Latest / Austin Signal / Parents of missing Austinite file lawsuit against Camp Mystic

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Parents of missing Austinite file lawsuit against Camp Mystic · Austin Signal

• 0:08
  The parents of an eight-year-old
• 0:09
  Austinite still missing after last
• 0:11
  July's flooding in Texas have filed
• 0:13
  a lawsuit against Camp Mystic.
• 0:15
  It's the fifth such lawsuit against
• 0:16
  the camp in the Hill Country, where
• 0:18
  campers and counselors drowned in
• 0:20
  the floodwaters.
• 0:21
  We're gonna have more about the
• 0:22
  latest lawsuit.
• 0:23
  Plus, early voting in the primaries
• 0:25
  gets going next week and folks
• 0:26
  in southeastern Travis County will
• 0:28
  elect a new leader for the first
• 0:30
  time in decades.
• 0:32
  Hear about the candidates running
• 0:33
  for precinct four commissioner?
• 0:35
  That's coming up on today's show.
• 0:37
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:39
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:41
  Jerry Quijano.
• 0:43
  Plus the fight to protect Austin's
• 0:45
  first black cemetery, the
• 0:46
  history at the heart of Bethany
• 0:48
  Cemetery, and an update on the
• 0:50
  future of Austin's convention
• 0:51
  center. We've got those stories and
• 0:54
  more that's coming up today on
• 0:56
  Austin Signal.
• 1:08
  Howdy out there, thank you for
• 1:10
  tuning in. This is Austin Signal
• 1:12
  on listener-powered public radio
• 1:14
  KUT News.
• 1:16
  It is Monday, February 9th.
• 1:18
  I'm your host, Jerry Quijano, and
• 1:19
  thank you for starting the week off
• 1:21
  here with us.
• 1:24
  Eight-year-old Cecilia Stewart from
• 1:25
  Austin remains missing following
• 1:27
  last year's July 4th flooding at
• 1:29
  Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill
• 1:30
  Country.
• 1:31
  Stewart's parents filed suit this
• 1:33
  month against the camp, marking the
• 1:35
  fifth legal challenge of the campus
• 1:36
  scene since the floods.
• 1:38
  For more about this story, we are
• 1:39
  talking with Lucio Vasquez.
• 1:41
  He is a breaking news reporter for
• 1:43
  the Texas newsroom.
• 1:44
  Lucio, thank you for speaking with
• 1:46
  us.
• 1:46
  Thanks for having me.
• 1:47
  So tell us first a little bit more
• 1:49
  who are.
• 1:50
  The stewards.
• 1:51
  Yes, this is Will and C.C.
• 1:53
  Stewart.
• 1:54
  They had filed the lawsuit just last
• 1:56
  week.
• 1:57
  Their eight-year-old girl, Cecilia
• 1:58
  Stewart, was at Camp Mystic when
• 2:00
  the floodwaters came through.
• 2:02
  She's still considered missing,
• 2:04
  although the lawsuit does say that
• 2:05
  she's presumed to be deceased at
• 2:07
  this point.
• 2:08
  The lawsuit says that basically a
• 2:10
  series of decisions by camp
• 2:12
  leadership, specifically the
• 2:13
  Eastlands, put campers in
• 2:15
  danger.
• 2:16
  And it's now like you just said, the
• 2:18
  fifth lawsuit filed against the camp
• 2:19
  since the flood and really speaks
• 2:21
  to basically families still
• 2:23
  searching for answers as to what
• 2:24
  exactly happened that night.
• 2:26
  And can you tell us a little bit
• 2:27
  more about those rules that
• 2:28
  the Eastland set?
• 2:31
  To boil it all down, the Eastlands
• 2:33
  allegedly told campers to stay put
• 2:35
  even as waters continued to
• 2:37
  rise and attorneys essentially
• 2:39
  argue that this was more
• 2:41
  or less a death sentence for a lot
• 2:42
  of the younger campers.
• 2:44
  Specifically, the lawsuit that was
• 2:45
  just filed says that the younger
• 2:47
  campus were staying in a cabin
• 2:49
  that was closer to the Guadalupe
• 2:50
  River.
• 2:52
  So whenever the water started to
• 2:53
  rise, they were specifically more in
• 2:55
  danger whenever the waters
• 2:57
  started to come into the cabin.
