This year was a year to remember, and for (mostly) the wrong reasons. Our voting power was diluted, disabled children were locked up, mothers were grabbed while taking their kid’s college, a midwife was arrested for doing her job, it got more dangerous to have a baby and to simply live as a trans Texan. […]
Author Archives: Leslie Rangel
Leslie Rangel, a first generation daughter of Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants, is deputy managing editor for The Barbed Wire. Her award-winning journalism is focused on issues of health, mental wellness, race, gender and social justice.
Leslie was previously morning anchor for the Good Day Austin morning news show. She has also worked at KXAN in Austin, was founding evening anchor at KWKT in Waco, reported for KFOR in Oklahoma City and KFDM in Beaumont, Texas.
Posted inNews
A Disabled Child’s Mom Reported Him Missing. He Was Locked Away by Federal Immigration Authorities for 48 Days.
This article was published in partnership with The 19th* News. Maria Garcia couldn’t bear to attend the nightly meals near Triangle Lake, where for several weeks, the smell of pinto beans, turkey necks, and other soul food staples filled the air outside a federal children’s detention facility in southeast Houston. The Southern home-cooked meals had […]
Posted inNews
Thanks to Texas Law, Her Baby’s Death Was Agonizing. Día de los Muertos Is Helping Her Cope.
In Samantha Casiano’s house, Sundays are for family. And for the last two years, that’s included a trip to the cemetery. Every week, they visit her daughter Halo’s gravesite. It sits in the middle of their small East Texas hometown. A gray placard lies on the ground with Halo Hope Villasana written in pink script, […]
Posted inCulture
We’re Claiming Arden Cho of ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ as a New Texas Icon
If you haven’t seen “K-Pop Demon Hunters” by now, it may be time. The movie, first released on Aug. 26, is now the most watched movie ever on Netflix with more than 325 million views globally and streamed for more than 500 million hours (we did the math and that equals to more than 61,000 […]
Posted inSports
This Weekend in Texas Football: Cowboy Tears, a Camp Mystic Tribute & a Texas Tech Victory
Well, it turns out that even the great Brandon Aubrey couldn’t kick his way out of a slightly cringe-y weekend for Texas football. Welcome back to The Barbed Wire does football, in which our team of completely unqualified-to-write-about sports writers recap the highlights (and lowlights, and baby lights) of Texas teams. After the thrill of […]
Posted inCulture
I Learned a Whitewashed Version of Texas History in School. Journalism Taught Me the Stories That Got Left Out.
I still remember my last high school football game on the Red Oak Hawkette drill team. I was 17, and our dance group had spent hours rehearsing in our maroon leotards and bright white ankle boots with mini silver bolo ties on the side. We wore nude dance tights and white hats with matching maroon […]
Posted inHealth
Texas Is Already Dangerous for Pregnancies. This New ‘Bounty Hunter’ Law Will Make It Even Worse.
UPDATE: On Tuesday, the Texas Senate approved House Bill 7, which will incentivize people to bring $100,000 lawsuits against anyone who makes, sends, or transports abortion medication in Texas, regardless of where they’re located. The bill is headed to the governor to be signed into law. This story has been updated to reflect the development. […]
Posted inCulture
Finally Texas A&M Wins Something! Buc-ee’s Will Sell Its Goods on Campus
Finally, a win! Texas Aggies don’t have a lot of exciting things to talk about (yes, I’m a Longhorn), so when they start selling Buc-ee’s Beaver Nuggets at their campus student marketplaces, you better believe it’s going to be a big deal. Texas A&M University announced Wednesday that they’re the first university in the country […]
Posted inPolitics
‘Women Have Always Been on the Front Lines.’ How Five Women at the Texas Capitol Stood Up to ‘Fascism.’
Tuesday morning, state Rep. Nicole Collier awoke from her seat on the floor of the Texas House, “bonnet and all,” after spending the night locked in the Capitol. It’s an image that will go down in history. In a photo posted online, the Fort Worth Democrat is wearing a dark blue eye mask and white […]
Posted inSpanish
Aproximadamente Un Millón de Estudiantes en Texas Tiene Al Menos Un Padre Indocumentado. ¿Quién los protegerá cuando llegue el ICE?
Jonatan Pech, de dieciocho años, iba de copiloto en el carro de su familia, mientras la luz del coche alumbraba la oscuridad la mañana. Cristian, su hermano mayor, agarraba el volante firmemente. La música cambiaba entre el rap de Houston, la salsa y el R&B, que servían de canciones de cuna para su hermana Esme […]