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I AM TRAVIS LEMONS AND THANK YOU FOR TUNING INTO A NEW EPISODE OF CITY PULSE.
THIS IS HTV HOUSTON TELEVISION'S HIGHLIGHT REEL TO GET YOU UP TO DATE WITH ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS WITHIN SEATED DEPARTMENTS AND ALL AROUND TOWN.
BY THE TIME THIS PROGRAM MAKES IT TO AIR, WE WILL BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO AND I WILL HAVE HAD ABOUT A DOZEN PRIDE OREOS.
HERE'S A LOOK AT HOW IT ALL GOT STARTED WITH MAYOR WHITMEYER KICKING OFF THE RODEO SEASON.
SOMETHING THAT UNITES US AND HAS FOR YEARS IS A HOUSTON RODEO.
PLEASURES I HAVE AS MAYOR IS TO BRING TOGETHER CITY COUNCIL AND PASTOR PROCLAMATION, AND THEREFORE I'M JOHN WHITMEYER, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, HEREBY PRO FEBRUARY 28TH, 2025 IS GO NEXT TODAY.
LISTEN, ENJOY IT AND THEN LET'S GO TO WORK.
EACH FEBRUARY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES COLLABORATES WITH REAL ABILITIES HOUSTON, FOR A MONTH LONG FILM AND ART FESTIVAL TO FURTHER THE MESSAGE OF INCLUSION.
THIS YEAR, HTV HELPS SPREAD THE WORD BY HAVING A SPECIAL SCREENING FOR THE DOCUMENTARY SHORT DEAF GIANTS.
THE FILM SHOWS THE CONTRAST OF EARLY INCLUSION OF DEAF PLAYERS IN THE SPORT OF BASEBALL TO WHY REPRESENTATION HAS REGRESSED.
HTV IS HAVING ITS FIRST EVER SCREENING EVENT.
AND SO WE'VE NEVER HAD A SCREENING EVENT AND THIS SCREENING EVENT HAPPENS TO BE REAL ABILITIES.
SO FILMMAKERS WHO HAPPEN TO HAVE DISABILITIES BUT HAVE INCREDIBLE CREATIVE ARTISTIC ABILITIES.
I AM SO EXCITED TO BE HERE AS PART OF THE REAL ABILITY FILM AND ARTS FESTIVAL.
I WAS FORTUNATE IN MY PREVIOUS ROLE I WAS CEO OF TIR MEMORIAL HERMIT AND WE WERE ONE OF THE FOUNDING SPONSORS OF THE FESTIVAL.
AND IT FLASH FORWARD A FEW YEARS AND NOW I'M CEO OF THE ALEXANDER JFS AND I GET TO CONTINUE MY INCREDIBLE WORK WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND WE'RE THRILLED TO BRING THIS FESTIVAL TO HOUSTON EVERY YEAR.
LET'S CELEBRATE, LEARN, AND CONTINUE TO MAKE HOUSTON A CITY WHERE EVERYONE BELONGS.
I JUST LOVE WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT AND YOU KNOW, I CAN RELATE BECAUSE I HAVE A SISTER WHO IS AN AUTISM SPECTRUM AS WELL.
SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS REALLY QUITE INSPIRING THAT, UH, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES CAN, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY BE INVOLVED WITH FILM, BUT JUST BE A PART OF FILM.
OH, THIS IS ONE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SHORT FILMS. AS A BIG FAN OF BASEBALL AND OBVIOUSLY A BIG FAN OF INCLUSION, I THINK THAT THIS ILLUSTRATES ALL OF THE AMAZING ASPECTS OF INCLUSION AND ALL OF THE FUN PARTS OF BASEBALL AND TIES IT IN ALL TOGETHER IN A NEAT LITTLE BOW THAT ALMOST ANYONE CAN UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE.
THIS, UH, DEAF GIANTS SHORT FILM WAS VERY EYEOPENING.
UM, NOT JUST FOR MYSELF, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE FOR THE AUDIENCE THAT WE HAVE HERE TODAY, IT JUST REMINDS ME THAT, UM, THERE ARE INDIVIDUALS OUT THERE THAT HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS THAT SOMETIMES DON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT NON-DISABLED PEOPLE HAVE.
AND SO THIS JUST KIND OF SHOWS US THAT WE NEED TO BE THINKING MORE ABOUT HOW WE CAN CREATE ACCESSIBLE PLACES, UM, AND ENVIRONMENTS FOR NOT JUST OUR FAMILY MEMBERS, BUT OUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES AND, UH, OVERALL JUST THE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL THAT INVENTED SOMETHING NEW.
WE'D LOVE TO HAVE YOU AND, UH, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE, WWW.REALABILITIESHOUSTON.ORG.
NEXT YEAR, ONE OF HOUSTON'S MOST ICONIC LIBRARIES CELEBRATES ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY.