• 2:59
  Dick Eastland, one of the owners of
• 3:01
  Camp Mystic, he was killed also
• 3:03
  in the flooding.
• 3:03
  What has Camp Mystice had to say so
• 3:05
  far in regards to these suits?
• 3:08
  Yeah, Camp Mystic's attorneys say
• 3:09
  that they disagree with what they
• 3:11
  call misinformation in the lawsuits,
• 3:14
  not just this one, but all of them,
• 3:16
  and they plan to respond to the
• 3:17
  legal process.
• 3:18
  That'll be depositions, discovery,
• 3:20
  et cetera, et cetera.
• 3:21
  They've expressed sympathy for the
• 3:23
  families, and it's worth remembering
• 3:25
  that the camp's long-time owner,
• 3:26
  like you said, just died, so it
• 3:28
  really does underscore how sudden
• 3:30
  and chaotic the disaster was.
• 3:32
  The attorneys essentially argue that
• 3:34
  it was an unprecedented event in
• 3:36
  that. They couldn't have done
• 3:37
  anything to avoid what had happened.
• 3:40
  So what sort of accountability
• 3:42
  are the stewards seeking in this
• 3:43
  lawsuit against Cammystic and its
• 3:45
  owners?
• 3:46
  Yeah, so when it comes to
• 3:47
  accountability, I think this lawsuit
• 3:48
  and the others actually are
• 3:50
  asking for all the same thing,
• 3:52
  basically canceling the
• 3:54
  reopening of Camp Mystic later
• 3:56
  this year.
• 3:57
  Despite the legal issues
• 3:59
  and the process behind
• 4:01
  closed doors, the camp is going to
• 4:03
  be reopening its doors later
• 4:04
  this and a lot of families take
• 4:06
  issue with that.
• 4:08
  And I wanted to ask Cecilia
• 4:10
  Stewart, the eight-year-old from
• 4:11
  Austin, as you said, still missing,
• 4:13
  presumed to be deceased according
• 4:15
  to this lawsuit.
• 4:16
  Is she the only person who is still
• 4:18
  missing after last July's flooding?
• 4:21
  She is not.
• 4:22
  I believe.
• 4:23
  Here. Let me pull up my notes.
• 4:24
  I'm sorry about that.
• 4:25
  No worries, no worries.
• 4:27
  So, uh, she is not.
• 4:28
  No, uh. As of this point, there's a
• 4:30
  63 year old man, a father named
• 4:32
  Jeff Ramsey, who is still missing.
• 4:35
  Again, it's been months and months
• 4:36
  since the flood took hold of the
• 4:38
  hill country.
• 4:39
  So we can assume that Jeff
• 4:41
  Ramse also is deceased, but again,
• 4:43
  his body has not been recovered as
• 4:44
  of now.
• 4:45
  Lucio you are the breaking news
• 4:47
  reporter for the Texas newsroom,
• 4:48
  but you have been covering stories
• 4:50
  around the flooding since it
• 4:52
  happened. What are you still
• 4:54
  reporting on as part of the Texas
• 4:55
  Newsroom in regards to the
• 4:57
  floods?
• 4:58
  You know, I think there's a lot of
• 5:00
  aftermath, you know, this is a very
• 5:02
  small community that was ravaged
• 5:03
  by a natural disaster,
• 5:06
  the likes that Texas has rarely
• 5:07
  seen.
• 5:09
  And, you know going there just
• 5:11
  days after the flood, you can really
• 5:13
  tell that it was a very,
• 5:15
  very shocking situation.
• 5:17
  You know being a journalist, we go
• 5:19
  in and then we have the privilege
• 5:21
  of leaving, of going home, right?
• 5:23
  And these people don't have that
• 5:25
  same kind of luxury.
• 5:26
  They're living with it.
• 5:27
  Day-to-day and shops are
• 5:29
  open again. You know, the river is
• 5:31
  quiet now, but it's
• 5:33
  still lingering.
• 5:34
  There's an undercurrent, lack of a
• 5:36
  better term, of the flood
• 5:37
  still there.
• 5:38
  You can still see the Kerrville
• 5:40
  strong signs up.
• 5:42
  And again, two people are still
• 5:43
  missing.
