Barry J.W. Franklin of King Tears Mortuary has been in the funeral business since he was in high school. King Tears Mortuary, located at 12th and San Bernard streets in East Austin.
Episodes
February 8, 2017
12th & Chicon: Mentoring, Connecting with Students
Nearly a quarter of students at Kealing Middle School are considered at-risk of dropping out, which is why the PTA runs a mentorship program. Meet mentor Gabriel Russell, a student at Huston-Tillotson, and Joshua Morgan, a Kealing student. They’re involved in the Kealing Men program. Several local and national programs have cropped up focusing on […]
Listen
January 30, 2017
12th & Chicon: A Steady Business
In East Austin a lot has changed–new homes, new businesses, new residents-–but there are some things that have stayed the same. As part of our On My Block series, KUT’s Lauren Hubbard brings us to Marshall’s Barbershop, a longtime fixture in the neighborhood that’s now one of the few black-owned businesses in the neighborhood.
Listen
January 25, 2017
12th & Chicon: It’s Not the Same East Side
Judy Mitchell grew up in the neighborhood and raised her children there, but she’s sad that many longtime residents are being offered money to leave their homes and then can’t afford to stay in the neighborhood. Mitchell owns the Ideal Soul Mart at the corner of Angelina Street and Rosewood Avenue.
Listen
January 25, 2017
12th & Chicon: A Corner of Change and Diversity
On one East Austin corner, Bobby Mitchell operates Ideal Soul Mart, Ideal Beauty Salon, and Swamp Daddy’s Cajun food truck. Inches away, Charles Carver operates a law office from an Airstream in the parking lot. The convergence of these varied services is emblematic of the new businesses moving into the neighborhood.
Listen
January 23, 2017
12th & Chicon: Honoring Austin Blacks in Baseball
The Black Senators, Austin’s black baseball team in the first part of the 20th century, played at Downs Field in East Austin. The field is now home to the Huston-Tillotson University Rams. Houston artist Reginald Adams and members of the East Austin senior center are commemorating the players by crafting murals.
Listen
January 19, 2017
12th & Chicon: Saving Emancipation Park
A parcel of land in the Chestnut neighborhood of East Austin was once home to the city’s annual Juneteenth celebration. Now, it’s the proposed site of a new development that neighbors say would undermine its historical significance.
Listen
January 11, 2017
12th & Chicon: Juggling the Demands of a Business
Meet Vivian Linden and Kathy Duffy, co-owners and practitioners at Rosewood Acupuncture & Ayurveda on Chicon. The office is the manifestation of a business plan they created in school to provide affordable health care to everyone.
Listen
December 15, 2016
12th & Chicon: What a New Business Owner Sees
Executive Chef and Owner of Big Easy Bar & Grill Darold Gordon, has brought a taste of his hometown of New Orleans to the neighborhood. He opened his restaurant in 2013, about eight years after Hurricane Katrina forced him to move to Central Texas. His restaurant is where the old Club 40 used to be […]
Listen
