Meet Warren Houston of The People’s Law Study Group in Downtown Houston

Today we’d like to introduce you to Warren Houston.

Warren, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Dallas, TX. My family moved to Houston, TX. When I was three years old. I’m a product of Houston’s Fifth Ward and Northeast Communities. I graduated from Forest Brook Sr. High School in the North Forest Independent School District in 1990.

I was hired by Central Freight Lines Trucking Company my senior year in high school and was employed with them for approximately 10 years. After I was let go from my duties there, life’s lessons begin to kick in and I entered the school of “Hard Knocks.” I was literally lost after losing that job; I had only a high school education and no skills that were marketable at the time in a quick, fast-paced changing society.

From 1999 (from the time I lost my job) up until 2008, I was living a very precarious life. If I had transportation, I had nowhere to lay my head, if I had somewhere to lay my head, I had no transportation. I went through marriage and separation (not to mention child support). I found myself in so many vulnerable situations without having the educational knowledge in which to properly deal with my issues.

I decided in 2008 (at the age of 36), that I was going back to school. I entered into American Intercontinental University (AIU) that year. Two years later, I had an Associate’s of Arts Degree in Business Administration (A.A.B.A). A year and a half later (3 1/2 years total), I left AIU with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration (B.B.A) with a Concentration in Finance. While I was there, I was also inducted into two International Business Society’s, namely Sigma Beta Delta and Delta Mu Delta.

In 2013, I started taking online classes for my Master’s in the Sciences of Law from Champlain College out of Burlington, Vermont. I finished this degree in 2015. I actually start studying the law in 2011, and in 2012, The People’s Law Study Group was born in the Barber Shop of Mr. Christopher Williams (Scizzor Handz Barber Shop) in Northwest Houston

We started with about six or seven people. We would get together every Sunday morning and study the law then discuss it. The People’s Law Study Group became our church and Sunday morning service. I remember the very first class which started at 10:00 AM Sunday morning and ended at a Luby’s restaurant around 6:00 PM Sunday evening. The people were so hungry and thirsty for wisdom and knowledge, that when we finally cut class off at 2:00 PM, they all followed me to Luby’s for dinner.

The class grew over time to as high as thirty people in a single setting. After finishing my law degree from Champlain College, the classes were moved to the “Shrine of the Black Madonna” in Houston’s South Park/Sunnyside Community, where the classes were held every Saturday from 12:00 noon to 2:00 PM. Out of that, “The People’s Law Study Group” Production Team was created. We enhanced this movement through Community Workshops, Forums, Events, and Lectures. The People’s Law Study Group brought in Police Officers, Judges, FBI Agents, Attorneys, and Federal Employees to share their knowledge with the Community.

The purpose of The People’s Law Study Group is to educate the community-at-large concerning the judicial system and its operation. The People’s Law Study Group over the years have experienced both highs-and-lows. TPLSG is in an offseason at the moment revamping ready to make a comeback as we prepare to educate the youth concerning the Criminal Justice System.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Some of the struggles I have experienced have been jealousy, envy, and strife, My classes have been destroyed on several occasions because of it. The first time it was destroyed was in 2012 shortly after I started it. In the beginning, we were more focused on spiritual law. In March of 2012, I went to Montgomery, AL for a friend’s family prayer breakfast. I left a person in charge to teach on spiritual law whom I thought I could trust only to come back and find my class split. He had been talking bad about me to my class in my absence. Unfortunately, some of his words hit their targets and caused a rift.

Once my class started, there were always these people popping up who all of a certain were experts in the law wanting to take over my classes. There was a guy who came here all the way from Chicago who tried. I always questioned, “If you know so much, why didn’t you start your own group?” “Why are you here interfering with mine?”

Sometimes, people came for their own selfish gain; what I mean by that is, they had no real interest in learning the law, they only wanted assistance with their personal problems

There were those who caused disruptions because I didn’t go along with their ideology. and because of that secretly tried to sabotage my events by sending emails and Facebook IM’s to people telling them not to support my functions, but through it all, it’s been one big great learning experience. I must be doing something right, because every time I try to walk away from it for good, the people seem to want just a little bit more.

Please tell us about THE PEOPLE’S LAW STUDY GROUP.
I am now a paralegal with The Simpson Law Group. I am able to extend those services along with legal assistance to The People’s Law Study Group through my employer. We give lectures, classes, and legal assistance to the community-at-large on different occasions topics.

We give workshops on both Civil and Criminal law. Offer legal administrative assistance.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start all over again, I would change absolutely nothing. The knowledge you get from a book, but wisdom comes from being made. All the hard times that I have faced with this organization have made me who I am today. these things prepare me for the future. Your private pains make you public success.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1305 Prairie St.
  Houston, TX 77002
• Website: www.thepeopleslawstudygroup.com (needs to be updated)
• Phone: 346-217-0595
• Email: warrenhouston71@gmail.com contact@thepeopleslawstudygroup.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepeopleslawstudygroup/

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