Cover by Zeke Barbaro / Getty Images. Photos courtesy of the artists.
In late March, mere weeks into the pandemic that we ve carried into another year, Music Editor Raoul Hernandez launched a Q&A series with local musicians. He called it Checking In, a name that carried special resonance for him. It was directly inspired by the language we were all using in those disorienting first days of COVID-19, when the days were full of worried calls and texts and emails:
I just wanted to check in. I ve always viewed journalism as social work, he told me on Monday, as we hung around after a meeting in the Zoom room where we all live now. He said the checking-in process was sometimes overwhelming, as artists laid bare the tolls of isolation and lost income and my life is melting stress. But for musicians and music fans alike, these regular posts provided a way to stay connected to a scattered community.
Now Boarding the ATP: The
Austin Transit Partnership this week met for its first board meeting to elect officers, approve bylaws, and pass an interim budget. As the governing body of the agency created to build out
Project Connect, the board oversees funding, designing, and implementing the mass transit overhaul.
First the Pork Chop, Then Mobility: The
Austin Transportation Department began construction this week on improvements at the intersection of
North Lamar and
Morrow, which include removing the
pork chop median. The decades-old median has prevented both westbound Morrow traffic from driving across Lamar and northbound Lamar traffic from making left turns onto Morrow.
In lieu of the
MLK Day, the organization will be hosting a socially distanced
MLK Day In-Car Rally at St. James Missionary Baptist Church (3417 E. MLK) on Monday, Jan. 18, at 10:30am, to commemorate Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.
The rally – which Austinites are able to attend virtually via a Facebook livestream (www.fb.com/mlkcelebration) or in-person by signing up for a parking spot (registration required) – is one of several socially distanced or virtual events the Austin Area Heritage Council has planned for this weekend, including Saturday’s
Youth Legacy Scholarship Reception for high school juniors and seniors, where recipients of the MLK Youth Scholarship Awards will be recognized.
Austin 360
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, and normally, there would a big parade in Austin to celebrate the life and enduring legacy of the civil rights leader. But since there s a pandemic on, things aren t happening normally.
Here are a few ways you still can mark the holiday and support the Black community in the Austin area.
• The Austin Area Heritage Council, which organizes the main MLK Day celebrations in the city, will be holding the Austin Area MLK Day Livestream and In-Car Rally starting at 10:30 a.m. Monday.
The in-car rally will be held in the parking lot of St. James Missionary Baptist Church, 3417 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Organizers are limiting car slots to about 60 due to Stage 5 coronavirus guidelines, with preregistration required. As of this writing, fewer than 10 slots remain.