What about civil rights protections after independence?

Civil rights are protected, fully and equally, for every Texan. The Texas Bill of Rights already guarantees them in plain, explicit language, and in this area the Texas Constitution speaks more directly than the federal one does. The Texas Bill of Rights protects all Texans equally, and independence does not weaken that by a single word.

Equal protection is written into the Texas Constitution by name

This is the heart of the matter, so it should be stated without hedging. The Texas Constitution does not leave equality to inference. Article 1, Section 3 guarantees that all free people have equal rights. Article 1, Section 3a, the Texas equal rights provision, states in so many words that "Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed, or national origin." That is direct, self-operative text in the very first article of the Texas Constitution. It protects every Texan, and it has no exact counterpart in the federal Bill of Rights. The guarantee of equal treatment under Texas law is not something Texas would have to create after independence. It is already there, in writing.

These protections do not come from Washington, so leaving does not remove them

The fear behind this question is that civil rights protections flow only from the federal government, so independence would put them at risk. The Texas Constitution answers that directly. Equal protection, due process, free speech, free exercise of religion, and the other core guarantees are written into Texas law independently of the federal document, and have been for generations. Texas courts enforce them as Texas rights. Independence changes who has the final say in protecting these rights, moving it to Texas courts, but it does not remove the rights, because Texas never depended on Washington to hold them.

The Texas Bill of Rights is broad, and it is inviolate

The Texas Bill of Rights is longer and more detailed than the federal one, and Texas courts have repeatedly held that it can provide broader protection than its federal counterpart, and never less. And the Framers locked it in. Article 1, Section 29 declares that everything in the Texas Bill of Rights "is excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate, and all laws contrary thereto, or to the following provisions, shall be void." Any law that violates a Texan's civil rights is void in Texas, by the command of the Texas Constitution itself. That protection is enforced at home and depends on no outside authority.

Independence is for every Texan, by definition

The entire premise of Texas independence is government by the consent of the governed, for all of the governed. A movement built on that premise cannot and does not carve anyone out. Independence is for Texans of every race, every background, and every belief, or it is not what we say it is. The Texas the movement is working toward belongs to all Texans equally, and the equal protection written into the Texas Bill of Rights is the legal expression of exactly that commitment.

Texas courts become the direct guardians of these rights

After independence, the Texas courts are the guardians of the Texas Bill of Rights, answerable to the Texas Constitution and to Texans. Civil rights questions are decided in Texas, under Texas law, by courts accountable to the people of Texas. These protections move closer to home, under the direct guardianship of a Texan judiciary, with no outside authority able to narrow them.

The bottom line

Civil rights are protected for every Texan, equally, by a Texas Bill of Rights that guarantees equality under the law in explicit terms, declares those guarantees inviolate, and in several respects protects Texans more strongly than the federal Constitution. The Texas Bill of Rights protects all Texans equally. Independence keeps that promise and puts it under the guardianship of Texas courts.