A Powerful Evening at UT Austin on the 'Censored University': The Legendary Nikole Hannah-Jones and Truth-Telling, by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

A Powerful Evening at UT Austin on the 'Censored University': Nikole Hannah-Jones and Truth-Telling

by

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

March 11, 2026

In an event sponsored by the Department of Mexican American and Latino Studies and the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, the Bass Lecture Hall at the LBJ School for Public Affairs was jam packed yesterday evening as students, faculty, and community members gathered for an extraordinary conversation about history, democracy, and the responsibility of truth-telling in our time. You may scroll down to view the recording.

Jonathan Friedman, Cameron Samuels, and
Nikole Hannah-Jones

We were honored to welcome Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of The 1619 Project, whose work has profoundly reshaped public understanding of the United States by centering the legacy of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans to the nation’s democratic ideals. Hers is the only book mentioned in Texas law that is weirdly all but censored. It's an honest history and I encourage all to read it. The audiobook version is excellent!

At a moment when honest conversations about history are increasingly contested, Hannah-Jones reminded us that democracy depends not on comforting myths but on our collective willingness to confront the past with clarity, courage, and intellectual integrity.

The evening also highlighted the power of intergenerational dialogue. Cameron Samuels, youth leader and LBJ School master’s student—who just got admitted into the UT Law School—brought a compelling perspective on student activism and intellectual freedom. Their advocacy reminds us that struggles over what can be taught, read, and discussed in schools are inseparable from the future of democracy itself.

We were also fortunate to hear from Jonathan Friedman of PEN America, whose work defending free expression and confronting book bans has been indispensable in documenting the growing movement to restrict knowledge in schools and libraries across the United States. His insights helped situate the conversation within the broader national struggle over intellectual freedom.

Guiding the evening’s dialogue was Dr. Lauren Gutterman, whose thoughtful

César Cruz and me

moderation created space for a rich and probing exchange among the speakers and with the audience. The program opened with an exquisite prayer offered by Dr. César Cruz, whose words grounded the evening in reflection, humility, and a shared commitment to justice and community. It was a beautiful reminder that intellectual work and moral purpose are never far apart.

Events like this matter—especially now. Universities must remain places where difficult histories can be examined honestly, where students encounter ideas that challenge them, and where communities can gather to think together about the future we hope to build.

Last night’s full house at the LBJ School made something clear: people are hungry for these conversations. They want spaces where truth can be spoken, where history can be wrestled with, and where the next generation of scholars, journalists, and organizers can find inspiration.

My deepest thanks to Nikole Hannah-Jones, Cameron Samuels, Jonathan Friedman, Dr. Lauren Gutterman, and Dr. César Cruz for helping make this such a meaningful evening—and to everyone who filled Bass Lecture Hall in a shared commitment to democracy, dialogue, and the enduring power of truth.

The Power of 3.5%: Why Small Numbers of People Can Change Everything in Texas and the World by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

The Power of 3.5%: Why Small Numbers of People Can Change Everything in Texas and the World

by

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Rally demonstrators, Austin, Texas Aug. 16, 2025

I was at yesterday's protest on redistricting at the capitol and saw this sign that read: "This is what stealing an election actually looks like?" with 3.5 % in the lower, right-hand corner. I’ve been thinking a lot about this figure that keeps resurfacing in movement circles and decided to look this up.

In their analysis of hundreds of resistance campaigns worldwide from 1900 to 2006, Chenoweth and Stephan (2011) found that nonviolent movements were consistently more successful than violent ones. A key takeaway from their research is that movements with the active participation of at least 3.5% of a country’s population almost always prevailed. While not a rigid formula, this finding highlights the potential for ordinary people, when organized and persistent, to destabilize authoritarian regimes and force major change.

Chenoweth (2013) points to numerous historical examples that illustrate this pattern, including the People Power movement in the Philippines, the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon, and the Rose Revolution in Georgia. It is a reminder that even in the face of overwhelming power, ordinary people, when organized and committed, can alter the course of history. Do check out Chenoweth's excellent viral Ted Talk delivered in Boulder, Colorado on November 4, 2013.

