besides that I can’t get the sense that individuals need assault weapons.
School shootings have become so commonday that it’s just unconscionable and, almost always, we’re talking about assault weapons that are being used, so I can’t get why that’s a tough climb. Law enforcement is so anxious, because they know the assault weapons are out there, so now, rather than in my day, shooting somebody in the leg so they can’t get away, they are killing people.
I’m not saying that gun rights shouldn’t exist for other types of weapons, purchased for protection of individuals. I get that it’s a complicated issue, but there’s nothing complicated about assault weapons.
About the border: The border has been a hot mess for a very long time. And for anyone who has managed to, by hook or crook, become president— that has put children and families in cages and done so much harm— could claim they have a remedy, it just beats me. I believe that it has gotten to be very complicated, but also it just hasn’t had enough attention.
The instances where there is violence or criminality among people who have not gone through the legal proceedings to come over are highlighted by the GOP, when we have huge issues around violence already. But they’re set up as examples of ‘this is why we shouldn’t let them in.’
Fixing the border doesn’t mean it’s going to satisfy everyone, but I think having a nonpartisan bill is a pretty good deal.
What do you think about the possibility of Donald Trump getting reelected as president?
We’ve already seen that he will do what he has said, which is to use violence to have his way. I’m very concerned about the Project 2025 plan. It turns back rights that we’ve gained. We’re going to be significantly disadvantaged by the dictatorship he says he wants to have. He’ll do everything to have it his way, he’s shown that. I kinda don’t get why people think something else is going to happen.
I have never seen a candidate like Trump, not even George Wallace before his eureka moment, not even David Duke.
I sort of think we were on the right path before 2016, because we were actually trying to better understand the history of marginalized populations and giving a lot of grace to the dominant class to consider their oppressive behavior. That pathway did not leave out people like Project 2025 does.
What do you say to people who are struggling with voting this year?
That’s a hard one for me. It’s hard for me not to put my hand on my hip when I think about all that was involved, particularly in brown and Black communities, and what we had to go through to get the right to vote. If you have suspicion based on things that have happened or don’t think it’s going to matter, how about you just vote, even if you don’t feel it’s going to benefit you, so it can benefit the rest of us. Because what we know is that if we don’t vote, we don’t have any hope of getting the things we want. If you should somehow decide that you’re still not going to vote— God bless you— shut up, because you haven’t made any investment in the outcome, so you have really nothing to say.
