Latest / Austin Signal / Austin ISD improves STAAR scores as Spanish speakers fall behind

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Austin ISD improves STAAR scores as Spanish speakers fall behind · Austin Signal

0:08
Students in the Austin School
0:09
District outperformed state averages
0:11
in most courses during the recent
0:13
round of star testing.
0:14
Some scores surpassed pre-pandemic
0:16
levels, but there are still groups
0:18
of students falling behind the state
0:19
standard.
0:20
How the district is planning to
0:21
address that.
0:22
And it's been a rough few years for
0:24
the craft brewing industry in Austin
0:25
and across the state.
0:27
After a spat of brewery closures,
0:29
businesses are looking for new ways
0:30
to get folks to frequent their
0:31
neighborhood pub.
0:33
Plenty more about those stories
0:34
coming up on today's show.
0:36
The Austin Signal is a production
0:38
of KUT News, hosted by
0:40
Jerry Quijano.
0:41
Plus, Juneteenth is Friday, and the
0:43
Black History Bike Ride is gearing
0:44
up for another trek through Austin.
0:46
We're going to share their story and
0:48
talk about the film documenting
0:49
their work that's premiering
0:51
tonight.
0:52
That is coming up next, and it's
0:54
right here on Austin
0:56
Signal.
1:07
Howdy out there, you are listening
1:09
to Austin Signal.
1:10
I'm your host, Jerry Gechunel.
1:12
It is Wednesday, June 17th.
1:14
Thank you for tuning in to community
1:16
powered public radio.
1:18
This is KUT News.
1:20
The school year is over, but the
1:22
school news never stops.
1:23
And this week we found out students
1:25
in the Austin Independent School
1:26
District scored above the state
1:28
average in most courses.
1:29
That's according to preliminary
1:31
results from this year's star
1:33
tests.
1:33
Here to tell us more is Greta
1:35
Díaz-González Vázquez, she is
1:37
KUT's education reporter.
1:39
Greta, thanks for being back on the
1:40
show.
1:40
Hi Jerry, happy to be here.
1:42
So, which courses did Austin
1:44
ISD students excel above statewide
1:46
scores?
1:46
Yeah, so AISD students,
1:48
they're doing great in general, if
1:50
we look at a general picture in
1:51
reading math and social sciences.
1:53
In some cases, their graders, for
1:55
example, they went above
1:57
pre-pandemic levels.
2:00
Because as you might remember,
2:02
grades went down after the pandemic.
2:04
And taking a closer look at the
2:05
reading scores, how did AISD
2:07
students do there?
2:08
Yeah, so students across the state
2:10
are not meeting pre-pandemic levels
2:11
for reading, but third grade
2:13
students that meet academic grade
2:14
level even drop
2:16
one percentage point statewide, but
2:18
AISD students did the opposite.
2:20
They went above pre-pendemic levels
2:22
by quite a bit by eight
2:24
percentage points, which is good.
2:27
AIS is scoring above
2:29
state average in each grade by
2:31
a couple or a few points compared
2:34
to state-wide peers.
2:35
But if we look at Spanish
2:37
speakers in AISD,
2:39
that is not the case, that is the
2:41
opposite.
2:42
They are scoring below their
2:44
statewide peers and also of course
2:46
below their English speaking peers.
2:49
Students can take the start test in
2:51
Spanish through fifth grade and
2:53
we see that third, fourth and fifth
2:55
grade students who took it in
2:57
Spanish are scoring way below their
2:58
peers. If we see third grade, that's
3:00
a 20% meet.
3:02
Academic levels compared
3:04
to statewide wide which is
3:06
28 percent or their
3:07
English speaking peers which is 59
3:10
so that's a big difference
3:11
That is a big difference.
3:12
What about when it comes to math
3:13
scores?
3:14
Yeah, so most AISD grades
3:16
are scoring also above state
3:18
average, except sixth
3:20
and seventh grade, which
3:22
is statewide. They're also scoring
3:24
kind of low compared to other
3:25
grades.
