DaLyah Jones
- Racial Equity in Journalism Fund Program Officer, Borealis Philanthropy
A rural AfroTexan funding BIPOC media @borealisphil | Prev: @presson_south @KUT @TexasObserver | ✍🏾 in many places | Past @utaustin guest lect.| She/They🏳️🌈
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Articles by DaLyah Jones
A Love Letter to the Black Woodswomen of Deep East Texas
I can tie my earliest days of imagining to my time spent growing up and playing in the woods. Crowns made of the twigs from privets. Mud pies made with hose water in rusty pans, baked in old broken ovens behind the house. I was molded from the clay soil in Deep East Texas, in the small city of Lufkin. This region has an antebellum history shrouded in violence, mystery, and resilience—much like the ecosystem of the Big Thicket, which is arguably the most diverse in the world.
A Love Letter to the Black Woodswomen of Deep East Texas
When you were 8, you could control the wind. The trees would listen, waving their long branches at you. The leaves would applaud as you made your way down Marcus Street. That was when the birds called your name and the squirrels followed you. Back then, imagining was easy. Secret hidden treehouse sanctuaries that rivaled Peter Pan and the crew. The red wagon that could take you far, far away. That was when you still carried around that white stuffed dog, a bit nappy and dingy.
From the plantation to the thicket: Juneteenth, Black freedom and ‘marronage’ in Texas
The sun shines through the trees at the Big Thicket National Preserve. This article was originally published by the Texas Observer, a nonprofit investigative news outlet and magazine. Sign up for their weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook, X, and Bluesky. 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.
Dalyah Jones
Posted inTexas News This article was originally published by the Texas Observer, a nonprofit investigative news outlet and magazine. Sign up for their weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook, X, and Bluesky. 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, […]
From the Plantation to the Thicket: Juneteenth, Black Freedom, and ‘Marronage’ in Texas
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.
BIPOC journalists became the authority on truth and democracy
Springtime in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1892 should have been a time of rebirth and reconnection. The city was making history and welcoming more commerce with the grand opening of the Frisco Bridge. At the time, it was the longest bridge in the country and the first bridge connecting Memphis to Arkansas for railway traffic. Locals gathered for a dayslong celebration to mark the occasion despite heightening tensions in the area.
During the holidays, it’s important that caregivers take care of themselves
The most wonderful time of the year is also the most stressful. Here are some tips for those taking care of others on how to deal with the stress of the holidays. Credit: Stock image/Getty Images The holiday season can bring joy and memories of togetherness for Black families and communities, but in reality, it can also be a mentally challenging time.
“Wings of Ebony” Brings Black Girl Magic to Life
Texas Politics Environment Border Criminal Justice Education Health Care The Interview Most Recent in Texas Politics: Most Recent in Environment: Most Recent in Border: Most Recent in Criminal Justice: Most Recent in Education: Most Recent in Health Care: Most Recent in The Interview: Books Features Essay Eye on Texas Most Recent in Books: Most Recent in Features: Most Recent in Essay: Most Recent in Eye on Texas: Most Recent in Poetry: Courtesy of J. Elle Courtesy of J.
'Fugitive Dreams' Tells a Timeless Tale for Right Now
Texas Politics Environment Border Criminal Justice Education Health Care The Interview Most Recent in Texas Politics: Most Recent in Environment: Most Recent in Border: Most Recent in Criminal Justice: Most Recent in Education: Most Recent in Health Care: Most Recent in The Interview: Books Features Essay Eye on Texas Most Recent in Books: Most Recent in Features: Most Recent in Essay: Most Recent in Eye on Texas: Most Recent in Poetry: In 'Fugitive Dreams,' characters John and Mary are...
Announcing the Texas Observer's New Engagement Initiative
Journalism’s great strength is in its ability to hold the powerful to account. For too long, however, that power has been tempered by the fact that communities of color are often simply written out of or represented incorrectly in news coverage. This great sin of omission is something that we are only now beginning to confront. The Observer believes that we have a responsibility to do better when it comes to engaging with communities of color.