HTV INTERN VANESSA WILCOX GOES INSIDE THE JULIA IEN BUILDING AND TRIES TO SPEED READ HER WAY THROUGH THE ARCHIVE.
THE JULIA ADDISON BUILDING IS ONE OF HOUSTON'S OLDEST STRUCTURES IN ONE OF ITS MOST WELL DESIGNED TURNING 100 IN 2026 WE EXPLORED FOR ITS 99TH YEAR OF SERVICE.
HELLO, I'M SEAN KING, SPECIAL EVENT MANAGER AT THE HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM.
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JULIA ADDISON BUILDING WAS ONE OF HOUSTON'S FEW LIGHTS IN THE DARKNESS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION SPEARHEADED BY ADDISON HERSELF.JULIA ADDISON IS THE FIRST FEMALE TO GET A GRADUATE DEGREE IN LIBRARY SCIENCES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SHE ALSO IS THE REASON THAT WE HAVE THE HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
AFTER WRITING TO ANDREW CARNEGIE, UH, SAYING THAT WE NEED A LIBRARY FOR ALL PEOPLE, THE JULIA IEN BUILDING IS NOT ONLY A HOME FOR LITERATURE, BUT FOR ART AS WELL.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF DEPRESSION ERA MURALS.
FUN FACT, MOST ALL OF THEM WERE PAINTED BY WOMEN, WHICH IN THE 1930S WAS QUITE THE FEAT.
SO AS YOU SEE HERE UP IN THE TUDOR GALLERY, WE HAVE FOUR OF THESE MURALS, EACH OF WHICH SHOWCASES A DIFFERENT SPACE EITHER IN TEXAS OR IN AMERICA, AND INCORPORATES ALSO SOME VEGETATION OR FLORA OF THAT SPACE.
SO ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS AT THE JULIA IEN BUILDING, UH, IS THE VENUS DE MILO, UH, OFFICIAL REPLICA THAT YOU SEE RIGHT HERE BEHIND ME.
UH, IT WAS ACTUALLY FIRST MADE, UH, COMMISSIONED BY THE LOUV OVER IN PARIS, UH, AND MADE IN EUROPE, DONATED TO AN ALL BOYS SCHOOL, UH, BUT WAS FOUND TO BE TO PROVOCATIVE, UH, SO THEY DONATED IT TO THE HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
THE JULIA ADDISON BUILDING HAS MAINTAINED ITS GRIP UPON A QUIET, UNSPOKEN BEAUTY OVER THE YEARS.
EVERY BRICK AND STONE IS RICH WITH HISTORY AND SOME MIGHT EVEN SAY HAUNTED BY IT.
PEOPLE DO SAY THAT THE JULIA ADDISON IS HAUNTED.
UM, SOME SAY IT'S NORMA MILDREN FROM THE CHILDREN'S LIBRARY.
HE WAS THE GROUNDSKEEPER IN THE THIRTIES.
IF YOU LISTEN CAREFULLY, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO HEAR THE SOUND OF HIM PLAYING THE VIOLIN IN THE BACKGROUND.
I THAT RUN IN THE END WAS TERRIBLE FOR HTV AND CITY PULSE.
UP NEXT, WE ARE GOING TO TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF LEGENDARY LADIES MORE CITY PULSES IN A MOMENT.
NOW AVAILABLE AS A MOBILE APP.
TAKE A PHOTO, ENTER YOUR LOCATION REPORT AN ISSUE, THE QUICK AND EASY WAY TO REPORT NON-EMERGENCY ISSUES OR REQUEST CITY SERVICE INFORMATION.
DOWNLOAD TODAY ON THE APP STORE OR GOOGLE PLAY.
DUSK IS THE BEST TIME TO WATCH THE BATS TAPE FLIGHT FROM THEIR WA BRIDGE HOME.
ARNOLD TEXAS'S OLDEST CRAFT BREWERY SHIPPED THEIR FIRST KEG OF BEER IN 1994.
WE GET TO EXPERIENCE A LOT OF CULTURES IN OUR CITY.
THEY CHALLENGE US TO REALLY RETHINK THE WAYS WE DO THINGS.
WE EMBRACE THE FUTURE, WE LEARN, WE GROW AND WORK AS ONE TO GET THE JOB DONE AND BUILD A BETTER FUTURE HERE IN HOUSTON.
HELLO, MY NAME'S GU HERNANDEZ.
MY WORK DEALS A LOT WITH GOING BACK AND REVISITING THESE PLACES OF MY CHILDHOOD IN MEXICO AND DOCUMENTING THEM.
THE INFLUX OF SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE ARRIVING HERE IN HOUSTON FROM AROUND THE WORLD IS VERY IMPACTFUL ON MY PALETTE AS WELL AS MY CANVAS AS AN ARTIST.
MAINLY FOR ME, JUST ALL THE ART THAT WAS IN HOUSTON WAS A BIG INFLUENCE ON ME.