3:27
Also, most fourth graders are
3:29
doing better than before the
3:30
pandemic. So that is great.
3:31
That's 52% of AISB
3:33
fourth graders meet grade level, and
3:36
they are higher than statewide.
3:37
But once again, Spanish speaking
3:39
students are falling behind,
3:41
especially that is especially true
3:42
for third and fourth graders.
3:45
8% of kids
3:46
or students who took the
3:48
test in Spanish, third graders,
3:52
met grade level.
3:53
That is compared to state-wide,
3:54
which is 27%, and their
3:56
English-speaking peers, 47%.
3:58
The 8%, that's pretty low.
4:00
Okay, well we have more reporting
4:02
about this in our podcast
4:04
show notes and at kut.org
4:06
and on the KUT app.
4:07
We have been speaking with Greta
4:09
Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez.
4:10
She is KUT's education reporter.
4:12
Great to see you.
4:13
Thank you, Jerry.
4:21
It's been a rough couple of years
4:22
for the Texas craft brewing
4:24
industry.
4:25
Here in Austin, we've said goodbye
4:26
to several local tap rooms,
4:28
including Black Star Co-op and
4:30
Fourth Tap Brewing, and friends and
4:32
allies as well.
4:33
Recently, High Sign Brewing
4:34
announced its filing for Chapter 11
4:36
bankruptcy, but it says it plans
4:38
to stay open.
4:40
Joining me now to discuss how the
4:41
industry is faring and how it's
4:43
adapting is Caroline Wallace.
4:45
She is executive director of the
4:46
Texas Craft Brewers Guild.
4:48
Caroline, welcome to the show.
4:49
Thanks for having me.
4:50
So can you give us a temperature
4:51
check of the crap brewing industry
4:53
here in Austin, particularly?
4:55
How is it faring right now?
4:56
I think the craft brewing industry
4:57
in Austin is fairing pretty similar
4:59
to the industry across the state and
5:01
even across the country.
5:03
Some of the biggest things breweries
5:04
have been dealing with are rising
5:05
costs across
5:07
the board from raw ingredients to
5:09
the cost of capital for
5:11
barring and large equipment
5:13
outlay, rising cost of
5:15
real estate.
5:17
But then on the other end, I think
5:18
that vibes are
5:20
good. It's a creative, it's a fun
5:21
industry. I've been to three
5:23
breweries in the last 24 hours, just
5:25
for...
5:26
Lunch today and for some World Cup
5:28
festivities yesterday and and they
5:29
all had great crowds So, I mean, I
5:31
think craft beer is alive and well,
5:32
but small business owners, you know
5:34
face challenges
5:35
Mm-hmm. Yeah, and you mentioned
5:36
some of the trends of a rising
5:38
cost There's also the trend
5:40
supposedly that Gen Z is
5:42
drinking a lot less from your
5:44
work Do you find that to be accurate
5:45
and how our consumer trends sort of
5:47
shaping demand right now?
5:48
I think there's been a lot of ink
5:49
spilled about Gen Z and they're
5:51
maybe not just drinking habits, but
5:53
like overall consumer spending and
5:54
social habits.
5:56
Some of the recent data I've seen is
5:58
that they're starting to revert back
5:59
a little bit to the norm, but
6:02
it feels like maybe
6:04
a little bit of a slowdown in Gen Z
6:05
drinking or socializing in general
6:07
might be more due to the pandemic
6:09
and just kind of those years of
6:11
not really having the same social
6:12
environment and then more just
6:14
broader economic.
6:15
Things, money in your pocket, you
6:16
know, where are you going out as
6:17
much when you've come into
6:19
the job market and into adulthood
6:21
and this economic environment.
6:23
So I think our breweries are doing
6:25
fun things to attract newer
6:27
customers who might be coming out to
6:28
breweries not because, not
6:30
for the beer first, but more for the
6:32
food, the experience.
6:33
There.
6:33
Yeah, maybe even for like a World
6:35
Cup game like you mentioned right
6:36
now, right?
