Southwest
Restoration of the Alamo could be new front in the culture war as TX fights over portrayal of slavery: Report
San Antonio is embarking on a $550 million project to restore the historic Alamo, but some critics have concerns about how slavery will be portrayed in the changes.
Updates to the Spanish mission, which was the site of the historic Battle of the Alamo in 1836 during Texas’ fight for independence from Mexico, will include a new 100,000-square-foot visitor center and museum, a 4D theater, as well as a rooftop restaurant, which is being built across the street, the Washington Post reported. The budget is mostly allocated by the Republican-controlled state legislature.
The Post’s headline read, “Remember the Alamo? Rehab of battle site is latest front in culture war.”
Because the attraction is a source of Texas pride, Republican Jerry E. Patterson, who served as Texas Land commissioner from 2003 to 2015, told the Washington Post that if the new museum focuses too much on slavery, it could put off visitors.
“If we make it a museum about all the bad things and whatever, nobody’s going to go there,” he said.
TEXAS REMEMBERS THE ALAMO EVERY MARCH. HERE ARE 10 THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT THE LONE STAR STATE’S HISTORY
In contrast, some historians argue that slavery should be on display as a leading factor in the conflict, the outlet reported.
“Slavery was maybe not the spark of the revolution, but it was the underlying tension that could not be reconciled,” Chris Tomlinson, co-author of “Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth,” told the Washington Post.
Tourists gather in front of the chapel of the Alamo Mission, known as the “Shrine of Texas Liberty,” in downtown San Antonio, Texas, on January 23, 2023. (DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)
The most recent fight about the direction the restoration should take is the proposed statue of a man named Joe, an enslaved Black man who was at the Alamo during battle along with his owner, William B. Travis, who was a commanding officer among the Texas revolutionaries, The Washington Post reported.
Historical accounts indicate Joe was armed, but the Alamo Museum Planning Committee, overseen by the Alamo Trust, has been divided over whether to include Joe’s statue with a musket.
Some Black community members, like Deborah Omowale Jarmon, who runs the San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum, described it as “delusional” that an enslaved person was there “willfully fighting for Texas independence.”
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“If his contribution to this battle was he told the story, let’s show him doing that,” she said. “But the next thing we know, Joe has a gun now and they’re saying he’s an Alamo defender.”
The planning committee ultimately decided not to arm him and instead depict him as a survivor and eyewitness of the Alamo, The Washington Post reported. But, while Republicans want the museum to focus on the battle, Democratic leaders would like to see more focus on the role Native Americans and slaves played in Texas’ fight for independence.
“The staff at the Alamo have expressed to me that they want to deal with controversial issues, but I don’t think they’re free to do so,” Tommy Calvert, a Democratic commissioner in Bexar County, said. “Much like we’re in a heart and soul battle for America, we’re in a heart and soul battle for Texas, and the Alamo is at the center of that.”
Patterson told The Washington Post that the argument is less about the Alamo and is instead about those who believe that the 1836 rebellion of Texas was about slavery, which he said was candidly wrong. But, he did admit that there are certain aspects of the state’s history that have been skipped over in the past.
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“The bottom line is for about 100 years, Texas taught, believed and supported a narrative of history that was not completely factually accurate and did not include all players that needed to be included,” he said.
But, historians, like Tomlinson, disagree and argue slavery was a key issue while Texas was fighting for its independence.
“The genie is out of the bottle, they’re not going to be able to put this story out there without people knowing that there’s another version of what really happened,” Mario Marcel Salas, a retired political science professor and author of “The Alamo: A Cradle of Lies, Slavery, and White Supremacy,” told The Washington Post.
“Eventually, maybe not in my lifetime, but eventually, San Antonio will be ready to give up the myth of the Alamo,” he concluded.
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Los Angeles, Ca
LADWP begins long-term repairs after West Hollywood water main rupture
Crews worked overnight on what is expected to be a long-term effort to clean up and repair a broken water main that caused extensive damage in West Hollywood on Thursday.
Yellow tape remained in place Friday morning, blocking streets around Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive as crews continued pumping water out of the century-old trunk line.
Asphalt and soil were also being removed so crews could get a better look at the damaged 36-inch trunk line, a major feeder pipe serving the area.
“First and foremost is our crews’ safety,” a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokesperson said Thursday. “When we excavate, we are going to have to make sure the area is safe before we send crews in to proceed and start the actual repairs on the pipe.”
