The Tulia Texas fiasco on PBS in less than a half hour

[Archae]

On PBS at 10 Eastern is a "P.O.V." show about the Tulia, Texas fiasco.

Just a heads up here.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. I guess I should watch it to find out, but what IS the Tulia, TX fiasco?

[Postman]

2. A rightwing racist sheriff in Texas was framing black people on drug charges...

from what my memory tells me...

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

3. Oh, okay now I remember. I think Frank Herbert of NYT wrote on this.

[hay rick]

4. Thanks for the heads up.

This is a story that should have gotten national attention and stirred up national outrage- but didn't. White juries sending busloads of black folks to jail for decades on made up drug charges was a little too nasty for the MSM. The coverage and outrage were reserved for the much more palatable Duke lacrosse reverse-discrimination incident a few years later.

[blogslut]

6. I think your details are a bit off

This was one incident, where 40 African Americans were arrested/convicted on bogus drug charges.

[hay rick]

8. detail

only one busload of blacks arrested and convicted on bogus drug charges. Happy now?

[blogslut]

10. No need to be upset

I happen to live near Tulia and know some stuff. What's important is that you watch this most excellent documentary.

[hay rick]

17. Watched it.

Good documentary. Sad how a lot of the white people seemed unrepentant and unconcerned about "the mistakes." Also appreciated the snapshots of a small town with a decaying economy- the rider displaying a tattered American flag, the comments on agricultural jobs gone missing...

Anything important you think the documentary left out?

[blogslut]

20. Hmmm

They could have gone a little further into that failed drug program that started the whole thing. And they could have concentrated more on that corrupt rancher who was the real coke dealer and general reprobate.

[BlooInBloo]

11. False. 46. And it was 10% of bigotville's black population.

[blogslut]

12. 46 were arrested

40 were African American.

[BlooInBloo]

13. Sold. And one of the white dudes - a race-traitor by bigotville's lights got 300 years in the pokey.

[blogslut]

14. I know

As I said, I live near Tulia. If you want, I can get you a copy of this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Tulia-Cocaine-Corruption-Small-Texas/dp/158648219X

And one old white farmer said enough is enough.

Watch the doc. It is brilliant.

[BlooInBloo]

15. Nah. Spent enough time cussing at the screen reading the Herbert articles. I'm good.

[blogslut]

16. But, if you don't watch it

...you won't understand why I've had a crush on this guy for the last 20 years:



I keep hoping I'll catch him between wives ;)

[hay rick]

18. You're attracted to chain smokers? nt

[blogslut]

21. I am a chain smoker myself

And Jeff Blackburn is a civil rights legend around here. Tulia isn't his first righteous case, nor will it be his last. Plus, I like skinny dudes with glasses and craggy faces.

[BlooInBloo]

19. Hah!

[blogslut]

5. I have seen it

It is an excellent documentary. What was sad is that the white people from Tulia, that were in the audience, were upset because so many of them came off as racists.

EDIT ADD: Link to the documentary site - http://www.tuliatexasfilm.com/

[blogslut]

7. Oh, and here's a telling photo

John Cornyn (then, Texas Attorney General) presenting Tom Coleman with an award for Lawman of the Year:

[BlooInBloo]

9. Hahahah - "fiasco". Not. "Conspiracy" would be a correct characterization.

EDIT: To the best of my knowledge, the story exists only because of NYT's Herbert:

http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?frow=0&n=10&srcht=s&query=tulia&srchst=nyt&submit.x=7&submit.y=12&submit=sub&hdlquery=&bylquery=Herbert&daterange=full&mon1=01&day1=01&year1=1981&mon2=02&day2=10&year2=2009