More of an Austin guy

Obama snubs Houston (Not Perry): Education focus makes it particularly galling

Sure, it's just a quick fly-by with a couple Democratic fundraisers in Austin and Dallas. But President Obama's rare trip to Texas is already fraught with drama.

Bill White, the Democratic candidate for governor, will be conspicuous for his absence from any presidential events, as he spends the day campaigning in West Texas.

But Gov. Rick Perry, one of Obama's most outspoken critics on everything from health care to energy policy, took the opportunity to meet the president at the Austin airport to talk about "border concerns." Perry also pulled an Aaliyah and gifted Obama with a four-page letter about the issue.

Obama is not spending the entire day with rich supporters and well-coiffed governors, though. He'll be making a speech on education at the University of Texas at 2 p.m. (Watch it live here.)

We know that in campaign season there's much to be said for going wherever the money is. But although Obama certainly has great memories at UT — the crowd of 20,000 that came out to see him in 2007 was one of the earliest markers of the enthusiasm for his campaign — if he wanted to take the message of education to a community that needs it, he should have hit Houston.

Only 18 percent of young adults in Houston have a college degree, a far cry from the national average of 40 percent and the Texas average of 31 percent.

Why tell Austinites — 88.3 percent of whom have multiple degrees from UT* — about the importance of higher education in building a stronger economy? They know — tech jobs power their city.

If Obama is looking for a city that needs improvement in education (and a reason for people to question Perry's decision not to apply for new federal Race To The Top education initiative funds), Houston is a pretty obvious fit.

But hey, Obama has a busy day. The New Orleans Saints aren't going to congratulate themselves for winning the Super Bowl.

*This statistic is probably not correct, but it feels right.

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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.”