This story is a collaboration between The Barbed Wire and the Investigative Reporting Workshop— a nonprofit newsroom at American University that trains student journalists on in-depth reporting. When she was elected mayor of Houston in 2009, Annise Parker became the first openly gay mayor of a major American city. In 2014, Houston was one of […]
Tag: Civil Rights
Posted inNews
‘None of It Makes Any Sense’: New Details in the July 4 ICE Attack Show Holes in Feds’ Case
On July 12, Amber Lowrey arrived at her sister’s apartment in Fort Worth. The FBI had raided it days earlier, Lowrey said, and she surveyed the wreckage: shattered windows, broken doors, damaged floorboards from a flash bang. Agents seized four “pages of map documents,” according to a property receipt reviewed by The Barbed Wire. Lowrey’s […]
Posted inCulture
If You Don’t Already Know Heman Sweatt’s Name, It’s Time to Learn It
This fall semester is my first time teaching college history. Incidentally, it also marks the 75th anniversary of the first time Black students were admitted into formerly segregated colleges and universities in this nation. As a Black adjunct professor, one of my goals is to teach younger generations how long ago events impact the lives […]
Posted inTexana
Texas’ Official History Museum Hides More Than It Shows
The Bullock Texas State History Museum is an impressive piece of Texana, a hulking granite-faced structure across the street from the University of Texas campus. Step inside and you’re confronted with a giant mural of longhorns, horses, and cowboys that promises to tell you “The Story of Texas.” There are equally oversized quotes from famed […]
Posted inNews
Need a Court-Appointed Lawyer in North Texas? You Might Get One With a White Nationalist Tattoo.
EXCLUSIVE Editor’s note: This story includes quotes in which the subject uses offensive racial slurs and references to racial terror. The Barbed Wire does not condone the use of such language, but believes them to be newsworthy, important context. Any racist language has been censored with hyphens. This is a story about white nationalism, taxpayer […]
Posted inOpinion
How Do You Celebrate a Country That Doesn’t Love You Back?
Last month, my mom sent me a video of a little girl named Galilea from Dallas. She’s sitting on her gray couch, clutching a brown plush dog, remembering her mom’s voice, her clothes, and the way she would say goodnight. “My mom is supposed to be with us,” she says. “ICE took her away.” On […]
Posted inOpinion
Happy July 4. Everything You Love About America Was Made by Black People.
Black women are intrinsic to the fabric of America. Grace Wisher, a Black girl from Baltimore, assisted in the creation of the American flag. Harriet Tubman led Union soldiers to victory at the Combahee Ferry Raid during the Civil War. There is no United States without Black people. It was Black women and men who […]
Posted inOpinion
Why You Should Care About Trump’s Attacks on Lawyers
Editor’s note: The views and opinions presented by guest contributors to The Barbed Wire do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the company, the newsroom, its staff, advisers, or advertisers. Late last week, the White House issued a memo ordering the attorney general to seek disciplinary action against attorneys whose conduct “appears to […]
Posted inHealth
Post-Roe Stats Keep Getting Worse: 6 Texas Children Under 12 Got Abortions Out of State in 2023
Last week would have marked the 52nd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which guaranteed the federal constitutional right to abortion — until it was overturned in 2022. As data rolls in showing the detrimental effects of abortion bans like the one in Texas, the numbers only get more grim. One […]
Posted inCrime
Four of Five Texas Men Executed This Year Were Black or Latino
Texas loves executing people, and Texas really loves executing people of color. A new report released on Thursday from the nonprofit Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP) reveals stark racial disparities of those put to death in 2024. Four of the five executed men were Black or Hispanic, according to the report’s breakdown, […]