Civil Rights and Wrongs for October 5, 2021

Michelle Manning-Scott guest hosts the program again this Tuesday, speaking with Stephanie Lang, Director of Equity and Community Advocacy at the UT Center for Community Engagement, as well as the founder of RECLAIM, an organization that uncovers and reclaims the stories of the Black diaspora.  (RECLAIM is a wholly separate and transparent entity outside of the work she does for UT.)  Ms. Lang speaks to her passion for finding ways to use various art forms to communicate ancestral stories from within her own extensive family history here in Austin, as well as those from the community at large.  They are joined by Jim Harrington, retired founder of the Texas Civil Rights Project.

Later in the show Bob gets an update on the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) from Christina Puentes, Chair, and Luis Gonzalez, Vice-Chair.  They now have a proposed map for the City Council districts and are on track to complete their task by November 1st as planned.

And we finish with Austin Sanders, Staff Writer at the Austin Chronicle, who reports on the confirmation of APD Chief Joseph Chacon by City Council.  The process lasted several hours (including both closed-door and public sessions) before reaching a 9-2 vote of approval that reflects plenty of reservations, even among the nine in favor.  We also learn about the decision by the Austin Firefighters Association to oppose Proposition A in the November elections – a move in direct opposition to the stance of the Austin Police Association.