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The San Jacinto Monument is history for County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia

The U.S.S. Texas in the foreground, with the San Jacinto Monument in the back on a foggy morning

When asked to write about one thing in the Houston area she loves, Harris County Precinct Two Commissioner Sylvia Garcia chose the San Jacinto Monument.

One of the reasons I am in love with Houston is because this region is populated by so many historic sites. Being the history buff I am, my favorite spot in town is the San Jacinto Monument and Museum. I am a Texan and that can explain why I feel this way.

As you approach the park where it stands, the San Jacinto Monument makes you travel in history. The various markers leading into this unavoidable landmark indicate you are riding the road to independence.

At 570 feet high, the tower overlooks the San Jacinto battleground and the Houston Ship Channel. I am always amazed by the grandeur of this monument and what it represents. Up above, like a jewel, the Star of Texas dominates an area symbolizing our state’s most valued assets: the coast, our natural resources and the indelible strength of its people.

Inside the museum, I always find jewels of all kinds. The images of times past remind me of Houston, the boom town. The hundred-year old black and white photographs show the vibrancy of a region where fortunes were made and celebrities from around the world travel to witness the power of the oil economy.

Objects like dolls, swords and badges tell me secret stories about people that are no longer among us, but that still whisper in our ears: “Think bigger, be better.”

Every year, in April, the San Jacinto Monument reenacts a battle that was the foundation of the Texan identity. It is then when “The Monument” gets more colorful. Many people wear their vintage clothes, ride their horses and remember with pride a struggle that gave us this land we cherish.

I am in love with its open space, its solid stone walls and the surf it is surrounded by. The San Jacinto Monument is so much part of me. It is a lot more than a landmark; it is the symbol of Texas and its independence.

The San Jacinto Monument

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”