CIVIL RIGHTS

Texas is one of 13 states that does not require air conditioning inside of units.

As we prepare to commemorate Juneteenth on Monday, women in San Antonio are reflecting on how the CROWN Act law will prohibit discrimination based on hair texture.

Della Simpson Maynor was just 14 when she marched for voting rights in her hometown of Marion, Alabama, but she says she clearly remembers the police attacking the demonstrators.

A powerful musical set in the Civil Rights era is playing at the Public Theater of San Antonio.

Thousands of people gathered in San Antonio on Monday for the first in-person MLK March in three years.

DreamWeek has more than 200 programs during its 17-day citywide summit focusing on tolerance, diversity and equality, as well as civil and civic engagement.

VIA Metropolitan Transit will unveil its newly restored Dreamliner bus at Monday’s MLK March.

Tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people are expected to participate in the first in-person MLK March in three years in San Antonio.

The new documentary, “Remembering Gus Garcia,” was born out of frustration with how the civil rights pioneer is thought, if at all, all these years later.

Luis Vera Jr. had fought many court battles on behalf of the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization -- the League of United Latin American Citizens.

SAN ANTONIO – An African American studies course is gradually being incorporated into school districts across the state. Districts that are already on board include the San Antonio Independent School District, Judson Independent School District and most recently, the North East Independent School District. Lawrence Scott, assistant professor of educational leadership at Texas A&M San Antonio, was a part of that initiative. “We have to start having some real cogent and critical conversations about race and equity with real data,” Scott said. This will be the conduit course that will facilitate those conversations,” he said.

SAN ANTONIO – We’ve all heard of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, protesting for civil rights. What’s often less spoken about is King’s fight for better wages for underpaid factory workers in Atlanta and his Vietnam War protest. “We posthumously romanticize (King) now,” said Dr. Lawrence Scott, assistant professor of educational leadership at Texas A&M San Antonio. We have San Antonio ISD, we have Judson ISD, and then Northeast (ISD),” Scott said. Scott says he is continuing King’s mission to make sure equality and equity extends to education.

Read and listen to Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic speech and see images from the historic civil rights demonstration in Washington D.C.

We celebrate Martin Luther King Day around the activist’s January birthday, which is Jan. 15.

To celebrate and commemorate his life, we asked local leaders to share their reflections on Dr. King’s legacy and how it helped transform their lives.

SAN ANTONIO – The Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in San Antonio will look a lot different this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Alamo City is known for having the largest MLK Day march in the nation, which roughly attracts 300,000 participants every year. But in the midst of the pandemic, the MLK Commission has had to pivot and adjust. Renee Watson, chair of the MLK Commission, joined Leading SA on Sunday to discuss what we can expect for this year’s celebration. Watson and the MLK Commission are asking community members not to march together due to the uptick in area coronavirus cases.

Click here to view the 2021 virtual Martin Luther King Jr. March. For the first time since it started in 1987, one of the largest Martin Luther King Jr. Day marches in the United States is going virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic. Last year’s Chair for the San Antonio MLK Jr. Commission, Dr. Keely Petty, said the decision was made to protect the thousands of marchers. The city is also requiring any gathering in Pittman Sullivan Park or ML King Park to be in accordance with health guidelines for outdoor gatherings and observe social distancing. Read more stories about Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy in San Antonio and beyond on our Voices Of A Nation page.

San Antonio – After months of working on creating a documentary about the Million Man March, two brothers were able to bring the project to fruition just in time for the historical event’s 25th anniversary. The footage and photos used were captured by Leo Edwards, 70, who attended the march October 16, 1995. “I went to the march to videotape the event,” Leo Edwards said. “This was all before the internet and to gather that many people to come to D.C. was just an unbelievable experience,” Leo Edwards said. That synergy brought people together and that synergy still exists 25 years later.”“He inspired so many,” said Leo Edwards.