Tales from the Moon Tower Tales from the Moon Tower

I interview Constance Jawaid about the Slocum Massacre, a gruesome part of Texas history that is rarely told, where 200- 300 Black Texans were mass murdered on July 29, 1910.

Stories of lynchings are often glossed over in Texas history, and the brutal nature of the burnings that happened here are never discussed at all. I interview ER Bills about his book, "Black Holocaust: The Paris Horror and a Legacy of Texas Terror," that details the horrifying history of these burnings and why it is relevant today.

Beneath an tiny, stone grave marker in a San Antonio cemetery, lies the remains of Beverly Hills socialite, Sandra West, a woman buried in her favorite lace nightgown at the wheel of her Ferrari...with the seat reclined to a comfortable position, of course. I tell her story and how her strange grave came to pass.

Felix Longoria never knew the part he played in the civil rights movement. When his widow was denied access to the funeral home in Three Rivers because "the whites wouldn't like it," Dr. Hector P. Garcia intervened. With the help of LBJ, Longoria was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. But his story doesn't end there. Bitter racial tensions continue to divide the town and the battle over Longoria's legacy persists to this day.

I interview Blane Conklin with the Round Rock Historical Preservation Commission. We talk about his role in getting the Tonkawa honored as an official Local Legend in the city of Round Rock after decades of sensationalized misinformation about Tonkawa cannibalism prevented acknowledgement of their rightful place in Texas history.

For this episode, I interview Emily Collins with the Suzanna Dickinson Museum in Austin, Texas. We talk about Suzanna's place in Texas history as well as what you can learn by visiting her charming house in the middle of downtown Austin.