6:36
Exactly, or a
6:38
plant potting night,
6:41
or sushi and beer pairing.
6:42
Yeah, or like a doodling night.
6:43
We've heard about that here on
6:44
Austin Signal.
6:45
Just maybe more of a chance to
6:47
socialize first and then drink beer
6:48
after.
6:49
Exactly, yeah.
6:50
OK, so you mentioned some of
6:51
the challenges facing the industry
6:53
right now. Tell us about some of the
6:54
other ones that you're seeing in
6:56
your work.
6:57
Yeah, craft breweries sit
6:58
at a really unique kind of
7:00
intersection between manufacturing,
7:02
small manufacturing and hospitality,
7:04
right? Both of those industries or
7:05
industries have been hit pretty hard
7:07
by the pandemic, and then just the
7:08
economic and trade
7:10
environment that we've been in, you
7:12
know, since then in recent years.
7:13
So for breweries, the cost of,
7:15
you, know, stainless steel, aluminum
7:17
cans, barley,
7:19
hops, a lot of the key inputs
7:21
that go into bring.
7:23
Have faith!
7:24
Tariffs, they've faced rising costs
7:25
due to supply chain issues, they
7:27
faced some of those agricultural
7:29
products have been impacted by
7:31
climate factors or even by like
7:33
geopolitical things like a lot of
7:35
grain is grown
7:37
in Ukraine and that can impact
7:39
the global market.
7:41
So all those forces kind of coming
7:42
to play at the manufacturing side
7:44
and then on the hospitality side,
7:46
you know, rising cost of real
7:47
estate, customers may
7:49
have a little less disposable income
7:51
in their pockets.
7:52
Those are kind of a lot of
7:53
challenges that I hear from
7:54
breweries that will say,
7:56
man, business is actually pretty
7:58
good, pretty flat relative to last
8:00
year, even up a little bit, but just
8:01
the cost of putting the
8:03
liquid in the glass, the cost
8:05
putting food on the plate,
8:07
keeping the lights on, are the
8:08
things that small business
8:10
owners are having to weather.
8:11
You mentioned a plant potting
8:13
night, a doodle night.
8:16
What are some of the
8:18
other ways you're seeing independent
8:19
breweries adapt to this moment right
8:21
now?
8:22
Definitely thinking beyond beer and
8:24
more about the totality
8:26
of that customer experience and
8:27
creating a taproom that brings
8:29
folks out, whether it's for fun and
8:31
unique events or for a meal or
8:33
a beer. They're thinking about
8:34
non-alcoholic offerings,
8:36
having wine programs, FROZENS,
8:39
anything that's going to keep that
8:40
group of folks there maybe a little
8:41
longer. Or choose to come to a
8:43
brewery when maybe somebody in the
8:44
group doesn't drink or prefers a
8:46
different drink because they've
8:47
thought about all those aspects.
8:50
And then on just the wild, wacky,
8:51
and fun side, I mean, we have
8:52
breweries now that have like sports
8:54
leagues that operate out of them.
8:55
Brewery that has summer camps
8:57
for kids
8:59
out on their property.
9:01
I mean you name it, we've had
9:03
breweries come up with some really,
9:04
really creative ways.
9:05
A brewery that's looking into adding
9:07
a horror themed bookstore, not
9:09
here in Austin, but somewhere else
9:11
in Texas.
9:12
And another brewery is operating
9:14
like an arcade.
9:15
With video games and, you know,
9:17
pay-to-play cards and stuff.
9:19
So, definitely thinking creatively
9:20
about how to be, not just beer, but
9:22
a holistic brand and experience.
9:25
Well, it sounds like there's a lot
9:26
of exciting things happening amongst
9:27
these independent breweries.
9:28
It's easy, I think, to overreact
9:30
when we see some of our favorite
9:31
breweries closing down.
9:33
So where do you see the industry
9:35
moving forward here in the next few
9:36
months to year?