• 5:44
  And there's a lot of questions as of
• 5:45
  right now as to where exactly all
• 5:47
  the money went. There were a lot of
• 5:48
  donations and
• 5:50
  people, small businesses,
• 5:53
  they're still struggling to get back
• 5:54
  on their feet.
• 5:56
  We have been speaking with Lucio
• 5:57
  Vasquez. He is breaking news
• 5:58
  reporter at the Texas newsroom.
• 6:00
  We will have a link to his reporting
• 6:01
  in our show notes for today's
• 6:03
  podcast. Lucio, thanks for talking
• 6:05
  with us on Austin Signal.
• 6:07
  Of course, thanks.
• 6:11
  Early voting for the primary
• 6:12
  elections in Texas starts a week
• 6:14
  from tomorrow.
• 6:16
  Voters will choose nominees for
• 6:17
  dozens of state and federal races,
• 6:20
  and some local ones too.
• 6:22
  As KUT's Katy McAfee reports,
• 6:24
  a race in southeastern Travis County
• 6:25
  is energizing voters there for
• 6:27
  the first time in decades.
• 6:33
  It was a packed room at the Central
• 6:35
  Health Clinic in Far East Austin on
• 6:37
  a Saturday late last month.
• 6:39
  People in the neighborhood were
• 6:40
  crowding in to hear from the four
• 6:42
  Democrats running to be the next
• 6:43
  Travis County Commissioner for
• 6:45
  Precinct 4.
• 6:46
  The election is a big deal for folks
• 6:48
  in Precint 4, which covers a
• 6:50
  big chunk of South and Southeast
• 6:51
  Austin.
• 6:53
  That's because this area hasn't
• 6:54
  seen new leadership since 1995.
• 6:58
  Whoever wins will replace Margaret
• 7:00
  Gomez.
• 7:01
  She's retiring at the end of her
• 7:02
  term after 31 years in office.
• 7:04
  No Republicans are running, which
• 7:06
  means whoever wins the Democratic
• 7:07
  primary next month will run
• 7:09
  unopposed in November.
• 7:11
  The promise of a new leader is
• 7:12
  bringing hope to people in Far East
• 7:14
  Austin who have been advocating for
• 7:16
  more services to come to the area
• 7:17
  for decades.
• 7:18
  This is East Austin resident Richard
• 7:20
  Franklin.
• 7:21
  Historically, we have been left out
• 7:22
  of the conversation.
• 7:25
  Every commissioner we've had to date
• 7:27
  hasn't done a damn thing in our
• 7:29
  community.
• 7:30
  Precinct four has a high minority
• 7:32
  population and some of the lowest
• 7:34
  median household incomes in the
• 7:35
  county, according to the US Census.
• 7:38
  Many neighborhoods in the precinct
• 7:39
  are classified as food deserts by
• 7:41
  the US Department of Agriculture.
• 7:43
  And some neighborhoods do not have
• 7:45
  access to clean, affordable water.
• 7:48
  Even the clinic the community
• 7:49
  meeting is in opened less than three
• 7:51
  years ago.
• 7:52
  Before that, people in the
• 7:53
  Hornsby-Benn neighborhood had to
• 7:55
  drive at least 12 miles to
• 7:56
  see a doctor.
• 7:58
  How will we balance?
• 8:00
  Filing eyes.
• 8:01
  Huddled in the community room at the
• 8:02
  clinic, people asked candidates what
• 8:04
  they would do about immigration
• 8:06
  raids in the area, how they would
• 8:07
  improve transportation, increase
• 8:09
  food access, spur economic
• 8:11
  growth.
• 8:12
  There's a lot to tackle in precinct
• 8:14
  4, but there can only be
• 8:16
  one commissioner.
• 8:18
  So what are the candidates' number
• 8:20
  one priorities?
• 8:24
  After the meeting, I called each of
• 8:26
  them up to ask.
• 8:27
  So I'm George Morales,
• 8:29
  the third.
• 8:31
  I was born and raised in Precinct
• 8:32
  Four in the community of Del
• 8:33
  Springs.
• 8:34
  Morales has been in law enforcement
• 8:35
  for 26 years.
• 8:37
  He was elected the Travis County
• 8:39
  Precinct for Constable in 2016
• 8:41
  and has held the title ever since.
