While discussions on police abolition are still prevalent in the media and protesters continue to advocate defunding police forces and investing instead in community resources, people all over the world are beginning to reconsider just what “community” means. For The Afiya Center, radical community ideals and notions of intersectionality — how race,…
At the beginning of June, TLC reality show 90 Day Fiancé introduced a whole new cast of long-distance couples, but there’s one couple viewers have yet to meet. Tim, a 34-year-old account manager from Dallas, and his Colombian fiancée, Melyza, who will make their debut on the show Monday, June…
It’s been a bad few weeks to be a dead creep. As Black Lives Matter protests continue across the nation, many people are pointing to institutions that memorialize or legitimize racism and racists. Brands are changing their names. Confederate statues are crumbling. Sports teams are under fire. And some people…
Mike Brooks is a longtime Observer concert photographer who has shot seemingly every type of artist at every type of local venue. Here he breaks down how this week he was misidentified as a Trump supporter. This is a clickbait headline that is totally “true.” Quotation marks intentional. I readily…
Bethany Bass drives a beat-up 2008 Kia Sorento. She likes to listen to rap music, and because she is a junior at Southern Methodist University, she often winds her Sorento through the tony, tree-lined neighborhoods in and around University Park. When she started her studies at SMU, she says she…
Although Nextdoor’s purpose is to unite communities, the digital platform has come under fire for what some see as cultivating a snitch culture among neighbors who aren’t always welcoming. The virtual neighborhood, where members sometimes encourage others to call the police on those who look “out of place” in their…
Being a parent requires a set of skills we’re forced to develop as they become needed. On top of providing financially and doing endless domestic work and errands, one must be a teacher, mentor and mediator. For black fathers in America, there’s even more to the job. They teach their…
In the new film Selfie Dad, lead character Ben Marcus speeds away from home in a fit of rage and is abruptly pulled over by a police officer. The scene in the original script called for Ben to get out of the car nonchalantly, but when considering the role, actor…
“I’m just trying to survive,” Jeremiah Onifadé says. “That’s the motto for 2020.” The artist says this while corralling his infant son, squeezing in some after-work painting, providing for a family in a pandemic and preparing for the second art show of his career. His voice carries no sound of…
To help protect the anonymity of the person highlighted in this story, I’ve used they/them pronouns. “I’m a business[redacted], trying to be an entrepreneur in a world that’s on fire.” The Capitalist is savvy. Over many years, they have built a successful small business in Dallas, which is not the…
After the ongoing pandemic washed out the first events of the season, lawn mower racing in Texas got going again this past Saturday. The racers were excited to get back on the track, and we were pretty excited, too. Excited enough to make the one hour drive down to Wortham…
Juneteenth has been the subject of much conversation in the past week. The holiday, June 19, commemorates the date that slaves in Texas learned of the emancipation proclamation (two years after it became effective in 1863). Last Thursday, Nike announced that it would join Vox Media, Twitter and other companies…
While there’s plenty of bad news plaguing the world, the Dallas Jazz Piano Society offers a glimmer of positivity to North Texas jazz lovers of all ages. What started out more than a decade ago as a jazz concert in the living room of Jim Callaway’s home turned into a…
While much of the country has been busy trying to eradicate a bigger epidemic, systemic racism, the coronavirus still lurks around us. Confirmed COVID cases continue to increase daily, riding that second wave and putting Texas in the lead. We reminded you back in April of the many things you…
Two days after returning from the Sundance Film Festival, Dallas-born actor Jonathan Majors got the call that would fill any performer with joy: Spike Lee wanted to meet with him about a role. Majors eagerly drove to Lee’s office in Brooklyn, but the meeting wasn’t exactly what he expected. The…
On April 27, Dallas police arrested and charged independent film producer Adam Donaghey with sexual assault of a minor stemming from an incident with a 16-year-old during the production of director David Lowery’s critically lauded A Ghost Story. The criminal charges brought forth a wave of allegations and stories from…
Art can double as a mighty catalyst toward social reform, and some North Texas artists have continuously used their work as a weapon in the endless fight against racism and injustice. In a time of deep social unrest, the work of these local artists stands out for having a unifying…
As a boy, Al Schahn knew that the handmade violins his “papa” created made a distinct sound. Now 88 years old, Schahn began patiently restoring musical instruments last year and has since refurbished more than 20 violins, he says, including 13 that his father made. The instruments arrived from places like…
Not even the gale force winds of a hurricane could bring down the slave quarters in Jammie Holmes’ hometown. Holmes, a Dallas-based painter with an impressive following, is from Thibadaux, Louisiana. Through portraits of his family and friends, he captures the desperation and poverty prevalent in his hometown. When he…
Not many organizations present such an immediately recognizable motif as the Umbrella Movement. The object is a metaphor and sign for those seeking protection and cover from a brutal reality and has been adopted and adapted for use in protests throughout the years, including those marching across Dallas streets. For…
Protests have been ongoing in North Texas since last weekend, and the issues behind this surge of activism are nothing new. Though the fight for racial equality and against police brutality has been ongoing, there are many who may be participating in protests for the first time ever. We spoke…
The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, and a history of systemic racism, have resulted in mass protests across the globe. While these protests are vital to attract attention, start conversations, and instigate change, it’s also crucial that we strive to understand why this change is…
