5 Surprising Times Texas Came Together

Texans have a long track record of showing up for each other when it counts.

Whether it’s a hurricane, a busted power grid, or a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, Texans have a way of turning their differences into strength when it matters most.

Hurricane Harvey 

When Harvey slammed into the Gulf Coast in 2017, it didn’t matter who you voted for or whether you preferred brisket or ribs. People with bass boats and canoes ferried strangers to safety. Churches became relief centers. BBQ pits fired nonstop to feed anyone hungry.

The storm flooded entire neighborhoods, but the response showed the best of Texas—united, generous, and covered in a haze of meat smoke.

Criminal Justice Reform 

Texas Democrats and Republicans have a history of coming together to reduce incarceration rates and improve reentry programs. Even in the Legislature—where agreement is about as rare as snow in San Antonio—lawmakers have found common ground on criminal justice reform.

A slew of bipartisan bills have been passed in recent years. These laws aim to reduce the number of probationers sent back to prison for small technical mistakes, improve vocational training to help inmates secure jobs after release, and establish boards and tracking methods to ensure prisoner education is efficient and effective. 

The common thread: less punishment-for-punishment’s sake, more focus on second chances.

Winter Storm Uri 

When the grid failed in early 2021 and millions shivered in the dark, Texans improvised. Neighbors opened living rooms as emergency shelters. Folks handed out firewood to strangers. Plumbers drove in from out of state just to fix burst pipes.

Even the politicians agreed on something: the grid needed fixing. Senate Bill 2 and 3 came shortly after, requiring power plants and transmission lines to be “weatherized” (built to survive extreme cold) and revamped grid governance. Later reforms strengthened backup power, added better emergency alerts, and made cyberattacks harder to pull off.

Were the fights over details ugly? Of course. But the basic idea—“let’s not freeze to death again”—got a rare bipartisan buy-in.

Uvalde School Shooting

The Uvalde school shooting in 2022 spurred lawmakers from both parties to back new reforms.

Recent bipartisan efforts have boosted mental health resources in schools, increased school safety funding, and required staff safety training.

Out of unspeakable horror came a rare unity, as both sides set aside differences to push for meaningful changes that put children’s safety first.

Everyday Unity

Texans also unite in apolitical, more joyful ways. Sports are the obvious one: when the University of Texas Longhorns win, or the Cowboys (occasionally) do something right, fans across the political spectrum cheer in the same living room.

In 2017, the Houston Astros won their first-ever World Series. Over a million Houstonians from every neighborhood packed the downtown area for a parade. For a city still drying out after Hurricane Harvey, the win felt less like baseball and more like a communal reset button.

Cultural events—from the Houston Rodeo to Juneteenth parades to Día de los Muertos festivals—bring together communities that otherwise might not mingle. Where else do you see someone in cowboy boots dancing next to someone in full calavera face paint? Only in Texas.

So What Does This Say About Texans?

That beneath the noise and swagger, Texans share values of resilience, generosity, and fairness. In floods, freezes, and even politics, we’ve proven we can set differences aside.

The challenge is carrying that spirit beyond disasters and into everyday life. If Texans can come together in the worst of times, maybe we can do it in the best of times too.

—Alex Buscemi (abuscemi@buildersmovement.org)