Ain't no party like an afterparty

CultureMappers celebrate the night away at The Red Room

Lori Freefe, left, Alex Martinez and Kristine Mills
Photo by Tony Bullard
Jametta Coleman and Antonio Johnson
Photo by Tony Bullard
Beth Bryant and Jarrod Klawinsky
Photo by Tony Bullard
Roberto Fartone Mennella and Lindsey Love
Photo by Tony Bullard
Brian Stanton and Blair Abernathy
Photo by Tony Bullard
Meredith Riddle, left, Ceron and Mark Sullivan
Photo by Tony Bullard
Bridgette Bottone and Scott Legg
Photo by Tony Bullard
Jason Kaminsky and Donna Houk
Photo by Tony Bullard
Steven Willson, left, and Brian Stanton
Photo by Tony Bullard
Caroline Schiller, left, Meredith Riddle and Irena Hixon
Photo by Tony Bullard
Elizabeth Miller
Photo by Tony Bullard
Kalon McMahon and Kristen Cannon
Photo by Tony Bullard
Clarence Lamb, left, Laura Medard and Sergei Galperin
Tony Bullard
Randy Bower and Kristen Cannon
Photo by Tony Bullard
Raquel Eldridge and Mark Sullivan
Photo by Tony Bullard

I finally saw the inside of The Red Room last night, and all my The Shining associations have officially dissipated.

After CultureMap's launch party ended Wednesday night, revelers weren't ready to call it a night. It seemed like a sizable part of the crowd of 2,000 made a mass exodus from West Ave to The Red Room a block away to keep celebrating into the early morning hours. Upstairs was so packed that management stationed a villain-esque gatekeeper at the base of the stairs for crowd control. If you had to go downstairs to use the ladies' room, be damned; re-entry was near impossible. The overflow crowd filled the downstairs bar and spilled outdoors into the patio. Despite the lack of elbow room, everyone was in the highest of spirits. It certainly wasn't your typical school night.

Once upstairs, I was afraid to leave my station lest I never make it back, but I did get to chat with Steven Thomson, my CultureMap columnist counterpart (of sorts) and future partner-in-crime. His Trendysomething in SoMo series is bananas. Miya Shay miraculously was able to float back and forth between the floors (she must've struck a deal with the stair guy), along with an eclectic crowd that included Kim Padgett, Carrie and David Hardaker, Charlotte Fischer Ewart, Ceron, Caroline Schiller, Lindsey Love, Jarrod Klawinsky, Christine Mills, Roberto Fartone Mennella, Bridgette Bottone and Vance Muse.

There were almost too many bodies to truly appreciate the bold red décor, but I know I'll be back: I left my tab open.

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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.”