Logo for “E4 Youth Presents: Lostin” in block letters

Lostin SXSW

New for 2023 is the Lostin SXSW Experience! FIND THE MACHINE Whether you’re visiting Austin for the first time during SXSW or a long time Austinite, check out the exclusive Lostin vending machine in the lobby of the historic Paramount Theater on Congress Avenue in downtown Austin. Be sure to hurry to snag your own […]

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Most Teachers Don’t Look Like Our Students and That’s a Problem.

Most Teachers Don’t Look Like Our Students and That’s a Problem. Photo credit: Atlanta Blackstar Racial and ethnic minorities accounted for 20% of of all public elementary and secondary school teachers in the United States during the 2015–16 school year.– Pew Research Center, 2017 65% of the students in Central Texas are of color. – Texas Tribune. 2019 No matter […]

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Enrichment Club Report

Enrichment Club Report Get Creative Enrichment Club members from Crockett High School pose with their Creative Mentor (center) at E4 Youth’s Annual Showcase event. Download the full report. As I wrote about earlier, E4 Youth has been going through our annual evaluation process. Our bread and butter programming is Get Creative Enrichment Clubs — trained college age Creative Mentors […]

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The Assault On the Psyche Is Real

The Assault On the Psyche Is Real As we move through the summer months, E4 Youth has been working on improving our evaluation methodology. As a small organization, it can be difficult to develop a robust process for measurement. We’ve struggled at times with this issue. So, last summer we got some support from our friends […]

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Austin Impact Accelerator 2019

Austin Impact Accelerator 2019 It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here on Medium. I’ve been busy living life, scheming on how to stay whole, writing proposals and doing due diligence for E4 Youth, the organization I founded over a decade ago. One of those proposals was for a City of Austin Innovation Grant […]

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Historical image of former Harlem Theater, in Austin TX

“The One and Only” – Remembering East Austin’s Harlem Theater

Opening its doors October of 1935, The Harlem Theater of East Austin was an iconic cultural hub of the black community. Being one of only seven black-owned theaters in the country at the time, it offered a comfortable and enjoyable movie-going experience for all its patrons. Instead of being forced to enter through the fire […]

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Two men in East Austin look at new mural on 12th & Chicon, Austin TX

A Tale of Unity at 12th and Chicon: “We Rise” – E4 Youth

If you’re driving through East Austin or checking out the burgeoning clubs near 12th and Chicon Street, take note of the mural at the northeast corner of the crossroads. Behind the bold portraits of notable Black figures is a story of a contested public expression, with a fragile future. In 2014 Chris Rogers painted a […]

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Keeping Austin Diverse: The Historic Victory Grill

The Victory Grill is a historical restaurant built in 1945 on East 11th Street in Austin, Texas. In the era of segregation in Austin, Victory Grill was a significant destination for African Americans to congregate. It also provided a space for Black veterans returning from World War II to relax when returning home. The venue […]

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Landscape image of Truth's mural of Draylen Mason on side of electrical box in East Austin, TX.

Memorial to a Fallen Stranger: Austin Artist “Truth” on Draylen Mason

In March of 2018, Austin residents were stunned by a string of package bombings around the city, which killed two black men and injured a handful of other people of color. Even a year later, the incident the bomber’s motives are still unconfirmed by law enforcement; though it seemed racially motivated, his attacks also included […]

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