Make no mistake: We are witnessing history in the making. And we will continue our daily work on the first draft.
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
By day, the protesters peacefully marched through the city. But when night fell, helicopters swept the streets with floodlights. Fires leapt from the windows of corner stores. Police in black riot gear pushed hundreds of people back amid flying bottles and billowing smoke. It was all too familiar. I couldn’t help but recall reporting from Los Angeles in the late spring of 1992 as I watched similar scenes unfolding nationwide this week. Then as now, it was a video that put the lie to the excuses routinely offered to dismiss complaints of excessive police force against people of color. Rodney King’s beating was more than just an isolated incident – just as the death of Houston native George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody speaks to a truth lived daily by Black Americans. But history suggests that, like the fires burning nightly in our major cities, the spectacle of an America seemingly at war with itself will consume our attention until we, too, are burned out – exhausted by anger, anxiety and frustration, and ready to move on to something that seems more urgent (just as updates about the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have been crowded out by this conflagration). This time will be different – but only if there is conscious resolve that there is nothing more urgent than the change this hour demands. The test for Texans – for all Americans – is whether we will heed the calls for “a more perfect union,” or whether such words will prove to be empty promises on parchment. Make no mistake: we are witnessing history in the making. And as events unfold, we will continue our daily work on the first draft. We hope you find some of our coverage of the past week informative and helpful during this turbulent time. Until next Wednesday, we’ll see you on the radio.
- David Brown
Work safe, Texas. Texas Work Comp Insurance

Houston Police Union Head Urges Cops To Speak Up When Officers Do Wrong


Union president Joe Gamaldi says incidents where officers do the right thing don’t often make headlines. "That’s not going to make viral news. But we need people to step up."
Read More

Dallas Police Chief Stands By Use Of Tear Gas At Protests


The department rarely uses tear gas to disperse large crowds, but Chief Reneé Hall says her officers were “under attack.”
Read More

'We Just Don’t Want To Be Killed Anymore:' Voices Of Protesters In Texas


Sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, thousands across Texas protested police killings of Black Americans. Protestors around the state tell us why they were there.
Read More

Want Police Reform? Start With Police Union Contracts.


Police policies are one thing, an Austin-based activist says. But if residents want real change, they must tackle the terms of police contracts that set out department procedures.
Read More
  • Federal Suit Accuses Immigration Officers Of Raping 3 Women Before Deportation (Houston Public Media)
  • Activists And Protesters Call For Cuts To Police Department Budget (KUT Austin)
  • Houston Pastor Remembers George Floyd As A Protective, Hospitable 'Gentle Giant' (WBUR)
  • Stressed? Depressed? Maybe It's Quarantine Fatigue (KERA News)
This weekend I was one of many KUT Austin journalists who covered the protests in Austin against police killings of Black people. It’s always intense reporting on large-scale, emotionally-charged breaking news. As a human being it’s awful to watch our country go through this. But as a journalist in this particular moment, and as a white woman, I’m doing a lot of reading and talking to people to make sure that I am reporting in a way that honors the cause of these protests and providing enough context. I don’t have the lived experience of Black people so I’m trying to do work to not let my blind spots cause harm in my writing. I've been reading about Rodney King and the subsequent protests since I wasn’t a reporter then. I've also been doing my own anti-racist work and am currently reading "Me and White Supremacy" by Layla Saad. We all are responsible for listening and applying these lessons to our own lives and industries. Our neighbors our telling us loud and clear there is a problem.
- Claire McInerny
@ClaireMcInerny
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