These past few weeks have been rough. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold in Texas, we’re seeing the horrifying impacts of a government that is under-equipped, ill-prepared, and generally unwilling to address even the most basic needs of the folks it serves.
So it seems like a strange time for celebration, but we do have cause for it at the Texas Observer.
The Observer is very pleased to welcome Tristan Ahtone as our next editor-in-chief. As I wrote to our newsletter subscribers this morning, Tristan is a Nieman fellow at Harvard University. He received a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and an undergraduate degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts. He is the current president of the Native American Journalists Association. Tristan comes to us from High Country News, where he was the indigenous affairs editor, and he previously worked for Al Jazeera America and NPR. If you haven’t seen his recent investigation on the disturbing origins of land grant universities, you should read it as soon as you finish this post.
When I first met Tristan, we had a long conversation about journalism, magazines, design, his work, and investigative reporting in general. I was and am moved by his vision for our publication.
For now, you can find him on the Twitter. We can’t wait for him to get started on May 4.
Read more from the Observer:
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Lessons on the Long Game from Goose Island’s Whooping Cranes: Cranes are survivors. Facing the century’s first global pandemic, they might be the sort of collective totem we need.
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Gene Wu on Coronavirus and the Rise in Hate-Fueled Attacks Against Asian Americans: How comments from Trump, Cruz, and Cornyn inflame deep-seated prejudices against Asian Americans, further alienating them.
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Building Trust: As Texans face the skyrocketing cost of housing, community land trusts offer the promise of permanent affordability. You just have to give up ownership of your land.