Their research continues to shape how activists and analysts interpret protest movements around the world. The 3.5% benchmark has become a symbolic way to assess when a movement has reached the kind of critical mass that can reshape political realities.

But here’s where we need nuance. As Chenoweth herself warns, this is not a magic formula. It’s not simply about reaching a numerical threshold; it’s about the quality of the organizing. Are people disciplined in non-violence? Are demands clear and resonant? Are movements well organized, diverse, and premised on coalitions of conscience?

Congressman Greg Casar in Austin Tx Capitol
Aug. 17, 2025

Do movements draw from all corners of society—including defectors from the very systems they seek to challenge? And are we, in this moment, even defining our struggle as one against authoritarianism? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding "yes" here in Texas. Moreover, this is certainly the language we heard yesterday from various speakers, including Congressman Greg Casar and Dolores Huerta.

Still, the number is instructive. In U.S. terms, 3.5% translates into approximately 12 million people. Imagine that many marching, boycotting, striking, voting, and creating alternative institutions of care and solidarity. That’s the scale of participation needed to shake the foundations of any unjust system. Importantly, many successful movements succeeded with far fewer numbers—but never without the critical mass to make repression untenable and the status quo unsustainable.

Dolores "Pinky" Carrillo

So, what does this mean for us? It means we cannot dismiss the power of people in the streets or belittle the power of protest. I adore my dear friend, Dolores "Pinky" Carrillo, who I always see at rallies and mobilizations in Austin—and often members of her family, as well—advocating for the civil and human rights. Pinky regularly travels to Washington, D. C. to advocate for disability rights.

I love the pride and passion for organizing that I see in many of our youth like Cameron Samuels who founded a massively successful youth movement in Texas named Students Engaged in Advancing Texas and Edwin Escamilla, young people who are on fire for a more just and caring world.

Cameron Samuels & Martha P. Cotera

I adore our elders like Martha P. Cotera who literally motivated me yesterday to get out of the house and to get Dezaree Walker and me to the march that I somehow hadn't heard about until Friday evening. 

I love knowing that if I make my way to the capitol, chances are that I will run into many students, friends and colleagues without whom life would feel less enriched. I feel truly blessed and fulfilled by the intergenerational and intersectional alliances and authenticity that is always so beautifully expressed in our social movements. 

ACC Student, Edwin Escamilla & me

Cynthia Perez & Dezaree Walker

This is what we must never underestimate, namely what happens when everyday folks—small business owners, nonprofit sector friends, teachers, students, workers, and families—decide they’ve had enough. Numbers matter, but so do strategy, vision, and persistence. We are, as Chenoweth notes, in uncharted territory, with authoritarian regimes learning how to neutralize even mass protest. However, this only makes our work more urgent.

Who knows—maybe we in Texas already have the 3.5%. What we need is sharper focus on our organizing, our messaging, and our collective voice. What is the resonant message, the positive vision, the powerful rhetoric that can move people from passivity to action? Whatever it is, if you can see the smiles on these faces, it's happening!

I really encourage you to treat yourself to Erica Chenoweth's inspiring, data-driven TEDx Talk in Boulder, Colorado. 

I hold onto this: democracy has never been gifted from the top down. It has always been claimed and reclaimed from the bottom up. And if it takes 3.5%—or fewer—to bend history’s arc toward justice, then surely, we can—and indeed must—rise to that challenge.

Sí se puede! Yes we can!

-Angela Valenzuela

References

Chenoweth, E. (2013, February 18). The success of nonviolent civil resistance | Erica Chenoweth | TEDxBoulder [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJSehRlU34w

Chenoweth, E., & Stephan, M. J. (2011). Why civil resistance works: The strategic logic of nonviolent conflict. Columbia University Press.

Leingang, R. (2025, July 17). What is the 3.5% protest rule and what does it mean for the US? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/17/what-is-the-3-5-percent-protest-rule?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Stephan, M. J., & Chenoweth, E. (2008). Why civil resistance works: The strategic logic of nonviolent conflict. International security, 33(1), 7-44.

Testimonies and Excerpts of DEI March and Press Conference from yesterday, May 14, 2024 at the Texas State Capitol in Austin Texas

Friends,

I encourage all to listen to yesterday's May, 14, 2024 hearing that took place at the Texas State Capitol in the Texas Senate. For the record, out of 214 that submitted their registration requests, 148 witnesses testified.


