Blackface at Texas schools, expensive Dallas parking lot: Your weekend roundup

Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines of the weekend so far.  [Morning roundup]( 02/17/2019 By Todd Davis Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines of the weekend so far. 🌥️ Weather: A little warmer with some sunshine and a high of 58. No rain expected. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here.]( A locked fenced in empty parking lot near the 2200 block of Burbank Street in Dallas on Friday. The empty parking lot is near Dallas Love Field Airport. (Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer) DALLAS [For $316k a year, Dallas is stuck with an empty parking lot near Love Field]( On Burbank Street — a less-than-a-mile-long road tucked between the west side of Dallas Love Field and Brook Hollow Golf Club — sits a costly miscalculation City Hall made three years ago. For $1.58 million of airport revenues, the city leased from Viceroy Royal LP a smoothly paved 2.8 acre-parking lot, which is next door to a tech company and not far from a steakhouse on the corner with Harry Hines Boulevard. [But the lot is rarely, if ever, used.]( City officials say the story of the parking lot is one of unfortunate timing. But even in early 2016, the the city — which had already committed to a massive new parking garage at Love Field — misread the parking situation and the impact of app-based ride-hailing services on the airport. And the city will be stuck with that decision for about two more years. Public health: Dallas County reports the [9th and 10th flu deaths]( the season. Crime: [A man was arrested]( accused of pushing a man off DART platform in east Oak Cliff earlier in the week. ADVERTISEMENT EDUCATION [Texas, Texas A&M, other state schools have long history of blackface]( For University of Texas students, singing "The Eyes of Texas" at sporting events, commencement and other campus events is a rite of passage. But a glance around the stadium might reveal that some of those students aren't singing along -- a nod to the song's shameful origins. In 1903, it was first performed at a minstrel show, where white actors wore blackface to mock African-Americans. "When some students pick up on that, they stop singing the song," said Edmund Gordon, UT’s vice provost for diversity and founder of the African and African diaspora studies department. [Texas colleges, including UT, Texas A&M, Rice and SMU]( have had their share of blackface incidents, and its legacy persists nationally today. Commentary: By tying the hands of local leaders, [Texas is undermining its ability to educate kids](. Elections: There are crowded races for the Dallas school board as [incumbents bow out](. (Tom Fox/Staff Photographer) PHOTO OF THE WEEKEND [A new breed of police dog: Graduation ceremony showcases pit bulls' rising role]( Hype, a new canine police pit bull, poses with his new owner City of Barling (Arkansas) officer Don Howe [after graduating from the Midlothian-based police canine training group]( Sector K9, at Ferris ISD auditorium Friday in Ferris. Hype was among several dogs that graduated from the Animal Farm Foundation’s police dog program, which trains dogs in narcotics detection before pairing them up with officers. AROUND THE SITE - Hold on to your tray tables: Dallas-Fort Worth may soon land more [American Airlines flight attendants](. - Crime: A warrant used in a Houston police raid might be riddled with lies, [chief says](. - Commentary: [As an American Imam]( I am inspired by Frederick Douglass, who refused to let anyone else define his faith. FINALLY... [How 'The Amazing Petrified Man' was finally buried in Dallas]( Robert Wilonsky, city columnist of The Dallas Morning News, writes: I still cannot believe we know so little about this tale, about how horribly a black man's corpse had been mistreated — for show, for amusement, for a few cents a giggle. I cannot believe, either, that a story so widely shared not that long ago has completely vanished. Andrew McCrew, who was not buried until 60 years after his death, deserves not to be forgotten and erased. Not again. What happened to the man "was macabre. It was scary. It was horrible," songwriter Don McLean told me this week. The famed folk singer does not do many interviews but was eager to talk about the inspiration behind "The Legend of Andrew McCrew," immortalized on this marker in this Dallas graveyard. "[What a nasty message to send black people]( — to make humor out of this, to make this person the butt of jokes and laughter," McLean said. "That was just awful." 👋 That's all for this morning! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. Do you have feedback? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to [newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=). STAY CONNECTED WITH US [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [Tumblr]( [Reddit]( [OTHER FREE NEWSLETTERS]( [Unsubscribe]( | [Dallasnews.com]() | [Subscribe to The Dallas Morning News]() | [Subscriber login]() | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( You received this message because you signed up for this Dallas Morning News newsletter or it was forwarded to you. Copyright 2019 - [The Dallas Morning News, 1954 Commerce Street, Dallas, TX 75201, United States]()