Rural Voters Stepped on the Gas for Trump Across the Texas Oil Patch
Texas Politics Environment Border Criminal Justice Education Health Care The Interview Most Recent in Texas Politics: Most Recent in Environment: Most Recent in Border: Most Recent in Criminal Justice: Most Recent in Education: Most Recent in Health Care: Most Recent in The Interview: Books Features Essay Eye on Texas Most Recent in Books: Most Recent in Features: Most Recent in Essay: Most Recent in Eye on Texas: Most Recent in Poetry: Flags fly from the tops of cranes near the site where...
Short Story Winner: ‘Immaculate’
Nellie Downer’s “Immaculate” offers a Texas-sized opening line—“It was a big goddamned land”—before zooming in on a little car on a lonely road somewhere between Wichita Falls and the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River.
Laverne Brackens and the Legacy of Black Quiltmakers in East Texas
On a mild, showery day in August, Laverne Brackens sits in her bedroom with her daughters Lily Mays and Betsy Johnson. This is also her workroom, where she pins together cloth and sews while watching The Price Is Right on a TV mounted on a wall. Outside hangs a faded vinyl banner with black letters spelling out “Quilts of Color: Four Generations.” Buyers can call her and request personal quilts made with fabric she has at her shop or fabric that they ship to her.
Local Organizers Explain the Republican Surge in South Texas
Danny Diaz wasn’t shocked when he heard about the Republican surge along the Texas-Mexico border that confounded so many national pundits last week. The majority Latino region has long been a Democratic stronghold, communities there have been ravaged by COVID-19, and polls indicate widespread disapproval of Donald Trump’s border wall.
Achieving Vision Zero in Houston Isn’t Going To Happen One Intersection at a Time
Marjorie Corcoran, a professor, was biking to work. Sudipta Roy, studying to be a nurse, had ridden to campus to see her husband. Both were struck and killed, in 2017 and 2018, in the intersection in front of Rice University where Main, Sunset and Fannin streets meet light rail tracks. Three years later, this July, the City of Houston held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the improvements it made, all within view of the ghost bike that leans against the trunk of a live oak as a memorial.
DaLyah Jones
DaLyah Jones is a staff writer for Texas Observer covering environment. She’s a former general assignment reporter and All Things Considered producer for Austin’s NPR Station, KUT 90.5, where she focused on rural and suburban stories outside of the Capital’s urban core. Beyoncé Isn’t Possible Without Houston. Houston Isn’t Possible Without the Black Diaspora. by DaLyah Jones | Wed, Sep 9, 2020 at 7:00 am CST Economy Texas Already Lacked Affordable Child Care. Then COVID-19 Hit.
The Racist History Behind El Paso’s XII Travelers Memorial
As anti-racist insurrections swept across the country this summer, protesters in El Paso set their sights on one statue: the Equestrian. A 36-foot-high bronze statue, the Equestrian—part of a series of sculptures called the XII Travelers Memorial—commemorates the Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate. The larger-than-life rendering of Oñate shows him sitting atop a horse in a heroic pose during la toma, the act of claiming Indigenous lands for the crown.
How One Fairfield Woman is Keeping African American Quilting Traditions Alive
Laverne Brackens’ quilts are hypnotizing. They’ve been exhibited at the Texas Memorial Museum of Science and History and acquired by the Berkeley Art Museum in California. They’ve earned her a National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship in 2011. And this past June, her work was recognized in The New York Times, in an article about a contemporary of hers, quilter Rosie Lee Tompkins. But a young Brackens wasn’t looking to gain recognition for her quilting.
Mexico Turns To Television And Radio For Remote Learning
Ivanna and Alonso Granados exercise in their living room through a televised PE class that's part of the Mexican Government's at-home learning program. Antonio Cueto for Texas Standard This story was reported for and produced by The Texas Newsroom, a collaboration involving NPR and public radio stations across the Lone Star State. Students in Mexico are starting a new school year, and just like many of their American counterparts, they’re doing so remotely.
