HOUSTON As the reading of Derek Chauvin s verdict of guilty on all charges rang through a speaker system set up across the road from Scott Food Store in Houston s Third Ward, resident Kim Scott s voice echoed through the narrow street corner as multiple cars stopped to listen, others honking their horns as they drove by. Guilty! He s guilty! she said aloud on a microphone connected to the speaker system.
For days, residents had gathered at the store, where a mural was dedicated to George Floyd, who was 46 when he was killed on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin placed his knee on the back of his neck for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. Floyd grew up in Third Ward and was known to many as a respectful, loving person.
HOUSTON Black Lives Matter Houston is planning a vigil Tuesday evening to honor George Floyd in his childhood hometown following the murder conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who killed Floyd during an arrest last year.
Ashton P. Woods, lead organizer for Black Lives Matter Houston, said he was shocked but relieved to hear the guilty verdict Tuesday afternoon. The reality is, this is a rare anomaly. There are so many more people we have to get justice for, he said.
Woods said Chauvin s sentencing, which is expected to take place in eight weeks, will be the next major step in getting justice for Floyd and his family.
Getting access to vaccines during coronavirus pandemic has been challenging for many, but Austinites who are blind or visually impaired say acquiring COVID-19 vaccines for themselves has been especially difficult.
Earlier this month, Walgreens partnered with organizations such as the local chapter of the National Federation of the Blind and Austin Lighthouse for the Blind to host a vaccination event for hundreds of people who are blind or visually impaired.
But those who participated in the event, though grateful to finally get a dose of the vaccine, say more needs to be done by city officials and leaders to increase access to people in the city who are blind or visually impaired.
Data from Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based watchdog group that tracks hate incidents against people of Asian descent, show that young Texans are reporting cases at higher rates compared with the rest of the country.
The group, made up of college professors and activists on the West Coast, started collecting reports of hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Between March 2020 and the end of February, 3,795 people reported that they were targets of racially charged incidents using the group s online form, which is available in 11 Asian languages.
Those reports included 101 from Texas, which had the fourth-highest number of incidents, behind California, New York and Washington, according to the group s most recent report.
Austin police, who are seeing the number of violent crimes swell in the city, will hold a virtual public briefing Friday afternoon to roll out new plans to curb the trend.
In the hours after an Austin police officer was wounded in a shootout along with the man accused of firing at officers interim Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said he would be announcing an initiative targeting gun violence.
On Wednesday, Austin police reported the city s 23rd homicide of the year.
The Police Department plans to work with the offices of the district and county attorneys to increase prosecution of violent crimes, police said in a statement.