9:38
Yeah, I think there's a lot of
9:40
forces that are outside of small
9:42
business owners' control of any
9:43
kind. We're hearing that from
9:44
barbecue restaurants and music
9:46
venues.
9:48
And anywhere folks are gathering,
9:49
they can just be kind of subject to
9:51
some of those things they can't
9:52
control. But what breweries can
9:53
control, I think, is that guest
9:55
experience, that environment,
9:57
creating a neighborhood gathering
9:58
place that folks love.
9:59
And so I think it's more that just a
10:02
breweries are feeling a little bit
10:03
how to maintain
10:05
their own point of view
10:07
and their own vibe and flavor,
10:09
while also being kind of like all
10:11
things to all people in a way.
10:12
You know, like, come one, come all,
10:14
watch the sports, eat the food, play
10:15
the games, put the kids on the
10:17
playground, you know, all the
10:19
things. So I think just weathering,
10:21
keeping costs
10:23
in check to the ability that they
10:24
can, and just trying new
10:26
and unique things to bring people in
10:28
the doors.
10:29
All right, we have been speaking
10:29
with Caroline Wallace.
10:30
She is the executive director of the
10:32
Texas Craft Brewers Guild and
10:34
Industry Group.
10:35
Caroline, thank you for your time.
10:36
Thanks for having me.
10:38
And a few headlines for you today.
10:40
Joshua Baer, founder of Austin-based
10:42
tech company Capital Factory,
10:44
died last night when the private
10:46
plane he was in crashed on a highway
10:47
in Laredo.
10:49
Five other passengers were taken to
10:50
the hospital and the FAA and
10:52
NTSB are investigating.
10:55
An extreme heat warning is in effect
10:56
today across much of central Texas,
10:58
including Travis Hayes and
11:00
Williamson Counties.
11:01
National Weather Service warns that
11:02
heat index values could hit 112
11:05
degrees in some areas.
11:07
And the season is over for
11:09
UT's baseball team.
11:10
The Longhorns lost last night to
11:12
Georgia in the College World Series,
11:14
ending their season with 46 wins
11:16
and 15 losses.
11:18
This is Austin Signal, there's more
11:20
show coming up for you after this
11:22
break.
11:27
This is Austin Signal, welcome back.
11:30
Every once in a while, we dig back
11:31
into the KUT archives to share
11:33
some of the great reporting that our
11:35
newsroom has done over the years.
11:37
With Juneteenth approaching later
11:39
this week, we're looking back at a
11:40
story that was there at the start of
11:42
an Austin Black History organization
11:44
as it took shape in the summer of
11:46
2020.
11:47
And afterwards, we'll be speaking
11:48
with the founder to see how
11:50
things have changed since then.
11:52
But now here's former KUT reporter,
11:54
Nadja Hamdan.
11:55
Taking us back to an Austin summer
11:57
six years ago.
12:00
It's around 10 a.m.
12:01
On a scorching hot Sunday morning in
12:03
June, and Taleb Abdullahi
12:05
is standing in front of the Texas
12:07
State Capitol.
12:08
We're going to abide by all traffic
12:09
laws.
12:11
We're not going to be rolling any
12:12
red lights.
12:12
We're gonna be respectful of all
12:14
drivers and police officers.
12:15
Thank you.
12:16
A 30-year-old black man is
12:18
straddling his bike, his voice
12:20
echoing through a portable PA
12:22
system.
12:23
That's because he's addressing a
12:24
crowd of people, all on
12:26
bikes.
12:27
Also, make sure to watch your speed,
12:29
especially when we're coming down
12:30
hills, and also please make
12:32
sure you social distance
12:34
as much as you can.
12:36
They all showed up for one reason,
12:38
to learn about Austin's black
12:39
history.
12:41
Now, Talib is not a historian.
12:43
He's an event coordinator for Tito's
12:45
Handmade Vodka.
12:46
So you may be wondering,
12:48
how did he find himself on the steps
12:50
of the Capitol, about to lead
12:52
a tour of Austin black history,
12:57
and Why are they all on bikes?
