July’s episode of Hidden Histories responds to the national convulsions of grief and rage that have followed the brutal murder of George Floyd by officer Derek Chauvin, taking a knee for all Black lives lost to systemic racism. Bringing the issue of police violence to the local level, we hear from two generations of civil rights leadership in San Antonio on the question of where we’ve been and where we go from here: Mario Marcel Salas, former councilman, political science professor, and longtime racial justice activist; and Ananda Sunshine Tomas, one of the young activists centrally involved in organizing San Antonio’s recent Black Lives Matter protests. We also speak with renowned jazz trombonist Ron Wilkins, just recently released from the hospital after a two-month battle with COVID-19. Wilkins will open the show with a solo rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” while reigning San Antonio Poet Laureate Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson will perform an elegy for Breonna Taylor. Hometown vocalist Aaron Marshall Taylor will close the show with a tribute to Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come.”

As an online arts and culture magazine, Hidden Histories pursues and preserves the underexplored stories, lives, and places which make San Antonio and surrounding regions an inspiring cultural treasure. Each monthly episode uncovers important cultural histories of the region by featuring archival interviews with artists and community leaders; significant performances by musicians, dancers and poets; forgotten documentaries and narrative films; and vintage discussions of important community issues. In uncovering and generating the archives which hold these stories, Hidden Histories endeavors to move beyond the public humanities to one that is truly community-based.

All episodes air on the first Monday of the month, and can be viewed online for FREE on our facebook (facebook.com/urban15/live) OR on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheUrban15Group). Afterwards, episodes are archived online for 24/7 access at http://hiddenhistories.tv/archives.