The July, 1999 drug busts in Tulia Texas were initially hailed as great progress in the War on Drugs, but quickly became emblematic of the serious racial divides in Tulia and elsewhere. PBS’s Independent Lens takes a look back with “Tulia Texas” on Tuesday, February 10th. We’ll talk this evening with Judge Ron Chapman, Retired Justice of the 5th District Court of Appeals who presided over the evidentiary hearing that led to the overturning of the Tulia drug cases. We’ll also be joined by Dr. Alan Bean, Executive Director and founding member of Friends of Justice, the organization which fought to have the verdicts overturned. Argentinean artist, Florencia Levy, will join us during the Scene segment to discuss her current project “Commute Portraits” which examines highway commutes and documents the automotive way of life in DFW. It’s on exhibit at UTD’s Centratrak until March 18, 2009.
