Thursday, March 26, 7:15 p.m. at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church
Jim Harrington’s memoir, The Texas Civil Rights Project: How We Built a Social Justice Movement, was published toward the end of 2025 by UT Press. Jim was interviewed at the Texas Book Festival in November, and he’s since held a number of presentations on the book in the Texas Valley, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. Austin City Lutherans is proud to invite the public to converse with Jim on March 26 at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church in downtown Austin.
Joy Diaz, formerly of KUT radio, will interview Jim for the first half of the event. Joy has recently translated the book into Spanish (available soon) and will provide excellent insight for the interview. The last half of the event will consist of “Question and Answer Discussion,” facilitated by Joy between Jim and the audience.
Jim is also an Episcopal priest. As a young man—he hails from Michigan—he planned to become a Roman Catholic priest. That plan detoured in the late 1960s. Instead, he went to law school, learned Spanish and came to the Texas Valley to advocate on behalf of farmworkers. After 40 years, in the early 2010s, his seminary journey continued. Enhanced details are in a blogpost I wrote; the whole story is in the first section of his book, which I highly recommmend.
Please plan to join us for this important event and conversation. We will be covering past events, yes, but Jim will also talk about what’s happening today. Are you concerned about the Trump administration’s attack on civil rights and voting rights; and, the current drift away from democratic rule toward authoritarianism? Are you concerned about the growing influence of Christian Nationalism? So is Jim, and he’s more than prepared for this conversation with us.
Pastor Tim Anderson, ACL Director