• 8:44
  Morales is big on healthcare.
• 8:46
  During the pandemic, he says he
• 8:47
  helped bring 380,000
• 8:49
  vaccines to East Austin.
• 8:51
  But he says his focus as
• 8:53
  commissioner would be improving
• 8:54
  transportation.
• 8:55
  That's gonna be my main first
• 8:57
  priority is to go in there and say
• 8:58
  how can we fix these roads?
• 9:00
  How can we get access for the
• 9:02
  people to drive through these roads
• 9:03
  safely?
• 9:04
  Improving roads in East Austin is
• 9:06
  also a priority for Susanna Ledesma
• 9:08
  Woody.
• 9:09
  Ledesima Woody has been on the Dell
• 9:11
  Valley ISD School Board for 15
• 9:13
  years.
• 9:14
  This is her third time running for
• 9:15
  the precinct four commissioner seat.
• 9:17
  She says she was inspired to run
• 9:19
  after her calls to the
• 9:20
  commissioner's court to bring
• 9:21
  grocery stores and hospitals to the
• 9:23
  area continued to go unanswered.
• 9:25
  And so we were just
• 9:27
  like, what's the next step?
• 9:28
  How can we really push this needle?
• 9:31
  And it was just run for
• 9:33
  the position, right?
• 9:34
  If you really want to make a
• 9:35
  difference, you have to scare these
• 9:37
  politicians that this seat
• 9:39
  is not theirs.
• 9:40
  Ledezma Woody lost the last
• 9:41
  Democratic primary for the seat back
• 9:43
  in 2022 by less
• 9:45
  than 250 votes.
• 9:47
  This go-around, she says, her top
• 9:49
  priority will be investing in
• 9:51
  equitable infrastructure for the
• 9:52
  area.
• 9:52
  I think once we get the
• 9:54
  infrastructure in place, we can
• 9:56
  tackle a lot of the other issues
• 9:57
  that plague the community.
• 9:59
  She says equitable infrastructure
• 10:01
  means focusing on neighborhoods that
• 10:03
  still lack basic needs.
• 10:05
  Some areas don't have access to
• 10:07
  electricity or clean water.
• 10:08
  And they're having to go to
• 10:10
  HEB that's 15,
• 10:12
  20 minutes away to fill
• 10:14
  up their jugs of water so they have
• 10:16
  water in their home.
• 10:18
  Next is Ophelia Maldonado Zapata.
• 10:20
  She's a former Austin ISD School
• 10:22
  Board trustee.
• 10:23
  Maldinado Zapada says she's not a
• 10:25
  politician. She calls herself a
• 10:27
  community organizer and says her
• 10:29
  experience growing up visually
• 10:30
  impaired inspired her to help
• 10:32
  others.
• 10:32
  So that's how I began my work and
• 10:34
  I've started learning how to
• 10:36
  organize because one
• 10:38
  thing I learned is that,
• 10:40
  you know, we can be angry about
• 10:42
  the injustices that we're living
• 10:44
  in or we can do something
• 10:46
  about it.
• 10:47
  Maldonado Zapata says her top
• 10:49
  priority in office will be improving
• 10:50
  water quality in some eastern Travis
• 10:52
  County neighborhoods that she says
• 10:54
  get water at a high price from
• 10:56
  for-profit utilities.
• 10:57
  It's not fair, it's wrong.
• 11:00
  We should stop, we should
• 11:02
  get every company in Austin that
• 11:04
  has water to give to this community
• 11:06
  and stop paying that
• 11:08
  water company.
• 11:09
  The final candidate is Gavino
• 11:11
  Fernandez.
• 11:12
  Fernandez was born in Austin, and he
• 11:14
  has some experience overseeing this
• 11:15
  area.
• 11:16
  He worked on the precinct for
• 11:18
  commissioner staff from 1991
• 11:19
  to 1994.
• 11:22
  Fernandez has a clear goal if
• 11:23
  he's elected.
• 11:25
  No tax increases.
• 11:28
  Affordability in East Austin is his
• 11:29
  number one priority.
• 11:31
  He says he'll oppose any tax hikes
• 11:33
  and wants to audit the county's
• 11:34
  existing contracts to see where
• 11:36
  money can be saved.