IT REALLY GOT ME SERIOUS ABOUT MAKING MY OWN.
THIS NEXT STORY IS A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO A FORMER SLAVE THAT WOULD PUT A DOWN PAYMENT ON WHAT WOULD BECOME THE FIRST PUBLIC PARK IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
JACK YATES, WHEN MOST HOUSTONIANS HEAR THE NAME JACK YATES, THEY THINK OF JACK YATES HIGH SCHOOL.
BUT THIS SCHOOL WAS NAMED AFTER ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MEN WHO'S EVER LIVED IN HOUSTON.
HE WAS A MAN THAT HAD A LOT OF INTEGRITY.
HE HAD WAS A MAN THAT HAD A LOT OF PURPOSE AND HE WAS A MAN THAT BELIEVED IN SHARING WITH OTHERS.
FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH AND WE ARE SALUTING THE LATE JOHN HENRY JACK YATES, A FORMER SLAVE YATES AND HIS WIFE HARRIET, MOVED TO HOUSTON WITH THEIR CHILDREN IN 1865.
AFTER THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR.
I THINK HE, BESIDES BEING A SLAVE, HE WAS ALSO A VERY RELIGIOUS PERSON, AND SO THEREFORE BELIEVING IN GOD AND BELIE HAVING A FAITH AND TO BELIEVE HE HAD TO BELIEVE THAT
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THINGS COULD BE BETTER.THE YATES FAMILY LIVED IN FRIEDMAN'S TOWN AND JACK FOUND WORK DRIVING HORSE DRAWN WAGONS.
ON THE WEEKENDS THIS DEVOUT CHRISTIAN PREACHED TO THE FAITHFUL.
IN 1868, YATES BECAME PASTOR OF THE ANTIOCH BAPTIST CHURCH.
THE BUILDING WHERE THE CHURCH STILL STANDS IN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON WAS COMPLETED IN 1879.
WHILE YATES WAS PASTOR AT ANTIOCH BAPTIST, HIS CHURCH PARTNERED WITH ANOTHER TO PURCHASE 10 ACRES OF LAND AND ESTABLISH EMANCIPATION PARK.
BUT YATES HIMSELF HAD TO COME UP WITH A DOWN PAYMENT.
HE KNEW THAT THEY NEEDED A PLACE THAT THEY COULD GO AND BE TOGETHER AT BEFORE THEY HAD THE PARK.
THE ONLY TIME THAT THEY COULD BE TOGETHER WAS ACTUALLY A CHURCH.
THAT FIRST AMOUNT THAT HE HAD TO GIVE THAT MAN, WHICH IS A LOT OF MONEY TO THEM AT THAT TIME, WAS A HUNDRED DOLLARS.
AND WITH THAT INITIAL DOWN PAYMENT ON THE LAND, IT COULD BE ARGUED THAT JACK YATES BECAME THE FATHER OF THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION SYSTEM.
EMANCIPATION PARK WAS THE FIRST PUBLIC PARK IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND IT'S STILL A VIBRANT HUB.
AND HOUSTON'S THIRD WARD, THE TOTAL PURCHASE PRICE FOR THE LAND BACK THEN WAS A THOUSAND DOLLARS.
NOW YATES, LIKE MOST PEOPLE OF THE TIME, WAS A DO IT YOURSELFER.
AND WITH THE HELP OF HIS BROTHERS, HE BUILT THIS TWO STORY HOUSE IN 1870.
IT STILL STANDS TODAY IN SAM HOUSTON PARK IN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON.
I CAN REMEMBER, UH, AS A LITTLE GIRL GOING UP THE STAIRS, COMING DOWN THE STAIRS ON CHRISTMAS MORNING AND THINGS WAITING FOR MOTHERING THEM TO GET UP AND SO WE COULD COME DOWN AND SEE WHAT WAS ON THE CHRISTMAS TREE.
AND I HAVE SO MANY FOREIGN MEMORIES OF THIS HOUSE.
JACK YATES, A FORMER SLAVE WHO BECAME ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MEN IN THE HISTORY OF HOUSTON.
WE SALUTE HIS LEGACY DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH.
SINCE MARCH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, WE HAVE CREATED A GUESS WHO QUIZ TO TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE.
LET'S SEE HOW MANY YOU CAN GET, RIGHT? IF YOU DIDN'T GET A PERFECT SCORE, OR EVEN IF YOU DID MAKE THE TIME TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WOMEN WHO MADE HISTORY BY MAKING HISTORY.
OKAY, THAT IS GOING TO DO IT FOR THIS EPISODE OF CITY PULSE FOR HTV HOUSTON TELEVISION SPECTRUM FUSION, HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION, AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UNTIL NEXT TIME, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE CAN ALWAYS DO BETTER AND KINDNESS IS FREE.