12:59
It all started in early June.
13:02
Taleb had just returned home from
13:03
the protest at Houston Tillotson,
13:05
where thousands of people had
13:07
rallied for an end to police
13:08
violence and systemic racism.
13:10
I was thinking that night, like,
13:12
man, it would be really cool to tie
13:14
all this energy of everyone
13:16
coming out in the streets with
13:18
something that's fun, like bike
13:19
riding, which I love.
13:21
It's my biggest hobby of all time,
13:24
and connect it with black history.
13:26
Taleb says he has a passion
13:28
for both history and cycling,
13:30
and he thought this would be a good
13:32
way to sustain, quite literally,
13:34
the momentum of the last two weeks.
13:36
I kind of got on Google Maps that
13:37
night and I was like, hmm, I think I
13:39
could make this route go just
13:41
about 8.46 miles
13:43
and make it in honor
13:45
of George Floyd and just kind of tie
13:46
everything together.
13:47
Eight minutes and 46 seconds was
13:49
the amount of time a Minneapolis
13:51
police officer had his knee
13:53
on Floyd's neck.
13:54
Floyd was a black man, and his
13:56
death sparked nationwide protests
13:58
against police brutality,
14:00
including the ones in Austin.
14:03
Taleb's route stretched from west
14:05
to east Austin and would feature
14:07
12 historical sites significant
14:09
to black history.
14:10
This includes the Texas
14:12
African-American History Memorial at
14:14
the Capitol, the Haskell House
14:16
in Clarksville, and the old Jacob
14:18
Fontaine building in West Campus.
14:20
Jacob Fontaine, who's one of
14:22
my favorite figures in Austin's
14:23
black history.
14:24
We started like the gold dollar
14:25
press and tried to help lift
14:28
up a lot of the freed slaves
14:30
and people in the African-American
14:31
community.
14:32
Tullip figured he'd have 20 or 30
14:34
of his friends join him on the ride,
14:36
so he posted the idea on his
14:38
personal Instagram story the next
14:40
morning.
14:40
And it just
14:42
snowballed.
14:43
Within a few hours, a screenshot
14:45
of his post was making its way
14:47
across Instagram, then Facebook,
14:49
even some local bike shops were
14:51
sharing it.
14:52
Initially, I was like, whoa, I
14:53
didn't plan for that.
14:55
You know, I did not plan for it to
14:55
be that big.
14:56
He didn't know how many people would
14:58
actually show up, but he wanted to
14:59
be prepared for more than 30.
15:02
So what started as a simple bike
15:03
ride with friends soon turned into
15:05
a grassroots led initiative,
15:08
bringing together people from all
15:09
across the community.
15:11
His friends rallied behind him and
15:13
within a week, they had a whole team
15:14
of volunteers.
15:16
Cyclists from different clubs
15:18
offered to help keep the riders safe
15:19
and hydrated on the road.
15:21
A coffee shop donated free cold
15:23
brew.
15:24
Pedicabbers promised to be there for
15:25
people who were not able to ride
15:27
bikes.
15:27
There was just a huge outpouring
15:29
from the community and it was really
15:31
heartwarming.
15:32
People willing to donate their time
15:34
and that was really beautiful,
15:36
really amazing.
15:40
It was the Sunday of the ride,
15:42
exactly one week after the protest
15:44
at Houston Tillotson.
15:46
The invite had specified a 10
15:48
a.m. Meeting time, but Talib arrived
15:50
at the Capitol early and waited to
15:52
see just how many people would
15:54
actually show up.
15:55
The bikes started rolling in,
15:57
and they didn't stop.
15:59
By the time Talib started talking,
16:01
there was a sea of more than 400
16:03
mass cyclists crowding both
16:05
lanes of 11th Street.
16:07
It was so busy that at one point,
16:09
the volunteers had to start
16:10
directing them down the sides of the
16:12
sidewalk so cars could pass.
16:14
This really means a lot.
