IN THIS EPISODE:
- A dedication ceremony will be held in May for the new Houston Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
- A local jazz artist will honor 95 people laid to rest in unmarked graves.
- The Periwinkle Camp celebrates 40 years of providing smiles and support to children battling cancer.
Watch Houston Newsmakers at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2 or stream it on KPRC 2+.
Edward Pollard set to unveil Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Houston City Council Member Edward Pollard remembered something his father told him about the Vietnam War, specifically about the reception he received when he was a returning Marine from that war. The lack of respect is what Pollard remembered.
“I told him if I ever was elected I would work to try to get a memorial that gives proper fitting, not just for those who passed away during the war but to tell the entire Houston story” he said.
Pollard will get that chance on May 26 with the dedication of Houston’s newest memorial to honor Vietnam Veterans. He said the great leadership of those in TIRZ 20 to turn a flood mitigation pond into Club Creek Park and the home of the new monument has been very impressive.
“We wanted to make it aesthetically pleasing, so you’ll not only have a basin that will be a huge man-made pond but you’ll have walking trails all around it and new landscaping,” Pollard said. “You’ll have playground equipment and exercise equipment, but the highlight, in my opinion will be this Houston Vietnam Veterans Memorial.”
Those interested in attending can RSVP here.
Jazz Tribute to Sugar Land 95
How on Earth can the death of 95 souls buried in unmarked graves be memorialized through a jazz tribute? That was the challenge for Kendrick Scott, a Missouri City native who recently found out, like so many others, about the Sugar Land 95, who died while working in a Texas sanctioned convict leasing farm in the late 1800′s. Scott, who graduated from Houston’s High School of the Performing and Visual Arts before embarking on his professional career, said the story of the Sugar Land 95 would not leave him. He calls his composition “Unearthed” and performed it as a part of the DACAMERA performance series.
“I just try to come from my perspective at this time and really what I would like is for more people to do more art about it,” he said. “I have my own perspective in a jazz sort of context, and that’s what I wrote it from.”
The performance will be available via streaming from the DACAMERA website as a part of Juneteenth Celebrations June 16-23 here.
Camp Periwinkle set to celebrate 40 years this summer
Dr. Paul Gerson said it broke his heart to see the suffering that children were going through as they battled cancer. That broken heart almost 40 years ago led him to start Camp Periwinkle as a way to take the kids minds off suffering and instead focus on normalcy.
“This camp provides life for these kids,” said Doug Suggitt, the Executive Director of the Camp Periwinkle Foundation. “It gives them a chance to get out of the hospital or get out of their house, which a lot of them have been isolated for a number of reasons and just be kids.”
For 39 years Gerson said it’s been his chance to be one of the kids too, and this year, the 40th won’t be any different as he plans to roll in with jokes galore.
“My jokes are the corniest jokes of all, but the fact of the matter is being at camp, for the children and for me and for all of the staff is a life changing experience,” he said. “And it happens every single time.”
Find out how you can support Camp Periwinkle in this week’s Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall.
For more information on this week’s Houston Newsmakers
· Edward Pollard, Houston City Council Member, District J
· Website: https://www.houstontx.gov/council/j/
· Kendrick Scott, Composer, “Unearthed” Tribute to Sugar Land 95
· Website: http://www.kendrickscott.com/
· Website: https://www.dacamera.com/
· Dr. Paul Gerson, Founder, Camp Periwinkle
· Website: https://periwinklefoundation.org/
· Doug Suggitt, Executive Director, Camp Periwinkle Foundation
· Website: https://periwinklefoundation.org/