It's a Party

Mayor Parker gets into Houston's 175th birthday, notes the city's women-poweredhistory

Leah White with InterActive Theatre on guitar leads a special birthday song.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
Mayor Annise Parker and birthday celebrants.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
Aicha and Abdul Fall with Yaya
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
James Rodriguez and son Jake share the stage.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
Houston fans Lauren Fulghum, from left, Hollie Fulghum and Lucy Fulghum
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
Boby Eury take the mic.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
The party was a pet-friendly event. Here are Gurya Jivani and Jared Reid withMay.
Chris and Kim John
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
Kim Steiner, from left, Natalia Batesth and Catharina Lunemann keep cool withhand-held fans.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
Sydney Brooks, from left, Leah White, Olivia Shamaly, Lauren White and NoraWhite show their birthday spirit.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
At the celebration, Peter Brown, from left, Terri DiRaddo, Minnette Boesel andAndy DiRaddo
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
Hugo Penaflor gets his portrait painted by Cecil Roberts.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com

Sitting on blankets in the grass under the shaded Market Square Park, Houstonians brought in their city's 175th birthday Sunday with soothing jazz, cold beer and a playful interactive theatrical performance that commemorated Houston from the day it was founded to the present day.

As the sun began to set along the city’s skyline, the event’s host, Mayor Annise Parker, offered an introduction that made one proud to be from the Bayou City, and excited the crowd with news of upcoming Dodransbicentennial festivities.

"Houstonians have come from all over the world to live here, and we have the best of the best," Parker said. "Houston is a place with jobs ... lots of jobs. It's a place to work and raise your family, and is full of good eats, a beautiful skyline and great oak trees."

Mayor Parker said that although the city was originally purchased by the Allen brothers, the money actually belonged to one of the Allen brothers' wives and noted that strong women have always been the backbone of the Bayou City.

The birthday kickoff is the first of many events to come. Various tours, exhibits and festivities held by nonprofit groups will commemorate the milestone beginning this week. (CultureMap's listings editor Joel Luks explains them in detail here.)

“This year, for our 175th birthday, we decided to tap into the entire city to spread out the celebration,” Parker said. “One hundred and 75 is a big birthday and we want to engage as many Houstonians as possible.”

The event's theme was 'My Houston is Here' and it marked an effort to exemplify Houston's diversity. With the amount of young kids running around and a few event goers possibly as old as the city itself, everyone properly represented the quintessential melting pot that defines the nation.

Downtown District executive director Bob Eury was the emcee for the evening and christened the event with words of Houston's past and future endeavors, but emphasized the city’s robust history and culture.

“One hundred and 75 years ago, John and Augustus Allen put down a $5,000 check to purchase the land for our city, and the following Tuesday they ran an advertisement that said 'Houston is Open for Business',” Eury said.

“For 175 years old, the city of Houston looks pretty good,” said City Councilman James Rodriguez, and hopefully in the next 175 years the city will continue to get better with age.

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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.”