16:15
I put this out literally on Monday,
16:17
and I was just like, yo, like, let's
16:19
ride bikes and learn about black
16:21
history. And it accidentally went
16:22
viral and you guys are here now.
16:27
Donald Davis is a founding member
16:29
of the Major Taylor Cycling Club of
16:31
Austin.
16:32
It's a group made up of majority
16:33
black cyclists.
16:35
The club's namesake actually honors
16:36
Major Taylor, the first black man
16:38
to win a cycling world championship
16:40
in 1899.
16:42
Davis was there with his fellow club
16:43
members donating their time to
16:45
make sure everything ran smoothly
16:47
during the tour.
16:48
I just saw more and more people
16:49
coming in, and when
16:51
the cops blocked off the area,
16:53
I was like, dude, this is going to
16:54
be huge.
16:55
He says it was remarkable to see so
16:57
many people from all different
16:59
backgrounds come together for this
17:00
ride.
17:01
It was so nice to see Austin
17:03
show up.
17:06
I just, I have never, I've been here
17:07
since 91.
17:08
I don't think I've ever seen that
17:09
kind of brotherhood and sisterhood
17:11
except for like an MLK march.
17:13
That's about it.
17:14
Now, Taleb says he's not one
17:16
for public speaking, but he felt
17:18
very inspired that so many
17:20
people turned out with the
17:22
intention to learn.
17:23
I kind of told myself going into
17:25
this that if this is the amount of
17:27
attention that this specific
17:29
activity is getting, then
17:31
the people want it and it's
17:32
something people need.
17:34
So it almost like didn't
17:36
matter how many people showed up.
17:37
It was really just that people
17:38
wanted to be there.
17:40
From the seat of his bike, Talib
17:42
began telling stories about the
17:43
black experience.
17:45
And when he spoke, the cyclists were
17:47
quiet, save the occasional
17:49
ringing of bicycle bells.
17:54
25-Year-old Jimena Gamboa
17:56
Bonilla was one of the writers who
17:57
took the tour.
17:59
She says she's often been
18:00
disappointed with what she perceives
18:02
as a one-sided, often
18:04
whitewashed narrative associated
18:06
with much of Austin's history.
18:07
At one point it stops being
18:10
lack of awareness and it starts
18:11
being willingly ignorant.
18:14
But she says this ride changed
18:15
something for her.
18:17
The day was hot and the hills
18:19
merciless, and still hundreds
18:21
of people were pumping their legs
18:23
and sweating their way to the next
18:24
stop and the next top and
18:26
the stop.
18:27
It was so
18:29
beautiful.
18:31
It made me realize, wow,
18:33
there are 400 other
18:35
humans here that are
18:36
willing to ride in the middle of the
18:38
summer.
18:40
It kind of gave me more hope
18:42
that in Austin, there's people
18:44
care.
18:45
Olive shared the entire route online
18:47
so people can take the tour
18:48
themselves.
18:50
But after seeing the turnout in
18:51
Austin, plans are in motion to
18:54
create Black History social rides in
18:56
other cities, like Houston,
18:58
Tulsa, and Detroit.
18:59
I, if anything, would
19:01
hope to be
19:03
giving people tools to learn this
19:05
history themselves and help people,
19:07
you know, give them an opportunity
19:08
to understand their own city a
19:09
little bit better.
19:10
Ultimately, Taleb says he
19:12
just hopes to inspire more people
19:14
to seek out the Black,
19:16
Latinx, and Indigenous stories in
19:18
their own communities.
19:20
If we can create avenues
19:22
for people to do that, that's a
19:24
win in my book.
19:27
Nadi Hamdan,
19:29
KUT News.
19:33
And again, that story was produced
19:34
back in 2020, a reach back
19:36
into the KUT archives.
19:38
And joining us now in studio is
19:40
Talib Abdulahi, creator of Black
19:42
History Bike Ride.
19:43
Talib, thank you for being on the
19:44
show. Yeah, thank for having me.
