By Carol Lucas
The question of the day: do we still allow freedom of speech in this country?
The state of Texas answered that one with the detainment of Representative Nicole Collier last week. When she refused to sign an agreement compelling her to be accompanied 24/7 by a state trooper.
As a matter of introduction, Collier is an attorney, a mother, and the first Black woman to represent Tarrant County’s House District 95 in North Texas.
If you are not familiar with this story, here is a little background.
Fifty-one Democratic Texas state representatives left three weeks ago for Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts to prevent Republican lawmakers from redistricting Texas to give five Democratic congressional seats to Republicans. They returned home last week.
Upon their return, they learned that Republican House speaker, Dustin Burrows, wanted them to sign a statement, committing them to showing up for the Wednesday morning vote on the maps the 47th president had demanded. This limited their freedom until they enabled the Republicans’ power grab.
But here’s the kicker. Burrows also assigned state troopers to the Democrats to monitor their movements around the clock to make sure they were present Wednesday morning and until the final vote on the measure was taken. This is where Representative Collier drew the line.
She knew that refusing to sign meant she could be arrested, but she opted to refuse, and as a result, was locked in the House — redefining “house arrest.” It’s worth noting that when news of this got out, supporters showed up to demonstrate. And then state troopers arrested these demonstrators. So much for freedom of speech in Texas.
As Joe Sommerlad of The Independent reported, Collier said: “I refuse to sign. I will not agree to be in custody. I’m not a criminal. I am exercising my right to resist and oppose the decisions of our government. So this is my form of protest.”
She added: “My constituents sent me to Austin to protect their voices and rights. I refuse to sign away my dignity as a duly elected representative just so Republicans can control my movements and monitor me with police escorts.”
I might also add that she recognized that those “escorts” assigned to the Democratic lawmakers made the public less safe. Nevertheless, one newspaper had the nerve to call them “security guards.”
And so, Nicole Collier settled in for the night, and we were afforded a picture the next day. 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 is covered with white and red blankets. They match her Texas flag, which marks a page in the book “African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals.” Next to her lies a pink-tasseled pillow that reads, over a rainbow, “Y’all means all.”
A day later, Collier filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus to force the Texas House of Representative’s Sergeant-at-Arms to end her “illegal confinement” immediately. Often called the “great writ,” it serves as a fundamental safeguard against unlawful or indefinite imprisonment by allowing a court to review the legality of a person’s confinement.In all, she spent two nights confined.
But there is an added twist to this episode.
It seems that Collier was on the phone speaking to the chairman of the Democratic party as well as California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. This call was taking place in a bathroom she apparently was permitted to use only for the designated purpose.
Suddenly she said, “Sorry, I have to leave. They say it’s a felony for me to do this. Apparently I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom.”
Sen. Booker expressed his outrage later by saying, “Representative Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office.” Given the latest picture of 47 in the oval office, wearing a hat that says “Trump was right about everything,” I’m inclined to agree. But again, I digress.
“Political theater” is one aspect of the power grab that is driving the current administration as well as those responding. Dangerous? Perhaps. Sending armed troops to cities across the country without permission from local officials, claiming to be combating crime, is another.
More dangerous? You betcha’ as Sarah would say.
But that is a topic for another time.
Make no mistake. This is a MAGA takeover, and if those who still have some modicum of say-so and power don’t do something, democracy, as we once enjoyed it, is finished.
Republicans cry foul as other states, namely California, New York and now Maryland threaten gerrymandering. While “tit for tat” cannot be deemed good governance, it would appear it’s all that is left in this debacle.
As for Nicole Collier, I see her as a hero, someone who went into the fray knowing she would lose the ultimate battle but engaging it anyway. Former Black trailblazers who are now deceased must surely be smiling and offering up their silent applause.
Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”