• 11:37
  I asked Fernandez how he might
• 11:39
  navigate a situation where he's the
• 11:41
  only commissioner on the dais
• 11:42
  against a potential tax increase.
• 11:45
  He had a clear answer for that, too.
• 11:47
  If it's approved, the money better
• 11:49
  be going to precinct four.
• 11:51
  I'm Katy McAfee in Austin.
• 11:57
  Last week here on Austin Signal, we
• 11:58
  brought you the story about the
• 12:00
  uncertainty around the future of
• 12:02
  Austin's Convention Center.
• 12:04
  Well, a court over the weekend ruled
• 12:06
  that the city can still continue
• 12:08
  building a new one.
• 12:09
  For more about this story, we are
• 12:11
  talking with KUT's City Hall
• 12:12
  reporter, Luz Moreno Lozano, who has
• 12:14
  been following it. Luz, thanks for
• 12:15
  joining us on this Monday.
• 12:16
  Thanks for having me back.
• 12:17
  So last week on Austin Signal
• 12:19
  for our diehard listeners, we had a
• 12:21
  feature story that was reported by
• 12:23
  you. Now we have you in the studio.
• 12:24
  So can you just remind us why this
• 12:26
  question of should a
• 12:28
  new convention center be built where
• 12:29
  the old one stood? Why was that a
• 12:30
  question even before the courts in
• 12:32
  the first place?
• 12:32
  Yeah, it's a good question.
• 12:34
  There was some groups of people
• 12:36
  who were of the belief that the
• 12:37
  Austin Convention Center wasn't
• 12:39
  being used as
• 12:41
  it should, you know, like who
• 12:43
  really uses it besides South by
• 12:44
  Southwest?
• 12:45
  Besides people who are visiting
• 12:46
  town, right? Tourists, things like
• 12:48
  that.
• 12:48
  Right, right.
• 12:49
  So, was it worth the
• 12:51
  investment of all the billions of
• 12:52
  dollars that the city is putting
• 12:53
  toward redeveloping
• 12:56
  it and expanding it to make it
• 12:57
  bigger, especially if it's not
• 12:58
  really benefiting the people of
• 13:00
  Austin?
• 13:01
  But in a way, it kind of does,
• 13:03
  right? Because those people are
• 13:04
  coming and they're spending money at
• 13:05
  hotels and restaurants, and it's
• 13:07
  generating tourism, and all of some
• 13:09
  of that money goes back to the city,
• 13:11
  which builds roads, libraries,
• 13:13
  you know, those kinds of things.
• 13:15
  So what was the ruling and
• 13:17
  what does it mean?
• 13:18
  Is it like a done deal now that the
• 13:20
  convention center can go forward?
• 13:21
  So the Convention Center can move
• 13:23
  forward, the judge basically sided
• 13:25
  with the city and believes that
• 13:27
  the city's denial of
• 13:29
  the petition based on the lack of
• 13:31
  valid signatures was warranted.
• 13:34
  I don't think it's over, I spoke
• 13:35
  with Bill Bunch on Saturday,
• 13:37
  Saturday morning, and he says that
• 13:39
  the group is exploring some appeal
• 13:41
  options.
• 13:42
  OK.
• 13:42
  That could still allow them to
• 13:44
  put this particular measure before
• 13:46
  voters in May.
• 13:48
  If not, they're still working to get
• 13:50
  it in front of voters in November.
• 13:51
  So, still something that they are
• 13:53
  pursuing as this project
• 13:55
  continues.
• 13:56
  Well, one thing that we heard about
• 13:57
  in your story last week that is,
• 13:59
  you know, while this ruling was up
• 14:01
  before the courts, there was still
• 14:02
  some work that was being done.
• 14:04
  You know, there's some demolition,
• 14:05
  things going down, things coming up.
• 14:07
  Did this whole ruling,
• 14:09
  did it create any kind of time
• 14:11
  dent in the city's timeline
• 14:13
  for how the Convention Center should
• 14:16
  go or how long it should take to be
• 14:18
  renovated?
• 14:18
  It's still on track.
• 14:20
  I spoke with someone from the Austin
• 14:21
  Convention Center who basically was
• 14:22
  like, we're on budget, we are on
• 14:24
  track, we're hoping to open in time
• 14:26
  for South by Southwest in 2029.
