‘She didn’t want to see people just roll over’: Cecile Richards remembered

Cecile Richards died on Monday from brain cancer at the age of 67, according to a statement from her family. She is survived by her husband and three children.

Richards was a major force in Texas and national politics. Like her mother, former governor Ann Richards, Cecile spent most of her life rallying for progressive causes. Richards was a labor organizer, a staffer to Representative Nancy Pelosi, and then president of Planned Parenthood from 2006 to 2018.

Margaret Justus, a longtime friend of Richards and her mother’s deputy press secretary, spoke to Texas Standard about Richards’ life and legacy. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.

This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:

Texas Standard: For folks who never had the opportunity to meet Cecile, what would you want them to know about the kind of person she was?

Margaret Justus: Well, of course she was Cecile Richards, who many just thought was invincible.

She was a force of nature who fought hard for, of course, women’s reproductive rights. So many causes, including the right-wing Christian takeover of the Texas school boards and public school policies. She led the Texas Freedom Network here in Texas, which is still alive and well today.

But I guess she was also an undoubtedly kind human being. She was such a dear person to be around. She was a lot of fun, funny. She was a loving wife and mother who just adored her family.

You know, I saw her last winter at her home in New York. And she had us over graciously, spontaneously cooked us breakfast. And she was telling us about a new project, which was the one that she had last worked on, helping tell stories 0f, through social media, getting young people involved and understanding the impact of the laws and the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

You know, it’s interesting. You talk about young people, and there’s this apocryphal story. I’m sure you’ve heard it, something about a black armband and how she got kicked out of school when she was a teenager.

Yeah, apparently she was – it’s in her book, actually. The book is titled “Make Trouble.” But she – at the age of… I think it was junior high – walked in to school with an armband protesting the Vietnam War and was called into the principal’s office. And that’s kind of where sort of her early days of organizing started.

And then she continued to do it through college. And she didn’t want to stop. She just saw it was important to be the individual who led and spoke out on important causes. And that’s how she ended up in New Orleans, where she met Kirk Adams, who was organizing hotel workers there.

And then they decided moved to Austin when Ann decided to run for governor. Of course, their skill set came in very handy in the campaign.

And she loved New Orleans. I’ve heard a lot about that, too.

You know, you think about all of her time. If you work in politics, you’ll likely lose a campaign or vote at least as much as you win, right? I mean, that may be especially true if you’re working for liberal ideas here in Texas.

How did she handle that defeat?

I think she would have a down day and, you know, dust yourself off the next day and get up and go back to work on what mattered and doing the next thing and do everything you can. And that was made clear in the statement her family put out.

But I think one of the other things I read through, going through her book, she said, “What would she tell young people today who want to make a difference, who are not willing to give up, like Cecile?” And she said, just, you know, “don’t sit around and wait for the perfect opportunity to do that. Find something and make it an opportunity.”

And that was what she believed. And I will never forget her for that.

You know, there are a lot of people who feel passionately about causes, but not everyone actually takes it upon themselves to lead. And it almost seems like she felt that it was possible for anyone.

Yeah. I mean, she just didn’t want to see people just roll over and she said, you know, “we can’t just assume that because things are where they are…” Like, for instance, in the Texas Legislature, that it will never be able to pass common gun sense laws. I hear people say that all day long – that common [sense] gun laws are just not possible. Not attainable in Texas.

And she would disagree. She would say you’ve got to continue to work the grassroots, tell the stories of folks and the pain and suffering they’ve gone through. Make it clear that we can make a difference, that other states have done it, other countries have. And we can live safer lives because of that.

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