About Season Two | A Plan for Progress
ABOUT THIS SEASON
ABOUT THE PROJECT | “Beyond the Report” is Texas Tech Public Media’s signature multimedia project, where we take a recent report and tell the human story behind the data. Our inaugural season focused on gender disparities in our city and shared the lives of women who grappled with poverty, health problems and other key issues highlighted in a 2017 report commissioned by the YWCA.
Season two, A Plan for Progress, has been a project three years in the making. Since early 2018, we’ve followed the planning, adoption and implementation of Plan Lubbock 2040—a document that paints an image of a city with a vibrant downtown, city parks and Lubbock trademarks sprinkled throughout. As the city looks to this future, traces of an ugly past still exist with the document.
This season, we look beyond our future Land Use plans and dive into how Jim Crow era zoning practices continue to impact the eastern portion of Lubbock. How can these neighborhoods progress while living in the shadows of the past?
COVID-19 | The second season of “Beyond the Report” was initially slated to be released in the fall of 2020. However, due to the pandemic, production for the series was halted for nearly a year. In that time a lot has changed.
GEORGE FLOYD | In the summer of 2020, the police killing of George Floyd altered the context of our project. As the nation grappled with the racial disparities that continue to plague our communities, the importance and delicate nature of this subject intensified.
That being said, a lot changed throughout the production of this project. Hopefully, it will continue to change after.
TRANSPARENCY | As we have worked on capturing the details and stories of disparities that exist in our mostly minority neighborhoods, the production crew at Texas Tech Public Media must recognize our own blind spots. Our lead producers for “Beyond the Report” is an all-white team, none of whom live in the neighborhoods we have reported on. We recognize that we’re outsiders to these issues. Our goal is to amplify the voices of our neighbors.
For this reason, we formed a community advisory board that served as our guides for this project. While they have had no editorial input on this project, they have helped us identify and hone in on key issues residents feel need to be addressed.
For more information on the production of this season, listen to the episode of Listen in, Lubbock with the producers.
"My race needs no special defense, for the past history of them in this country proves them to be equal of any people anywhere.
All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life."
—Robert Smalls | U.S. Congressman, 1895
COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD
Adam Hernandez was born and raised in East Lubbock. He currently serves as the communications chair for Lubbock Compact.
Mary Ann Lawson was born and raised in East Lubbock. She spent her career as an educator.
Natalie Miller is a vocal community advocate for East Lubbock, the community she grew up in.
Margaret Randle spent her career as an educator in Lubbock. While she is not originally from the area, she moved here in the 70s.
PROJECT LEADS
Produced by Texas Tech Public Media
Kaysie Ellingson | News Director
Jon Seaborn | Production Director
Sarah Self-Walbrick | Producer
PROJECT SOURCES
Citi-Data.com
East neighborhood in Lubbock, Texas (TX), 79403, 79404 detailed profile | link
City of Lubbock
The City Plan of Lubbock Texas 1943 | link
Comprehensive Land Use Plan Policies -- 1975 | link
The Lubbock Comprehensive Plan Land Use Report | May 1959 | link
North & East: City of Lubbock | Master Development Plan | link
Plan Lubbock | 2040: Comprehensive Plan for the Future | link
DATA USA
Lubbock, TX | Data USA - link
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Caprock Chronicles: Lubbock’s Queen City Neighborhood | link
North and East Lubbock residents share concerns of living near environmental hazards - link
Lubbock Compact Foundation
Lubbock Disparity Report: How Old Lubbock's Future is Being Stolen and What to Do About It (Version 2) | link
ProPublica | Miseducation
Lubbock Independent School District | link
Statistical Atlas
Race and Ethnicity in Jackson-Mahon, Lubbock, Texas (Neighborhood) | link
TEXAS HOUSERS
Lubbock’s zoning has a history of Jim Crow. City officials refuse to reckon with it. | link
Texas Tech University Libraries
Black Lubbock: A History of Negroes in Lubbock, Texas, to 1940 | link
Texas Tech University Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library
West Texas Times | September 16, 1971 | link