At the end of the day after the testimonies were completed, Sen. Royce West acknowledged that those who spoke overwhelmingly expressed opposition to SB 17 and violations of freedom of speech to which Sen. Brandon Creighton literally had nothing to say in response. This is who is leading our state...


Specific to the layoffs within the University of Texas System, Chancellor Milliken shared that 311 full- and part-time positions were eliminated, translating into $25 million that became available to the system, upon closing 21 offices and terminating "681 contracts, programs and trainings."

At a noon-hour press conference involving various organizations, including NAACP, AAUP, and LULAC where I and others spoke, I referred to DEI and other harmful legislation as a "scorched earth" agenda.

As an aside, these are not my words, but RNC co-chair, Lara Trump, as you can see and hear for yourselves: "Lara Trump Threatens ‘Four Years of Scorched Earth’ If Trump Retakes Power: Sounds like a fun time for America."


I post below the following:


1) news coverage by Austin American-Statesman journalists, Sara Diggins and Lily Kepner;


2) an 8-minute press conference video by Rene Renteria;


3) a CBS Austin press conference video;


4) the testimony I delivered; and


5) testimony delivered by Cameron Samuels, a dear friend and amazing Gen Z youth leader who heads up Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT).


If you listen to the video, you'll notice just how tough yesterday was. However, as I posted this morning on Facebook:

"Love our students and young people whose testimonies were so powerful and soulful. Bill author Andrew Creighton and his party are unmovable. However, it must dawn on them every now and then the eloquence and unmatched force of our Gen Z youth that would give anyone with a heartbeat some pause."


Keep at it, Gen Z! You are a force to reckon with.


-Angela Valenzuela



References

Diggins, S. (2024, May 14 ). Texas Senate Education committee discusses protests at UT, SB 17, Austin American-Statesman.



Kepner, L. (2024, May 15). Texas Senate panel holds hearing on DEI, antisemitism. What UT chancellor said of protests, Austin American-Statesman.



Kepner, L. (2024, May 15). About 150 people testify at Texas Senate hearing on SB 17, college free speech. Here's why, Austin American-Statesman.




ANGELA VALENZUELA'S TESTIMONY


Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Regarding the Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education—SB 17 Testimony

May 14, 2024

Good afternoon, my name is Angela Valenzuela and I am a concerned member of the University of Texas faculty but speak as a private citizen.

I am here today because I am deeply disturbed by the animus of policymakers against our Gen Z youth in the form of unceasing policy campaigns against them.



UT Gen Z Student, Lacey Reynolds

By "Gen Z", I mean students roughly between the ages of 12 and 27. These are our college students, as well as children in middle and high school. This is the most diverse age-generational cohort in the history of our country. These are our students. Gen Alpha, my grandchildren, will be even more diverse.

These hurtful campaigns get manifest passive-aggressively in the form of withholding school funding and turning “everything education” into a market. This gets manifest assertively and aggressively by attacking our youth in the form of physical and psychological violence (as we’ve witnessed in recent days), as well as in the form of book bans, abortion bans, and the banning of programs and people that are disturbingly and incorrectly characterized as a threat.

This is so disrespectful. The 60 or so people who were terminated at UT are a part of our Central Texas community. We cross each other at the grocery store, local events, and public gatherings. Such mischaracterizations of these staff—and our faculty—is best understood as an attack on our Gen Z youth.

We we are witnessing a workshopped and strategically planned political strategy intended to make Gen Z small, docile, and unthreatening. We must repeal SB 17.

This is an offensive policy agenda. Thank you for listening. 

***


Cameron Samuel's Testimony

Testimony to the Texas Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education

for a hearing on Senate Bill 17, Antisemitism, and Campus Free Speech

"Monitor the Ban on Discriminatory DEI Policies"

May 14, 2024

Cameron J. Samuels

Antisemitism exists. I would know because I faced it as a Jewish student. Classmates denied the Holocaust, my school administration challenged and restricted access to Holocaust books, and I was sprayed in the face with cologne because someone thought it was a good idea to “gas the Jew.” These acts of ignorance, bigotry, and violence were intimidating and harmful to my learning and well-being. This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed, but never in my life would I have told you that banning DEI is a solution.