How COVID-19 Threatens Texas’ Restaurant Industry
Open and Shut The COVID-19 pandemic threatens the future of the barbecue joints, taco trucks, bánh mì shops, and country cafes that make up Texas cuisine. Julia Robinson An employee at Bufalina, a restaurant in Austin, waits to deliver pick-up orders. By Paula Forbes July 27, 2020 First, South by Southwest was canceled, the canary in the quarantine coal mine.
Muslim Activists Say It’s Time to Join Black Lives Matter Calls to Reform Law Enforcement
Texas Politics Environment Border Criminal Justice Education Health Care The Interview Most Recent in Texas Politics: Most Recent in Environment: Most Recent in Border: Most Recent in Criminal Justice: Most Recent in Education: Most Recent in Health Care: Most Recent in The Interview: Books Features Essay Eye on Texas Most Recent in Books: Most Recent in Features: Most Recent in Essay: Most Recent in Eye on Texas: Most Recent in Poetry: Muslim Activists Say It’s Time to Join Black Lives...
Telehealth Could be Great, if Texans Had Access to It
Telehealth Could be Great, if Texans Had Access to It Remote health care has the potential to connect patients to doctors safely during shelter-in-place. So why do so many Texans remain disconnected? A video teleconference for mental health service in Fayetteville, North Carolina in April 2020. AP Photo/Sarah Blake Morgan By Isabela Dias July 16, 2020 This story was supported by the journalism non-profit the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
DaLyah Jones
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Austin Filmmaker Ya'Ke Smith's New Short, "Dear Bruh," Honors Lives Lost to Police Violence
Ya’ke Smith’s new film, Dear Bruh, opens with a collage of videos and images that showcase Black men and boys laughing, smiling, and embracing. These patches of joy are then contrasted with the faces of Trayvon Martin and Emmitt Till, before spiraling into a collage of funeral ceremonies, as well as photos of those killed at the hands of white vigilantes and police officers. In a pleading voice-over, actors read a poem Smith wrote during the first wave of Black Lives Matter protests.
Loon Star: Nothing to See Here, Folks
"Without me there'd be a zillion fires." Ben Sargent To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section, or find Observer political reporting here. Read more from the Observer: The Texotics: As Texas landowners breed exotic animals like kudu and nilgai, they’re running a massive unplanned and unregulated natural experiment.
What the Black Lives Matter Protests Mean for East Texas
The first time I thought I knew someone famous was when I saw a man we called Byrd on television. I lit up. Byrd, a Black man I recognized as a friend of my dad’s, was speaking at a press conference. How could I be so lucky to know someone famous enough to make it on television? When I asked my mother, she said that Byrd was sad. How could someone make it on the screen by being sad, I asked.
City Nature Challenge Can Help Us Find Resilience and Mindfulness at Home
This month, as we continue to struggle with the realities of a global pandemic—and the cooped-up existence it’s brought forth—the arrival of the annual City Nature Challenge (CNC) offers a welcome reprieve. The worldwide community science competition, which aims to document biodiversity around the globe, is a chance for a restorative communing with Mother Nature.
DART Leaves Low-Income Residents Stranded
Spinning Their Wheels Dallas’ paltry public transit system makes owning a car all but required. So as the metroplex booms, many low-income residents are shut out of jobs and services they need. Danny Fulgencio DART riders wait at the Ledbetter Station in southern Dallas. By Mark Dent April 20, 2020 On a rainy Wednesday morning in January, Keidreana Sims and Kristin Johnson are headed to their first day of work at Sterilite, a plastics factory about 30 miles south of Dallas in Ennis.
Urban Music Fest: Blackstreet delivers old-school R&B to nostalgic fans
By DaLyah Jones, special to the American-Statesman Monday Apr 1, 2019 at 9:42 AM Apr 1, 2019 at 11:19 AM On Friday, a stage with bright neon lights swathed in purple-and-white signage reading “Urban Music Festival” outshone Austin’s light-porous skyline.
In ‘Barn 8,’ an Unsparing Look at the Industrial Chicken Industry
Unferth—justifiably—finds industrial farming to be a barbaric practice. Wikimedia The average American eats about 279 eggs each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and that’s no surprise. Eggs are cheap and available everywhere, and sandwiches featuring them are a staple of fast-food restaurant value menus. They also have a reputation for being healthy, thanks to decades of advertising campaigns by agricultural lobbyists.
