“Baker’s brave defense of her community’s right to read is a testament to the vital role librarians play in upholding free speech and creative expression in the face of censorship.”
"'It’s a girl,' the nurse said, softly. My mother smiled big, then nodded in silence. That was the first sentence of a book that describes my undoing. That was the first story someone else told for me."
The titular character of Daniel Chacon's new short story collection, The Last Philosopher in Texas: Fictions and Superstitions, came to him as he was walking his dog in Pecos, the windblown West #Texas town where his father once lived. https://www.texasobserver.org/the-chicano-time-traveler/
Did you know it was none other than Texas Observer matriarch Molly Ivins, one of his most piercing critics, who gifted Rick Perry with his enduring nicknames—“Governor Goodhair” and “The Coiffure”?
We need to bring more attention to the university-specific #bds demands that the students of the #studentspring are making: companies invested, dollar amounts, research relationships, etc. So far, the divestment aspect seems to be lost, when it's actually the most important part.
“Librarians are being harassed in private Facebook groups. They’re receiving pressure from within and outside the school.”
But bookstores, libraries and book lovers of all kinds came together to fight back against the censorious, so-called READER act. From correspondent Matthew Patin: https://www.texasobserver.org/the-booksellers-revolt/
A Texas judge has ruled that a high school was not violating the CROWN Act by punishing student Darryl George for the length of his dreadlocks. George has been in in-school suspension or at an off-site disciplinary program for most of the school year since August. The school said that George's hair violated a dress code regarding length of boys' hair; the family argued that protective hairstyles — which are covered by the CROWN act — require a certain amount of length. The family plans to appeal the decision.
Cancer factories: Toxic chemicals remain a well-documented, potentially lethal threat to workers thanks to a weak OSHA and lax standards, says #Texas investigative reporter in a new book. Senior Writer and Editor Lise Olsen interviewed the author. https://www.texasobserver.org/cancer-goodyear-dupont?utm_campaign=mastodon
Cancer factories: Toxic chemicals remain a well-documented, potentially lethal threat to workers thanks to a weak OSHA and lax standards, says #Texas investigative reporter in a new book. Senior Writer and Editor Lise Olsen interviewed the author. https://www.texasobserver.org/cancer-goodyear-dupont?utm_campaign=mastodon
“The U.S.-Mexico #border is a land of contrast—austere landscapes and lush oases; thunderstorms and rainbows; robust industries and ghost towns; great wealth and aching poverty.”
A Texas high school's punishment of a Black student who wears his hair in locs is going to trial. 18-year-old Darryl George has not been in his regular classroom in Barbers Hill High School since Aug. 31. His district says his hair, which is long but neatly tied and twisted on top of his head, violates a dress code. George says his hairstyle is protected by the CROWN Act. AP reports.
"This paper documents the persistence of Southern slave owners in political power after the American Civil War. Using data from Texas, we show that former slave owners made up more than half of all state legislators until the late 1890s."
Today in Labor History December 24, 1936: On Christmas Eve, drunk cops beat up 150 strikers on the Houston docks, sending 18 to the hospital. They were members of the Maritime Federation of the Gulf Coast. Gilbert Mers, who had dual membership in the Maritime Federation and the IWW, was their leader. Violence against dockers was rampant along the gulf coast in the 1930s. In July 1934, three black longshoremen were shot to death during a strike. In 1935, longshoremen struck along the entire gulf coast, with 14 more workers getting killed. From 1936 to 1938, 28 union members were killed and over 300 injured in strikes. Mers’ autobiography, “Working the Waterfront: The Ups and Downs of a Rebel Longshoreman,” was published in 1988, ten years before his death, at age 90. As a young man, Mers worked the docks in Corpus Christi, but went on to become President of the Corpus Christi Central Labor Council and the President of the Maritime Federation of the Gulf Coast, while remaining a dedicated dual member of the IWW throughout his life. He was part of the effort to establish an industry-wide union along the Gulf Coast states. In his autobiography, he exposes the brutality and corruption of the Texas Rangers in the 1930s-‘40s, and their use as violent, strike-breaking bullies with badges.
How did a #Georgia Klan leader transform himself into a faux-Native American from #Texas? A recent book uncovers the untold story of Forrest and Asa Carter, who were actually one and the same.
A new publication from UT Press provides a troubling twist on the vow “until death do us part.” Often overlooked in other tellings of the events, Unheard Witness reveals the story of Kathy Leissner Whitman, one of the first victims of the UT #Austin Tower sniper, murdered by her husband before he killed so many others.
A #Texas writing guru reflects on his mentor, Larry McMurtry, with the help of other Lone Star authors influenced by the Lonesome Dove creator in this new collection of essays.
Greg Abbott tells musicians "don't come back" to Texas (www.newsweek.com)