From the Plantation to the Thicket: Juneteenth, Black Freedom, and ‘Marronage’ in Texas
Thu, 18 Jun 2026 13:15:00 +0000
In Texas, Juneteenth is often described as the day that Union Major General Gordon Granger marched upon the shores of Galveston to announce the Emancipation Proclamation—on June 19th, 1865. But freedom in Texas was achieved both after and before formal emancipation. Following June 1865, those newly freed Afro-Texans who’d heard the news still had to […]
The post From the Plantation to the Thicket: Juneteenth, Black Freedom, and ‘Marronage’ in Texas appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/juneteenth-emancipation-freedom-marronage-east-texas/
Betty Simmons, a Texan in Slavery’s Last Years
Thu, 18 Jun 2026 12:30:00 +0000
In 1863, Betty Simmons was about 20 years old, and her 3-year-old son, Charlie, would soon be made to work in the field. In her 1938 interview with the Federal Writers’ Project, Simmons said: “[They take them young].” (These interviews were rendered by government workers in an excessively heavy dialect—in this case, for example, “Dey […]
The post Betty Simmons, a Texan in Slavery’s Last Years appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/betty-simmons-new-deal-narratives-slavery-juneteenth/
In Laredo’s Last Stand Against Trump’s Border Wall, Are City Leaders Making a Deal with the Devil?
Wed, 17 Jun 2026 15:56:13 +0000
Early this year, a delegation of officials from the City of Laredo traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with federal representatives about the Trump administration’s plans to completely wall off the Texans’ border community from the Rio Grande. The Laredoans returned using language that dismayed opponents of the president’s beloved border barrier. When City Manager […]
The post In Laredo’s Last Stand Against Trump’s Border Wall, Are City Leaders Making a Deal with the Devil? appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/laredo-trump-border-wall-city-deal-border/
As World Cup Unfolds, Immigrant Rights Organizers Seek a Reckoning over Dallas’ Relationship with ICE
Wed, 17 Jun 2026 13:38:13 +0000
As thousands of visitors from around the country pour into Dallas for the opening matches of the 2026 World Cup, a group of faith leaders and immigrant rights organizers are addressing the elephant on the field–the city’s relationship with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The coalition, made up of members from El Movimiento DFW, Clergy […]
The post As World Cup Unfolds, Immigrant Rights Organizers Seek a Reckoning over Dallas’ Relationship with ICE appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/world-cup-dallas-deportation-flights/
Texas’ Fight Against the Screwworm Will Be Nasty and Brutish
Tue, 16 Jun 2026 12:40:00 +0000
After spending four decades in exile south of the Rio Grande, the New World screwworm has finally wriggled its way back into Texas. The return of the parasitic worm has been splashed across national, state, and local headlines for the past couple weeks with equal measures of trepidation and disgust, prompting alarm and pledges of […]
The post Texas’ Fight Against the Screwworm Will Be Nasty and Brutish appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-fight-screwworm-cattle-agriculture/
The Troubling Disappearance of ‘El Gallito’
Mon, 15 Jun 2026 12:15:00 +0000
Ernesto Gonzales liked to hold court in the morning from a corner booth of El Rancho in Harlingen, a busy local eatery festooned with multicolored papel picado party banners—one of several spots he frequented after rising at dawn and reading the Bible. Between slurps of coffee—he drank it like water—and bites of breakfast taco, he […]
The post The Troubling Disappearance of ‘El Gallito’ appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/the-troubling-disappearance-of-el-gallito/
With Gas Tax Holiday, Are Texas Dems Pushing ‘Irresponsible’ Policy for Political Gain?
Fri, 12 Jun 2026 16:40:34 +0000
President Donald Trump’s poorly planned war with Iran has paralyzed global shipping routes and spiked the average price of gas by about $1 per gallon nationwide. For three months, Americans have struggled to rationalize both the conflict and the painful prices at the pump, as many work several jobs and side hustles to survive the […]
The post With Gas Tax Holiday, Are Texas Dems Pushing ‘Irresponsible’ Policy for Political Gain? appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/talarico-dems-gas-tax-holiday/
Last Year, a Corpus Christi Cryptomine Guzzled over 11 Million Gallons. Now, Its Water Usage Is Being Kept Secret.
Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:30:36 +0000
The drought-stricken City of Corpus Christi is withholding how much water a controversial cryptocurrency mine is siphoning away from surrounding residents. The Texas Observer reported on the facility’s water burden last year in a series examining the cryptomine and artificial intelligence data center boom unfolding across the state. From May to August last year, the […]
The post Last Year, a Corpus Christi Cryptomine Guzzled over 11 Million Gallons. Now, Its Water Usage Is Being Kept Secret. appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/corpus-christi-cryptomine-water-usage-secret/
Abilene, Through the Looking Glass
Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:30:00 +0000
To best trace the thread of Carlyn Ray’s ascent through the Texas glassblowing scene, you must first consider the lowly silkworm. At the ripe young age of 10, Ray raised the caterpillars in cardboard boxes in her Dallas home, fattening them up on mulberry leaves until they spun cocoons and began to pupate. It was […]
The post Abilene, Through the Looking Glass appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/abilene-art-library-ai-data-center-book-bans/
The Great Wilonsky Returns to the Newsroom
Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:58:11 +0000
This March marked one year since veteran Dallas journalist Robert Wilonsky returned to the Dallas Morning News as a city columnist. He didn’t have to come back. Journalism itself has been taking a pummeling of late. Our current administration regularly vilifies news outlets that drop stories that make our Cheeto-in-Chief look bad, however accurate or […]
The post The Great Wilonsky Returns to the Newsroom appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/robert-wilonsky-dallas-newsroom-return-journalism/