University of Texas Press University of Texas Press

"In 1973, Darrell K Royal faced challenges landing top African-American high school football players, so he enlisted a team of recruiters. Led by Ken Dabbs, they set out to convince the state’s top running back, Tyler’s Earl Campbell, that The University of Texas was where he needed to be. In an excerpt from journalist Asher Price’s forthcoming book, Earl Campbell: Yards After Contact, Royal, Dabbs, and their crew show Earl—and his mother, Ann—that the Longhorns would give him the best chance to succeed, on the field and off."

Read more from The Alcalde: https://alcalde.texasexes.org/2019/07/the-tyler-rose-the-story-of-uts-recruitment-of-earl-campbell/

Andy Summers, guitarist of the rock band The Police, discusses his photography, his thoughtful approach to creating art, and how his music career has complemented his image-making. His new book with prominent French photographer and critic Gilles Mora—A Certain Strangeness—is out now.

Joining us from his home studio in Los Angeles, musician and photographer Andy Summers talks about the artistic rigor he applies not only to his career as a Grammy-winning musician, but also to his life as an internationally-exhibited photographer. Summers details his early artistic influences, life on tour with The Police, and his collaborations with Gilles Mora and Ralph Gibson. He delves into how he applies the principles of jazz improvisation to photography, and reveals the stories behind a few of his most famous photographs. His latest collection of photographs, A Certain Strangeness, accompanies an exhibition at the Pavillon Populaire in Montpellier, France.

Virginia Cumberbatch, Leslie Blair, and Doyin Oyeniyi discuss the story of integrating the University of Texas at Austin, the ongoing struggle for inclusion and equity on campus, Austin’s chronic problems with racial and economic inequality, and upholding the city’s progressive reputation.

Following a Texas Book Festival panel “Making History: The Civil Rights Movement in Texas,” we invited three of the panelists for a longer discussion on diversity and inclusion in Austin—both on and off campus. Virginia Cumberbatch, Director of Community Engagement and Social Equity, and Leslie Blair, Executive Director of Communications, both share their perspectives as staff members at UT Austin’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement and also as coauthors of the book AS WE SAW IT: The Story of Integration at the University of Texas at Austin. Also contributing to our discussion is UT Austin alumnus and Texas Monthly reporter Doyin Oyeniyi, who co-created the web series Austin While Black, a project that documents the stories of Black Austinites. (www.austinwhileblack.com)

In the first half of our conversation, we cover some of the remarkable stories from AS WE SAW IT, including the legacy of women in the civil rights movement at the university and the integration of UT Austin’s athletics program. In the second half of our conversation, we address the university’s ongoing efforts to foster inclusion and combat bias, including the recent removal of confederate statues. Our guests also evaluate Austin’s reputation as a progressive city and discuss how both institutions and individuals can work toward dismantling institutional racism.

Further reading:

“How I Navigate the Overwhelming Whiteness of Austin” by Doyin Oyeniyi for Thrillist
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/living-in-austin-texas-white-people-whiteness

“Removing Confederate Monuments Won’t Erase History, But Could Correct It” by Doyin Oyeniyi for Texas Monthly
https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/removing-confederate-monuments-wont-erase-history-correct/

“The Battle Against Affirmative Action Continues After Fisher v. UT Austin” by Doyin Oyeniyi for Texas Monthly
https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/battle-affirmative-action-continues-fisher-v-ut-austin/

“Outlier: The Case of Austin’s Declining African-American Population” by Dr. Eric Tang, Assistant Professor and Faculty fellow IUPRA and Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, and Dr. Chunhui Ren, Postdoctoral Fellow
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/iupra/_files/pdf/Austin%20AA%20pop%20policy%20brief_FINAL.pdf

Brooklyn-based artist Nina Katchadourian exhibited a mid-career survey of her work at the Blanton Museum of art, titled "Nina Katchadourian: Curiouser." The exhibition and accompanying book reveals the artist’s humor, ingenuity, and ability to unearth the creative potential that “lurks within the mundane,” to use her words. The diverse range of art it highlights includes Mended Spiderwebs, a series of photographs documenting the artist’s attempts to weave red string into dilapidated spiderwebs, and Under Pressure, a recent video that Katchadourian took of herself lip-synching to David Bowie and Freddie Mercury’s duet using her mobile phone in the cramped quarters of an airplane lavatory. We learn about art projects she has made with the assistance not only of arachnids and rock stars, but also United Nations translators, birdcall experts, librarians, sports announcers, parking lot attendants, an accent elimination coach, and even her own parents.