Statewide Leadership Council (SLC): Our Mission

We are formerly incarcerated and system-impacted Texans committed to ending incarceration in this state. Our current criminal legal system is rooted in slavery and racism, and those consigned to Texas cages have been disproportionately and intentionally African-American. Our system has devastated countless Texas communities and denied members of those communities a viable path to a sustainable, dignified life while intentionally excluding them from any transformative process.

We claim our right of inclusion and leadership in that process, based on the reality that incarceration has traumatized us, our families, and our communities. Our lived experience with this trauma compels us to dismantle current criminal legal policies and practices and seek alternatives to incarceration, always placing the desires of our communities at the forefront of transformation.

To get the latest information, follow @TexasSLC on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok!

2023 Priorities

SLC Priorities Row


Common-Sense Parole


Clean Slate and New Wings


Emergency Management

Learn More About the SLC's Policy Priorities

Advocacy Team

The SLC’s Steering Committee is supported by a growing Advocacy Team of system-impacted people across Texas.

Learn More

Are you system-impacted?
Do you want to fight for change at the Texas legislature and in your community?

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Statewide Leadership Council in Action

  • Newsletter: Read the SLC's summer 2023 newsletter, which was sent to currently incarcerated people | Click Here »
  • Video: Watch SLC Steering Committee members be honored with resolutions in the Texas House | Click Here »
  • Newsletter: Read the SLC's winter 2023 newsletter, which was sent to currently incarcerated people | Click Here »
  • Event Video: Watch the video from the SLC's July 2022 "From Prison to Power" event in Austin | Click Here »
  • Newsletter: Read the SLC's spring 2022 newsletter, which was sent to currently incarcerated people | Click Here »
  • Photos: Check out the SLC's January 2022 "From Prison to Power" event in Houston | Click Here »
  • Quick Guide: Learn more about the Statewide Leadership Council | Click Here »
  • Texting Campaign: Get info on the SLC's 2022 texting campaign, part of Movement Labs' Advocacy Lab Fellowship | Click Here »
  • Press Release: Read about the need for emergency planning in Texas prisons following weather crisis (Feb 2021) | Click Here »
  • Video Hub: Find videos of past events and webinars on policy issues | Click Here »
  • Photos: Check out the first meeting of the SLC's Steering Committee in 2020 | Click Here »
  • Blog Post: Read how SLC members are leading the fight to mitigate COVID-19 (May 2020) | Click Here »

While the Texas Center for Justice and Equity (TCJE) sponsors the Statewide Leadership Council (SLC), the SLC’s work is largely independent and participant-led. Ideas expressed by the SLC and its participants do not necessarily represent the positions of TCJE.