SAN ANTONIO – In the premiere episode of KSAT Explains, we take an in-depth look at the unrest we’ve seen across the country since the killing of George Floyd, how protests have played out here at home and examine what it means to be black in San Antonio.
The video clip of Floyd’s death sparked mass protests against police brutality, racial inequality and social injustice. But this is a movement decades in the making.
It spurred several protests and demonstrations in San Antonio, a city known for its history fighting for civil rights.
Dr. Gregory Hudspeth, the president of NAACP branch in San Antonio, has been fighting this battle since he was a child. One of his earliest memories of the civil rights movement in San Antonio was at the grocery store Handy Andy.
“The owner of stated that he would not permit a black person to count his money, so we established a picket line around Handy Andy,” said Hudspeth.
Below is look at part of San Antonio’s protest history and local gatherings calling for justice in the wake of Floyd’s death.
The Black Lives Matter Organization and movement has received worldwide attention since Floyd’s death, but it started years ago with a Facebook post.
We break down the history of the BLM movement and its impact with protesters and activists like Trestan Patton in San Antonio.
The nation is reeling and many people have wondered what is the most effective way to help support causes to end systemic racism, social injustices and police brutality. Here are a few ways.
- 8 Can’t Wait is a campaign to bring immediate change to police departments. It urges police departments to adopt or ban eight tactics. Those tactics include banning chokeholds and strangleholds, requiring de-escalation and warnings before an officer shoots. You can read more here.
- You can donate to Black Lives Matter or organizations such as the Equal Justice Initiative that work to end mass incarceration and extreme sentencing. There are also organizations that support the LGBTQ community.
- Support black-owned businesses. We profiled Marcus Baskerville, the co-owner of Weathered Souls Brewing in San Antonio. He started the Black is Beautiful craft beer campaign which highlights injustices and inequalities across the country.
Throughout our reporting, we came across several accounts of racism, police brutality and racial profiling in San Antonio. But there are also stories of hope. Here are some personal stories from San Antonio residents as we move ahead with this historic moment.
Charles Davis, UTSA’s Assistant Athletics Dir. of Creative Services, discusses an encounter with a police officer that quickly became violent when he was in college.
Debbie Bush, the aunt of Marquis Jones, discusses the hurt and heartbreak her family has felt since Jones was fatally shot by a San Antonio police officer in 2014. Her family wants the case to be reopened.
We spoke to the black members of our KSAT family about the job they have during these historic times as both journalists and Black Americans.
Jayce Sibley, a 15-year-old Holmes High School student, recently penned an essay on KSAT.com, reflecting on what he’s learned watching what’s going on in the world around him.