DEI is not discriminatory but a solution to all forms of discrimination. Texas is exceptionally diverse, and our diversity makes us great. Sen. Creighton, your Senate Bill 17 has wreaked havoc on students. It has caused exceptionally more harm than it will ever give you pleasure and comfort with your White privilege.

If we are to address antisemitism and all forms of hate, we must repeal SB 17 and implement robust measures to prevent discrimination and bigotry throughout Texas. If we are to safeguard free speech, we must not conflate antisemitism with international politics. Instead of banning DEI and arresting students exercising free speech, which has been an immense overreach of state authority, let’s give students what they deserve.

I'm Cameron Samuels, demanding a SEAT at the Table with Students Engaged in Advancing Texas. My pronouns are they/them. Let’s invest in DEI and divest from war.

INVITATION: Support a Major Youth Leader, Cameron Samuels, on Two Panels proposed for SXSW—March 2024 (Aug. 20, 2023 Deadline to Vote)

Friends,

I'm endorsing Cameron Samuels for two sessions at next year's SXSW EDU conference in March in Austin, Texas, and hope you do, too. I had the experience and honor of testifying side-by-side with Samuels against Senate Bill 3, Texas' anti-CRT bill that passed during the second-called special session of the 87th 2021 Texas State Legislature. They have mobilized hundreds of youth to take a stand against book bans, anti-transgender bills, and turning school libraries, as they're doing in Houston right now, into detention centers. You can't make this stuff up.

I honestly can't think of anyone more deserving of a voice and platform at South by Southwest.

To get a more complete and on-going sense of who they are, follow their grassroots, student, and student-led organization they founded, namely SEAT, on Instagram: @studentsengagedtx

SEAT stands for Students Engaged in Advancing Texas and their tagline reads: "Students Engaged in Advancing Texas is a movement of young people developing transferable skills and demonstrating youth visibility in policymaking."

SEAT is a testament to how anyone with a conscience—no matter how young—can organize, mobilize, and be a player in politics and policy at the school board and state level. Cameron is inspiring a new generation of young people to stand up and be counted.

One of the panels is with Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give. The panel addresses how to fight book bans. In an email sent to me, they express, "This platform to speak on this issue, especially as a student, would be tremendous for students' right to read." 

Folks can vote on this through Aug. 20th with community votes counting for 30% of the outcome. If you'd like to support Cameron and these book banning/censorship panels, then please register a positive upvote for them by following the links to these panels.

How to Be a Freedom Fighter

Beyond the Censor's Gavel: Anatomy of New Censorship

I'm obviously a total fan. Samuels and his fellow students at SEAT inspire the hope that the next generation of Gen Z youth is keeping the world on track.

-Angela Valenzuela

Select Articles and Podcast by or about 

Cameron Samuels

Drabinski, E. (2023, March 25). The Fight Against Book Bans Is Mobilizing a New Generation of Student Activists, Truthout. Retrieved: https://truthout.org/articles/the-fight-against-book-bans-is-mobilizing-a-new-generation-of-student-activists/

Hardy, M. (2022, May 4). In a Houston Suburb, Book Bans Fuel a Bitter School Board Race, Texas Monthly. Retrieved: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/katy-book-bans-fuel-bitter-school-board-race/

Pitcher, M. (2023, Jan. 5). Students Taking Back "Ownership" of Education, Texas Observer. Retrieved: https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-book-bans-cameron-samuels/

Samuels, C. (2023, June 14). Texas Book Ban Bills Set a Dangerous Precedent for the Narratives of Young People in Education, Project Censored. Retrieved: https://www.projectcensored.org/texas-book-ban-bills-set-a-dangerous-precedent-for-the-narratives-of-young-people-in-education/

Samuels, C. (2023, May 29). Texas Book Ban Sets Dangerous Precedent for Young People, People's Tribune. Retrieved: 

https://peoplestribune.org/2023/06/texas-book-ban-sets-dangerous-precedent-for-young-people/ 

Samuels, C. (2023, May 29). Texas Book Ban Sets Dangerous Precedent for Young People, People's Tribune [podcast]. Retrieved: https://www.projectcensored.org/censorship-and-book-banning-in-texasand-going-remote-a-teachers-journey/

Samuels, C. (2023, June 28). As a Katy student, I fought book bans. We're losing. Houston Chronicle.