• 14:29
  So yeah, it didn't put any kind of
• 14:30
  halts on it.
• 14:31
  If the petition had gone forward and
• 14:33
  people had voted for it, it would
• 14:35
  have definitely paused the project
• 14:36
  for several years.
• 14:38
  Okay well you can read more from
• 14:39
  Luce's reporting over at KUT.org.
• 14:43
  We're going to include a link in
• 14:45
  our show notes for today as well.
• 14:47
  Luce Moreno Lozano is KUT's
• 14:49
  City Hall reporter, we're glad to
• 14:50
  have her on Austin Signal today.
• 14:52
  Luce, great to see you.
• 14:53
  Thanks, Jerry.
• 15:00
  This is Austin Signal, welcome back.
• 15:03
  It is Black History Month all
• 15:04
  February long and Myles Bloxson
• 15:06
  from our sister station, KUTX,
• 15:09
  has for a few years now been
• 15:10
  highlighting black music history
• 15:12
  here in Austin.
• 15:13
  We've heard about a few artists this
• 15:15
  month here on Austin Signal but
• 15:17
  today we're gonna hear about an
• 15:19
  historic music venue on the east
• 15:21
  side of town that dates back to
• 15:23
  World War II.
• 15:33
  February is Black History Month
• 15:35
  and all month we're highlighting
• 15:36
  black people in places that help
• 15:38
  shape the Austin music scene.
• 15:44
  The Victory Grill was founded in
• 15:45
  1945 by Johnny Holmes,
• 15:48
  a booking agent and band manager.
• 15:50
  He opened the restaurant on V-Day
• 15:52
  for black soldiers returning from
• 15:53
  World War II.
• 15:55
  And at this time, the South was
• 15:56
  segregated and black servicemen
• 15:58
  couldn't just walk into any music
• 16:00
  venue, club, restaurant,
• 16:02
  or place of business.
• 16:04
  The venues throughout certain parts
• 16:05
  of the United States that allowed
• 16:07
  blacks to perform were referred
• 16:09
  to as the Chitlin Circuit.
• 16:11
  The victory reel quickly became a
• 16:13
  part of this circuit and a go-to
• 16:15
  place for music lovers.
• 16:24
  At the height of the club's
• 16:25
  popularity in the 50s, most of
• 16:27
  the popular black national blues,
• 16:29
  rhythm and blues and jazz acts that
• 16:31
  played in Austin played at the
• 16:33
  victory grill.
• 16:34
  Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown,
• 16:37
  Etta James, Billie Holiday, and
• 16:39
  Janis Joplin.
• 16:42
  At last,
• 16:48
  my love
• 16:50
  has come to an end.
• 16:54
  The Victory Grill was also the
• 16:56
  happening spot for a lot of popular
• 16:57
  local legends to show off their
• 16:59
  musical talents as well.
• 17:01
  Blues boy Hubbard, W.C.
• 17:03
  Clark and T.D.
• 17:04
  Bell were just a few of the local
• 17:05
  acts that graced the stage.
• 17:08
  Why don't you love me, baby?
• 17:12
  Why don't you love baby?
• 17:17
  After integration, the chilling
• 17:19
  circuit went away because black
• 17:20
  entertainers had more options when
• 17:23
  it came to venues that they could
• 17:24
  actually perform at.
• 17:26
  As a result of this, in the 70s,
• 17:28
  Holmes was forced to close the club
• 17:29
  portion of the venue and keep the
• 17:31
  restaurant portion open.
• 17:33
  In the late 80s, a fire broke
• 17:35
  out, causing extensive damage,
• 17:37
  and Victory Grill was closed until
• 17:39
  a friend of Holmes, R.V.
• 17:40
  Adams, began restoration efforts and
• 17:43
  reopened the venue in 1996.
• 17:46
  Today the Victory Grill is one of
• 17:48
  the few standing spots on the
• 17:49
  Chitlin circuit, and it claims a
• 17:51
  spot on the National Registry of
• 17:53
  Historic Places.
• 17:55
  The establishment continues to
• 17:56
  thrive, offering Southern comfort
• 17:58
  food and entertainment to all its
• 18:00
  guests.
• 18:01
  The Victory Grill remains a true
• 18:02
  testament to the thriving Black
• 18:04
  community, music scene and
• 18:06
  culture that once flourished
• 18:08
  on the east side of Austin.