19:46
So first off, listening back to
19:48
that story, how wild is it to think
19:50
about how far you've come since
19:51
then?
19:52
You know, we
19:54
couldn't have really imagined that
19:56
Black History Bike Ride took off
19:57
from that very first moment.
19:59
And even at that
20:01
moment looking forward, we couldn t
20:02
have imagined to be so
20:04
blessed and fortunate to be able to
20:06
continue what we've been doing all
20:07
these years.
20:07
Yeah, now we're here in 2026,
20:10
so let's update the audience a
20:11
little bit. What has changed about
20:13
your bike ride and what has stayed
20:14
the same all these years later?
20:16
Well, everything's about community.
20:18
Everything's about history.
20:19
Everything is about
20:21
telling the truth, but also about
20:23
creating kind of an uplifting
20:26
and fun environment for people to
20:28
gather and be together in.
20:30
So we're 100% community powered.
20:31
We still think like a grassroots
20:32
organization, but we are fully
20:34
formed 501c3.
20:36
We've been fortunate to receive
20:38
grants like from the city of Austin
20:39
and other numerous
20:41
local orgs.
20:42
So we're really fortunate that we've
20:44
been able to kind of build this
20:46
sustainable education
20:49
and tool to
20:51
teach about black history in our
20:52
city.
20:53
Speaking of our city, it's one that
20:55
is changing constantly, and since
20:56
your rides have started back in
20:58
2020, has the changes
21:00
around Austin affected your bike
21:01
ride?
21:02
You know, yes and
21:04
no.
21:05
I think, you know, the changes
21:07
and the more that people both move
21:09
here and move away, I feel like it
21:11
explains, it's the reason
21:13
why we do this.
21:14
You know like as the city changes,
21:17
what I've learned over the years is
21:18
that like the more people that can
21:20
help be torchbearers, you know it
21:21
doesn't all fall on
21:23
one person or you know one
21:25
institution to act as
21:27
historians.
21:28
Everyone should take a vested
21:30
interest in both.
21:31
Teaching but also learning about the
21:33
city and then sharing those stories
21:34
with other people.
21:35
What do you think for you has been
21:36
the most surprising thing about
21:38
doing this ride year after year?
21:40
That people want to show up in the
21:42
heat and learn about history.
21:44
Our Hallmark event usually is on
21:46
Juneteenth, and somehow that always
21:47
ends up being one of the hottest
21:49
days of the year, but yet we
21:51
persist.
21:52
We have a wonderful team
21:54
of volunteers,
21:56
and now we have part-time staff,
21:58
too, to help coordinate things.
21:59
We actually have an EMS Code 4
22:01
and EMS service that's going to come
22:03
out this year.
22:04
So.
22:05
We've learned how to be both
22:06
strategic while still being kind of
22:09
fun, scrappy in the fun ways, but
22:10
professional and organized to like
22:12
where it makes sense.
22:13
And another thing that's come out of
22:15
Black History Bike Ride is a film
22:17
that's premiering tonight that you
22:18
are featured in. It's called Cycles
22:20
of Resilience, a journey through
22:21
Austin's black history.
22:23
How did you get involved with making
22:24
a film out of your bike ride?
22:26
So this is actually our second film.
22:28
Oh, really? Yeah.
22:29
Our first one is called The Route to
22:30
Emancipation.
22:31
Okay. We essentially
22:33
kind of had this crazy idea to
22:35
do a bike ride from Austin to
22:37
Galveston to raise awareness of the
22:39
Juneteenth holiday, which Galvestan
22:40
plays a really important role
22:42
in. So we rode from the Capitol to
22:43
Galvaston and filmed a short
22:45
documentary on it.
22:47
That's actually on PBS right now.
22:49
And so that
22:52
was just kind of shooting from the
22:53
hip, doing something fun and
22:55
And that, I
22:57
think, you know, because of that, we
22:58
were able to do some fundraising
23:00
also from the city of Austin to
23:01
essentially create a documentary
23:03
where the viewer is able to follow
23:04
our bike ride initiative and both
23:06
learn about like what we're doing
23:07
kind of at the grassroots level to
23:09
share black history.