Upset: Incumbent Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton Ousted by Newcomer
In a startling upset, first-time candidate Jim Wright defeated incumbent Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton in last night’s Republican primary. Sitton conceded via tweet to Wright (not to be confused with the former U.S. House speaker with the same name who died in 2015). Wright, who owns an oilfield waste services company in South Texas, mounted a self-proclaimed “grassroots” effort.
New Witness Points To Old Murder Suspect In Rodney Reed Case
As Rodney Reed’s lawyers scramble to get the 21-year-old case reexamined before his Nov. 20 execution date, a new witness has stepped forward accusing a former police officer of the murder of Stacey Stites. Arthur Snow served time in prison with Stites' fiancé, Jimmy Fennell. According to an affidavit in a clemency petition filed on Reed's behalf, Snow said Fennell confided in him that he killed the 19-year-old, who was found strangled and raped in Bastrop in 1996.
I’m Feeling Myself by Dalyah Jones
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Low Levels Of Toxic Algae Still Being Detected In Lady Bird Lake
A toxic algae bloom at Lady Bird Lake is believed to be responsible for the deaths of a handful of dogs in the last three weeks. The algae, at least initially, cropped up around Red Bud Isle, but it has since spread to other parts of the lake. What is it and where did it come from?
Child Drownings Are Up This Year In Central Texas. These Nonprofits Want To Prevent Any More.
Central Texas has seen 10 fatal child drownings so far this year, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services — a notable increase when compared to two in 2018 and four in 2017. “Throughout the year we were tracking the spike in drownings throughout the state of Texas and specifically a 400% increase in Travis County alone,” said Megan Ferraro, the executive director of the nonprofit ZAC Foundation.
Child Drownings Are Up This Year In Central Texas. These Nonprofits Want To Prevent Any More.
Central Texas has seen 10 fatal child drownings so far this year — a notable increase when compared to two in 2018 and four in 2017. “Throughout the year we were tracking the spike in drownings throughout the state of Texas and specifically a 400% increase in Travis County alone,” said Megan Ferraro, the executive director of the nonprofit ZAC Foundation.
Austin Advocates Call Trump's Order To Cut Refugee Resettlement An Attack On 'Vulnerable People'
Local advocates and leaders are denouncing the Trump administration’s order to cap the number of refugees admitted into the U.S. next year at 18,000. The number will be the lowest ever under the resettlement program, which was established in the 1980s.
Task force talks trash – and cash for recycling at all Austin parks and facilities - Austin Monitor
Tuesday, October 1, 2019 by DaLyah Jones Uncategorized The Parks and Recreation Recycling Task Force is recommending several different ways to pay for consistent recycling around Austin. City Council approved the task force in June to support the city’s Zero Waste Plan. The plan, passed in 2009, aims to reduce landfill waste by 90 percent by 2040.
Advocates Ramp Up Efforts To Get New Trial For Rodney Reed As His Execution Date Nears
As Rodney Reed's execution date fast approaches, more than 70 people packed into a community center in Bastrop on Saturday to apply pressure on state officials to reconsider his case. Reed was convicted in 1998 of murdering 19-year-old Stacey Stites, a woman he said he had been having an affair with. Advocates, including some of Stites' family members, are asking the state to retry the case after a former medical examiner recanted testimony linking DNA from the murder to Reed.
Advocates Demand San Marcos' New Interim Police Chief Work To Decrease Racial Disparities In Arrests
Bob Klett, San Marcos’ new interim police chief, said the department “stands behind its citizens," after concerns over how often police arrest people for offenses where they could issue citations instead. According to a city report detailing more than 330 interactions with police last year, only 20 citations were given to people who could have been cited and released. Most of those arrested were people of color; all the black people who were stopped were arrested.