Retrieved: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/lgbtq-book-bans-katy-isd-school-board-pride-gay-18175035.php

How a Texas student packed school board meetings to challenge book bans

Cameron Samuels, a graduating senior in Katy Independent School District, organized students to fight the district’s internet content filters and book bans.

June 1, 2022, 8:25 AM CDT

By Jo Yurcaba

In honor of Pride Month, NBC Out is highlighting and celebrating a new generation of LGBTQ trailblazers, creators and newsmakers. Visit our full #Pride30 list here.

When Cameron Samuels was a freshman at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas, they tried to visit the website for The Advocate, the oldest LGBTQ publication in the United States.

But Samuels, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, said the page was blocked by their school district.

“I received a page that said that website was blocked because it was under the category of ‘alternative sexual lifestyles, GLBT,’” said Samuels, now 18 and about to graduate. 

Samuels was troubled by the block, but at the time said they didn’t have the leadership skills to fight it. 

About two years later, when Samuels returned to the school for in-person instruction, they began to organize students against what they described as the “discriminatory internet filter.”  

In November, Samuels spoke about the issue at a school board meeting.

“I was the only student and received no applause,” Samuels said in a recent video interview. “That was really frightening as I walked back to my seat after speaking and just saw people staring at me, but I realized that those stares were stairs to climb on.”

After Samuels organized more students, they said the district removed its block on the website for the Montrose Center, a local LGBTQ group in the state, in December. In January, it removed restrictions on websites for three national organizations: Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the country; GLSEN, which fights for the rights of LGBTQ students; and PFLAG, which supports LGBTQ people and their families, among other sites. 

But Samuels said the district continues to block The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization, because of a chat feature that connects young people with trained counselors. 

“They’re claiming it’s because of a chat feature, but really the category that it’s blocked under had been ‘alternative sexual lifestyles,’” Samuels told NBC News in February.

Students will have to continue to challenge the block after Samuels graduates in June, which Samuels said they’re well-equipped to do. Samuels said one of their proudest moments has been mobilizing students from all nine of the high schools in the district — a total student body population of 90,000 — to fight not just the internet filter but also book bans. 

Their district, the Katy Independent School District, has been one of many where school board meetings have turned into heated debates over books and instruction on topics related to race. The district pulled nine books off shelves earlier this year, NBC News reported in February. All of the titles are related to LGBTQ issues or race. 

Students, including Samuels, responded by organizing book drives at schools across the district and at several public spaces. In late February, Samuels said more than 80 people showed up to a book distribution event at Jordan High School. 

“The librarian said that was the most people that had ever been in the library, which is where the event took place,” Samuels told NBC in February. “It was like a record for the school. … They distributed 70 books, so more people showed up than could get a book. But we have hundreds more that we’re hoping to continue distributing.” 

They said some of the students who attended the book distributions were not out as LGBTQ, because they feared their parents or friends wouldn’t support them. They’ve taken books that affirm who they are, and “they have told me with such great appreciation that these books have helped them, that these books will help them, and that is why it’s so important that students have access to literature that affirms their identity,” Samuels said, recalling the events.

At a school board meeting, also in February, Samuels said students packed the room and so many of them spoke against the book bans that they outnumbered the opposition. 

“There were Pride flags and stickers across the room, and almost every seat was filled, which was such an empowering moment to see that I, as a single student with no applause, have now built this movement where students are coming to school board meetings, outnumbering the opposition in February, in March, in May and hopefully in the future,” they said.

Samuels said the movement they started is sustainable, and it will be something they leave behind after they leave to go to Brandeis, a private research university outside Boston, to study computer science and politics, “and maybe legal studies and journalism,” they said.

They said their advice to younger LGBTQ students who want to oppose book bans or other anti-LGBTQ efforts is to seek support where you can find it. 

“Seek friends who will accept you for who you are, and don’t try to fit someone else’s expectations,” they said. “You are you. There’s nobody else that is you.”