23:12
And also to kind of get a
23:14
deeper dive into a lot of the
23:16
history from a lot of different
23:17
professors, historians and community
23:18
members that we interviewed.
23:19
Okay, so the first one's called The
23:21
Root to Emancipation, and that's on
23:22
PBS right now, you said?
23:24
And the new one, Cycles of
23:26
Resilience, is premiering tonight.
23:27
Where is that happening?
23:28
It's premiering at Austin Film
23:30
Society.
23:31
Okay, and I believe that's at seven
23:32
o'clock. If folks can't get out
23:34
tonight, though, there is a bike
23:35
ride happening this weekend.
23:36
Give us the details.
23:37
Yeah, so on Sunday,
23:39
the 21st, we're going to have our
23:40
seventh annual Juneteenth
23:42
social ride leaving
23:44
from the Haskell House at 10 a.m.
23:46
And that ride will stop at
23:48
various locations with some really
23:50
interesting important black history
23:51
and then we'll end that with a nice
23:53
little block party over on the east
23:55
side at Boggy Creek Farm on
23:57
Lyons Road. That should be around 1
23:58
p.m
23:59
But let me ask you before you get
24:01
out of here. There are a lot of new
24:02
people that have moved to Austin
24:03
since you started doing a black
24:05
history bike ride or maybe just
24:06
folks that are hearing about the
24:07
organization for the first time
24:08
maybe on this radio show.
24:10
Where can they go to learn more and
24:12
get involved?
24:12
Yeah, so you can check out our
24:14
website, blackhistorybikeride.com.
24:16
We're the most active on Instagram.
24:18
Our Instagram handle is just Black
24:20
History Bike Ride.
24:21
And we're a welcoming,
24:23
open, pretty laid back community of
24:24
volunteers and folks that like to
24:26
share black stories.
24:28
So come out and see us somewhere.
24:29
And yes, 7 p.m.
24:30
At Austin Film Society tonight.
24:31
Okay, very good.
24:32
And I did have another question,
24:34
sorry.
24:36
Where would you like to see Black
24:37
History Bike Ride go?
24:38
I mean, you've got a couple of films
24:40
now and people are still coming out
24:41
and maybe even the hottest day, I
24:43
believe. Thursday might be the
24:44
hottest of the year so far and then
24:46
Juneteenth is on Friday.
24:47
Where would like to your
24:48
organization go in the future?
24:50
You know, it's funny because
24:52
like the last segment ended with our
24:54
hope to go national.
24:56
I think there's always that hope
24:57
that's easier said than done.
24:59
And my hope is that we are
25:01
having an impact in our
25:03
community and we're able to
25:05
essentially share
25:06
the legacies of like local community
25:08
leaders in the black community who
25:10
came before us who, you know, paved
25:11
trails through the civil rights
25:13
movement, you through the Jim Crow
25:14
era.
25:15
Um, so my hope is for
25:17
us to go national and really far.
25:18
And now it, for me, it's like, if
25:20
we're able to really touch a small
25:22
group of people very deeply, I think
25:24
that's the most important thing.
25:25
So I hope that we're to sustain that
25:26
and do that over and over.
25:27
And if we happen to do it on a
25:29
bigger scale, we'll have more
25:30
opportunities. We'd love to do that
25:31
too.
25:32
Fantastic, we have been speaking
25:33
with Taleb Abdullahi, creator of
25:35
Black History Bike Ride.
25:37
Again, we're gonna have information
25:38
about that film preview tonight in
25:40
our show notes.
25:41
Taleb, thank you for your time.
25:42
Absolutely, thank so much.
25:43
And thank you out there for spending
25:45
the afternoon with us.
25:46
There's more from us at kut.org
25:49
slash signal.
25:50
We'll be back at the same time
25:51
tomorrow.
25:52
We'll talk to you then.