• 18:11
  To learn more about the Victory
• 18:13
  Grill, you can visit KUTX.org.
• 18:15
  For KUTx, I'm Miles Bloxin.
• 18:26
  As gentrification on Austin's east
• 18:28
  side has increased over the years,
• 18:30
  landmarks with historical
• 18:31
  significance to the city's black and
• 18:32
  Latino communities have slowly been
• 18:35
  erased.
• 18:36
  Now Austin's first black cemetery
• 18:37
  is on the verge of being forgotten.
• 18:40
  Sam Stark covered this story for The
• 18:42
  Austin Current.
• 18:43
  They are KUT's collaborator on the
• 18:45
  Austin Signal and a partner with KUT
• 18:47
  newsroom in covering the city of
• 18:49
  Austin. Sam is joining us now on
• 18:50
  Austin Signal. Thanks for being here
• 18:52
  today. Thanks so much for having me.
• 18:53
  So tell us a little bit first about
• 18:55
  Sue Spears, you know, saving the
• 18:57
  cemetery in your story.
• 18:59
  You say it started out kind of as a
• 19:00
  nuisance for her, but turned into
• 19:02
  her life's work.
• 19:03
  Who is she?
• 19:04
  So yeah, Sue Spears has an amazing
• 19:05
  story. She lived in Austin
• 19:07
  all her life and her
• 19:10
  kids were going to school at Sims
• 19:11
  Elementary, which is right across
• 19:13
  the street from Bethany Cemetery,
• 19:14
  which has now closed.
• 19:16
  So she was on the
• 19:17
  PTA board and the kids
• 19:19
  were going through the cemetery,
• 19:21
  which was overgrown with shrubs
• 19:23
  and tangled trees.
• 19:24
  So kind of presented as like this
• 19:26
  safety concern.
• 19:28
  So, she was looking into who
• 19:29
  owned the property and and started
• 19:31
  to recognize that.
• 19:32
  There were people that were enslaved
• 19:34
  buried there.
• 19:35
  She, once she started looking, she
• 19:37
  saw stones and grave markers and
• 19:39
  then, you know, really started to
• 19:41
  advocate for the property and is
• 19:43
  now the president of the Bethany
• 19:45
  Cemetery Association.
• 19:46
  Yeah, we're going to have a link to
• 19:47
  the story in our show notes.
• 19:49
  So she had these really great
• 19:50
  archival photos of what the
• 19:53
  cemetery used to look like, which is
• 19:54
  just these really high overgrown
• 19:56
  grasses all around it.
• 19:58
  And then a picture a few years
• 20:00
  later, I guess, where you can see
• 20:01
  everything so very clearly.
• 20:03
  So what do we know about Bethany
• 20:05
  Cemetery's history?
• 20:06
  Like, how long does it go back?
• 20:07
  So it goes back to the 1890s.
• 20:10
  So the Oakwood Cemetery, which is
• 20:12
  the first city owned cemetery,
• 20:14
  they sanctioned off a little
• 20:16
  plot of land for people of color
• 20:18
  that quickly filled up.
• 20:20
  And so then they went looking for
• 20:22
  another place to bury some
• 20:24
  of the first African-Americans of
• 20:26
  the time.
• 20:27
  So there's a few hundred people
• 20:28
  living there, many of whom
• 20:30
  were enslaved at some point.
• 20:32
  There were Buffalo soldiers who
• 20:34
  fought in wars.
• 20:35
  Um, after 1866,
• 20:37
  they're were some people who were
• 20:38
  enslaved by some of the first
• 20:40
  governors of Texas.
• 20:42
  What do we know about the
• 20:45
  sorts of designations or protections
• 20:46
  that the cemetery currently does
• 20:48
  have?
• 20:49
  So it is,
• 20:51
  the state of Texas has
• 20:53
  considered it historic, but
• 20:55
  it lacks a key designation
• 20:57
  that will ensure that
• 20:59
  it is preserved for generations
• 21:01
  to come. And that's sort of what's
• 21:03
  happening at the moment.