The water main ruptured around 3 a.m. Thursday, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing through West Hollywood streets, flooding dozens of garages and pushing parked cars into one another.
A Metro bus yard was also flooded, leaving several buses partially submerged.
The force of the water washed away dirt and gravel supporting the roadway, creating a massive sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard and a smaller one near Palm Avenue, where two people fell in.
“I’m astounded by the massive sinkhole that has just opened up before our eyes,” KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos reported Thursday from Palm Avenue.
The two men appeared to be uninjured.
As for the larger trunk line that burst beneath Sunset Boulevard, KTLA’s Carlos Herrera reported it was scheduled for replacement in 2031.
LADWP officials now hope to establish a repair timeline after getting a closer look at the damage Friday. For now, the intersection is expected to remain closed for anywhere from several days to several weeks.
The cause of the rupture remains under investigation.
Los Angeles, Ca
Arrest made in deadly shooting at 4th of July gathering in Compton; search for 2nd suspect continues
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave an update Thursday on several shootings over the Fourth of July weekend that left three people dead and several others injured.
Police arrested Antoine Jones, a 50-year-old man from the Los Angeles area, who they believe is responsible for the murder of a 19-year-old woman and the attempted murder of two additional surviving female victims who were attending a large community block party in Compton.
On July 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m., deputies from the Compton station responded to an apartment complex on the 700 block of West Laurel Street following reports of multiple people being shot.
Meah Bordenave-Jenkins, a 19-year-old nursing student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was killed when gunfire broke out at the party.
Deputies located Bordenave-Jenkins and the two other women suffering from gunshot wounds outside of the apartment complex.
“While today’s announcement represents an important step towards justice for Meah and her family, our work is very far from being over,” said LASD Sheriff Robert Luna.
The LASD is also seeking the public’s help in identifying those responsible for the murder of Eric Washington, 37, a beloved community activist and former government staffer, and the attempted murder of another surviving man injured that same night at the same party.
Washington was reportedly killed while trying to deescalate a conflict at the party, his family said. Deputies found victim Washington suffering from a gunshot wound inside the complex.
Investigators later learned that another man had also been shot at some point during the incident.
Bordenave-Jenkins and Washington both died from their injuries. The remaining victims, two women and a man, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and have been released from the hospital. They have not been identified by police.
Detectives determined the two shootings happened moments apart at the party but appear to be separate and unrelated.
Detectives identified Jones as the suspect responsible for Bordenave-Jenkins’ death and the attempted murder of the two surviving women. Authorities located Jones on July 14 in Los Angeles and took him into custody.
The LASD is still searching for the suspect or suspects responsible for the murder of Washington and the attempted murder of the surviving male victim.
“Although today’s arrest is significant, this investigation remains extremely active,” Luna said.
“There were hundreds of people at this gathering,” Luna said. “Somebody knows, somebody saw or somebody heard what happened.”
The LASD also announced they’re searching for a suspect in a separate shooting at a different Fourth of July gathering that occurred in the early morning of July 5.
At approximately 12:10 a.m., Compton deputies responded to the 2100 block of North Grandee Avenue, where they located a 30-year-old victim, Thaddeus Clark, and a second victim suffering from gunshot wounds at the gathering.
Clark, a father of three, did not survive his injuries, Luna said.
The LASD is urging anyone with information about Clark’s murder and the attempted murder of the surviving victim to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau.
Although these shooting incidents occurred at gatherings less than an hour apart, investigators found no evidence that the two were connected, Luna said.
Luna also announced three suspects have been arrested in connection with a shooting in East L.A. on July 5. It happened as crowds crossed the intersection near Whittier Boulevard and Leonard Avenue during a World Cup match.
Four people were hit by gunfire, including two men, one woman and a boy. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
The sheriff said the alleged shooter, a 15-year-old known gang member, was arrested. Two female suspects, ages 21 and 38, have been arrested in the Lancaster and Palmdale areas for their alleged roles in luring the primary victim to the location and assisting the shooting suspect in evading arrest.
They’re all facing four counts of attempted murder.
Los Angeles, Ca
Water main break floods West Hollywood streets, traps cars
A broken water main sent water gushing from an apartment building and turned nearby streets into rivers in West Hollywood early Thursday morning. The break was reported around 3 a.m. near Holloway Drive and Sunset Boulevard. “It’s a rupture of one of the significant mains that goes through here. West Hollywood, as it turns out, […]
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