Bastrop County Sees Dozens Of Cases Of Virus Affecting Horses
Almost 60 horses have been released from a two-week quarantine in Bastrop County after an outbreak of vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV, according to the Texas Animal Health Commission. Since late June, 37 Texas counties have seen outbreaks of VSV, which mostly affects livestock animals like horses and cattle. Symptoms include blister-like lesions, fever, drooling or frothing at the mouth, loss of appetite and lameness. Humans can also contract the disease, but it is very rare.
New ID Standards Coming Soon to Austin Airport's Security Checkpoints
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport officials said they’re working to let airline passengers know that new security standards are coming. ABIA and other airports across the nation will only take REAL ID-compliant licenses and driver licenses beginning Oct. 1, 2020. Texas REAL ID-Compliant licenses and IDs all have a yellow star towards the upper-right hand corner. In 2005 Congress passed the REAL ID Act, which was recommended but the 9/11 Commission.
Survey Finds Austin's Digital Divide Shrinking But Mistrust Of Internet Persists
A gap in internet access for Austin residents has shrunk, but a sense of mistrust over the internet’s privacy and security persists among those without access, according to a recent study by the City of Austin and the University of Texas’ Moody College of Communications. The Digital Inclusion in Austin report surveyed almost 1,000 residents who were selected at random. The poll found 95% of respondents had a home internet connection, which is higher than the 92% rate reported in 2014.
UT Releases Tool To Help Officials 'Humanely' Notify Sexual Assault Victims About Their Rape Kits
The University of Texas says it has developed the first-ever guide to help police departments and communities notify victims about results of their sexual assault kits. “[Survivors] deserve a compassionate response that is informed by the best science that we can give them and on how to notify them,” said Noël Busch-Armendariz, director of the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault at UT's Steve Hicks School of Social Work.
UT Releases Tool To Help Officials 'Humanely' Notify Sexual Assault Victims About Their Rape Kits
The University of Texas says it has developed the first-ever guide to help police departments and communities notify victims about results of their sexual assault kits. “[Survivors] deserve a compassionate response that is informed by the best science that we can give them and on how to notify them,” said Noël Busch-Armendariz, director of the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault at UT's Steve Hicks School of Social Work.
Dripping Springs Community Takes Grassroots Approach Toward Mental Health Care
At the dedication of the St. Dymphna Center at the St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Dripping Springs last February, Father Charlie Garza told parishioners the story of Christopher Rosilier, who had “set the tone” for the previous five years of his pastoral work. “I had been here, I think, about three months and that was when I did my first funeral for someone who had a struggle with mental health," Garza said.
Opinion | Here's why Megan Thee Stallion's pleasure politics movement is so revolutionary
It’s 98 degrees in Austin, Texas, and although I’m a little warm, I’m still surviving “Hot Girl Summer.” The phrase — now a social media phenomenon — was started by Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion as a way to encourage fans to be unapologetically themselves. I’m riding down the street in my car with all four of my windows rolled down — my AC is broken.
Texas Gov. Abbott Tells Cities And Residents To Prepare As Storm Develops In The Gulf
Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday urged city leaders and residents to prepare for potential severe weather this weekend. A storm system in the Gulf of Mexico could potentially make landfall as a tropical storm or even a hurricane. Abbott said the storm could drop about 10 inches of rain from the Houston area to the Louisiana border. It could also affect coastal regions. “Begin preparing your property, your supplies, your lines of communication to your family members,” he said.
Austin Speeds Up Timeline For Adopting Changes To Drainage Rules
The City of Austin is expected to consider changes to the land development code and drainage rules by the end of the year, speeding up its timeline to mitigate increased flood risk in the area. “The sooner these regulations get put into effect, the more we’re protecting the public from flood hazards that we have known to occur,” Kevin Shunk, the city's floodplain administrator, said.
Central Texans Worry A Lack Of Affordable Housing Will Push Older Adults Out, Survey Finds
Central Texas residents say they are concerned about affordable housing and finances for older adults and caregivers, a new survey on attitudes toward aging finds. Almost three-quarters of residents surveyed by AGE of Central Texas said they believe older adults will be displaced due to a lack of affordable housing. Half the respondents also said they are worried about running out of money.
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