• 21:04
  It's going through the process to be
• 21:06
  considered a historic landmark
• 21:08
  through the city, which will
• 21:10
  essentially, you know,
• 21:12
  if anybody wants to develop on the
• 21:13
  land, they would have to have a very
• 21:14
  good reason. They'd have to go in
• 21:16
  front of the Historic Landmark
• 21:17
  Commission to get approval.
• 21:19
  Where it stands now,
• 21:21
  the Historic Landmark Commission has
• 21:22
  already recommended that it
• 21:24
  is zoned as a historic landmark.
• 21:26
  Next it goes to the Planning
• 21:27
  Commission and a couple weeks before
• 21:28
  the Austin City Council will
• 21:30
  eventually vote on that.
• 21:31
  And these are long processes that
• 21:33
  play out over a long time.
• 21:34
  How tedious is the process of
• 21:36
  securing this kind of designation?
• 21:38
  You know, it requires a lot of
• 21:40
  money and research.
• 21:41
  So Preservation Austin has put a lot
• 21:43
  of effort into trying to get this
• 21:45
  designation going
• 21:47
  forward. They said that they're
• 21:48
  honestly shocked that this
• 21:51
  plot of land with all this rich
• 21:52
  history doesn't have this
• 21:53
  designation already.
• 21:54
  So they're really trying to push
• 21:56
  that through the process.
• 21:58
  You mentioned that we might see a
• 21:59
  little bit of movement on that
• 22:00
  process this month.
• 22:01
  What would that look like?
• 22:02
  So essentially,
• 22:04
  all of the facts will
• 22:06
  be presented to the
• 22:08
  Planning Commission over the next
• 22:10
  couple of weeks.
• 22:11
  Then they'll essentially just have
• 22:12
  their vote and they will either
• 22:14
  recommend or not recommend that it
• 22:17
  should be a historic landmark.
• 22:19
  And if they do recommend that, then
• 22:20
  it'll go in front of the Austin City
• 22:22
  Council.
• 22:23
  One thing that I wanted to bring up
• 22:24
  in your story is you talked
• 22:26
  to the man behind Black
• 22:28
  Austin Tours, I believe his name is
• 22:29
  Javier Wallace, and he
• 22:31
  is somebody who goes around the city
• 22:33
  and shares a black history
• 22:35
  with all these people on this bike
• 22:36
  tour. He found out a little bit of
• 22:38
  history that he didn't even know he
• 22:39
  had at Bethany Cemetery,
• 22:41
  correct?
• 22:42
  Yeah, that's what's so fascinating
• 22:43
  about this space.
• 22:44
  He, similar to Sue Spears, grew
• 22:46
  up in Austin, had no idea
• 22:48
  about what was
• 22:50
  buried beneath these grounds in
• 22:52
  this central part of East Austin.
• 22:55
  He obviously is quite into history.
• 22:57
  That's why he founded his company.
• 22:59
  But he connected with Sue Spear and
• 23:01
  found out that some of his relatives
• 23:02
  are buried there.
• 23:04
  So he agrees that this place
• 23:05
  should be recognized for its
• 23:07
  historical significance.
• 23:08
  And so others can connect with
• 23:10
  Austin's rich black history.
• 23:12
  All right, we have been speaking
• 23:13
  with Sam Stark again as
• 23:15
  the government reporter for the
• 23:16
  Austin Current.
• 23:17
  They are KUT's collaborator on the
• 23:19
  Austin Signal and a partner with KUT
• 23:21
  newsroom in covering Austin.
• 23:23
  So we'll be speaking with him in the
• 23:24
  future. Sam, thanks for coming on
• 23:25
  the show today. Thanks so much.
• 23:28
  And thank you out there for spending
• 23:29
  part of your Monday here with
• 23:31
  us on Austin Signal.
• 23:33
  That is it for today's show.
• 23:34
  We will be back tomorrow at one
• 23:36
  o'clock. You can find more from us
• 23:38
  at kut.org
• 23:40
  slash signal.
• 23:42
  Thank you to Lucio Vasquez, Katy
• 23:44
  McAfee, Luz Moreno Lozano,
• 23:46
  Miles Bloxson, and Sam Star for
• 23:48
  their help with today's episode.
• 23:49
  Thank you, to Kristen Cabrera and
• 23:52
  Rayna Sevilla.
• 23:53
  I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
• 23:54
  We will be back with you tomorrow.