Another Gulf Is Possible

05/24/2026

The NC Climate Justice Collective Arts Residency is an immersive creative experience dedicated to cultural organizing, political education, and artivism for climate and social justice! This is a participatory space for artists, cultural workers, and creatives to explore the intersection of art, climate justice, and community engagement. 

We invite applications from artists of all disciplines, including but not limited to visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, and multimedia. We particularly welcome applications from artists who identify as members of communities most impacted by climate change and injustice, including Indigenous peoples, people of color, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Artists should demonstrate a strong commitment to climate and social justice.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, with a deadline of June 18, 2026. The residency kicks off with a retreat asking place July 21-25, 2026. The retreat will take place at Lake Logan in Canton, NC.

Find out more information about the residency and retreat at the link in our bio or www.ncclimatejustice.org or https://bit.ly/2026taprootresidency

05/24/2026

In 1970, HISD attempted to skirt school integration by classifying Mexican Americans as white, busing them to Black schools across the city and leaving Anglo students unaffected while still fulfilling court-mandated quotas. Mexican community leaders revolted and set up “huelga,” or “strike,” schools to home school their children over the next two years.

2022 Texas Poet Laureate and current HISD teacher Lupe Mendez compiled years of records and interviews to create a new book on desegregation and the 'huelga' school movement.

05/21/2026

Jose Luis Bautista, a 25-year-old man from Donna, died Friday morning after falling 8 feet from scaffolding, according to Cameron County Justice of the Peace Mary Esther Sorola.

Sorola said Bautista was transported from Starbase to Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, where he was pronounced dead at 5:15 a.m.

A preliminary autopsy report showed he died from blunt force trauma caused by the fall, Sorola said.

SpaceX has had seven OSHA violations in the past year. Despite the worker’s death, the next rocket launch is scheduled for May 21.

05/07/2026

President Trump’s recent endorsement has brought renewed attention to the project, and community members are outraged by its resurgence. “I have received calls and emails every day from residents who do not want to see this refinery built,” says Bekah.

If America First Refining begins construction by TCEQ’s October 2027 deadline for the project, the refinery would be located directly across the Brownsville Ship Channel from the Shrimp Basin—a historic commercial sh*****ng and fishing dock on the Gulf of Mexico.

It would release the potent climate pollutant methane plus a host of harmful emissions, such as soot, nitrous oxides, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile organic compounds, into the air and water. These pollutants are linked to respiratory illness, asthma, lung cancer, impaired immune health, heart attacks, strokes, metabolic disorders like diabetes, preterm birth, and nervous system effects, including cognitive effects.

https://www.momscleanairforce.org/brownsville-tx-zombie-oil-refinery/?fbclid=IwZnRzaARpuwBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEegpu-mhLCckoRsK0o7D2u2-_wnXwMeY62RhI2LXJwHMqdInCqtLF_lL6bCVk_aem_IgYXCC1j9tjyCH8ERL50Fg

In early March, President Trump announced his support for the first new polluting oil refinery in Brownsville, Texas, in the last 50 years, and suddenly, a project presumed dead after nearly a decade of inaction might actually move forward.

05/07/2026

“This latest trend shows an embrace of anti-intellectualism, undermining public knowledge by devaluing education and expertise,” said Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s freedom to read program.

"It is another example of how censorship sweeps broadly, leading to removals of all kinds of books, in its efforts to sow fear and distrust in our public education system.”

The year also saw double the percentage of books about s*x education being banned, including titles such as You Know, S*x: Bodies, Gender, Puberty and Other Things by Cory Silverberg.

Findings also showed high figures for marginalised communities with LGBTQ+ characters (39%) and people of colour (44%) continuing to be over-represented in the books being targeted.

Books about death and grief made up 48% of titles while those about empowerment and self-esteem made up 39%.
Fiction titles at risk in the past year included dystopian dramas such as Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and other books including To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Push by Sapphire.”

Excerpt From
“Report shows banned non-fiction books doubled over last school year in US”
Benjamin Lee
The Guardian
https://apple.news/Agc6UdB-zRGiTFrFQ7Adbsg
This material may be protected by copyright.

New PEN America report analysed 3,743 unique titles removed from libraries and classrooms and found books about activism and social movements were targeted

05/07/2026

‘Keystone Light’: These Wyoming oil tycoons are reviving the controversial pipeline

The Trump administration is rushing to approve a 650-mile pipeline to bring oil from Canada’s tar sands into the U.S.

The Trump administration is rushing to approve a 650-mile pipeline to bring oil from Canada’s tar sands into the U.S.

05/06/2026

“Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning a detention facility for children and their families on one the nation’s most Pfas-contaminated sites, which also serves as a hub for the president’s deportation program.

The England air force base, now called England Airpark, is a sprawling former military facility in Louisiana where Pfas levels in the groundwater have been found at at least 41m parts per trillion (ppt).

Federal drinking water limits for several Pfas compounds range from 4 to 10ppt, meaning the levels have been at least 575,000 times higher than the limit.

Military bases are often contaminated with high quantities of Pfas, but England’s groundwater has shown the highest levels ever recorded, and it is among the most Pfas-polluted sites in the US.”

Excerpt From
“ICE planning facility for children and families on Pfas-contaminated site”
Tom Perkins
The Guardian
https://apple.news/APkE7mZ5vSGqylgGMbKFA_Q
This material may be protected by copyright.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/25/pfas-chemicals-ice-family-detention

High concentration of toxic ‘forever chemicals’ found in groundwater at former military facility in Louisiana

05/06/2026

Two Louisiana women have filed a petition to recall Republican Gov. Jeff Landry from office.

A spokesman for Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry confirmed to USA Today Network that Baton Rouge residents Marian Gbaiwon Hills and Katilyn P. Stepter filed the petition May 4.

They accuse Landry of conducting a “pattern of actions and statements that undermine fair representation.”

Two Baton Rouge residents have filed a petition to recall Republican Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.

05/06/2026

The Texas Tribune is seeking any footage — cell phone video or other Instagram photos or posts — as well as tips related to the shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez by an ICE agent on March 15, 2025 in South Padre Island. You can contact reporter Lomi Kriel securely on Signal at 832-729-3421, via e-mail [email protected] or mail documents anonymously: The Texas Tribune, 919 Congress Ave, STE 600, Austin, TX 78701.

Josh Orta was the sole witness of Ruben Martinez’s death to dispute the government’s account. Months later, he died in a crash after learning an ICE agent killed his friend. Their mothers blame the government for their loss.

05/06/2026

We’re about 16 months into a concerted, intense targeting of Black Americans by the president and his administration.

Rachel Maddow breaks down how the Trump administration launched an attack on Black Americans, both inside and outside the federal government.