Tulia, Texas Part Two

Enjoy the first award winning investigation on Tulia, Texas, shot in 1999, which resulted in an astounding national news story by a black female producer in the year 2000 and brought international attention to Tulia, Texas.

Other documentaries followed this report, but John Singleton and Halle Berry 10 years later, should be celebrated for revisiting Tulia in their Hollywood story. Local Civil Rights Reverend, Alan Bean, who originally guided network investigative producer, Melissa Cornick, to the dusty Texas panhandle can be proud that false accusations of drug dealing against 1/4 of the adult blacks were overturned because of his diligence. Much like a precursor to the Jena 6, Jami Floyd, who anchors truTV's Best Defense, reported Cornick's evidence about racism in the town. The story won the National Association of Black Journalists first prize and others in 2001, and even better, exposed the truth, which energized the legal community and resulted in the release of the innocent prisoners of Tulia.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Tulia
• Texas
• drug sting
• Mattie White
• John Singleton
• Halle Berry
• Jena 6
• defendants
• drug war
• informant
• racism
• Civil Rights
• McEachern
• Jeff
• Blackburn

[DemocracyUS]

Thank you for the response! I have the feeling that this kind of injustice is still going on but doesn't get reported anymore.

Please share the Tulia, Tx story! Take care

[punisher1083]

and its the law enforcement/ judges/ probation officers who have the drug problems... getting caught shooting up in your office didnt come up... probations officers and da smoking crack tulia is just so crooked... they dont want the blame on them so they point their finger at others...

[punisher1083]

I was born and raised there. and never planned to leave. as a kid you are oblivious to whats going on. but growing up, you open your eyes and see the TRUE TULIA. A crooked judge put me away for awhile over bogus NON drug charges. and i moved away as soon as i stepped foot outside the jail. i vowed to never go back. if i fell on my luck and had no other choice i would gladly live under a bridge then put up with that type of BS. this may be inappropriate, but i think Bin Laden forgot about tulia

[theIllmaticClassic]

Coleman needs to rot in jail, why do they act as if they didnt know Coleman was lying? The Sheriff and Terry are just as guilty for defending him. How could you not do a check on Coleman? wayy too many people where put in jail innocently

[donnachung1]

It really was and is still like this in Tuia - being from there. You have no idea how the "elders" of the church / chamber / sheriff / judge plot and plan to keep their supremacy and their "power"...over women, girls, minorities....SHAMEFUL that no one outside of the panhandle doesn't come in and break up this corrupted little society. Thank goodness for Amarillo-based Blackburn and the NAACP.

[donnachung1]

It really was and is still like this in Tuia - being from there. You have no idea how the "elders" of the church / chamber / sheriff / judge plot and plan to keep their supremacy and their "power"...over women, girls, minorities....SHAMEFUL that no one outside of the panhandle doesn't come in and break up this corrupted little society.

[XgreenjacketX]

try and do this shit in Brixton South London.....

[munen3434]

tulia texas = racist redneck assholes.

[slowmotionsweet]

I'm so irritated but not surprised by the responses...as if you know Gary...I knew him as a child and he is what he appears...he's not afraid of what people think and he wasn't afraid to stand up for people who were wronged. The Gardner's are a good family and I believe them to be honest. That was the consistent impression I always got from them as a child. They proved to be loyal friends to my family which is hard to come by.

[JU9NCH9V3Z]

i lived in tulia for 10 yrs and was living there when that happend it was fucked up

[cg257]

Hell I would have taken a plea deal too....Did you hear how unintelligent the jury was....QUESTION "Would you want to know any more information that reflected on Coleman's creditability?" JUROR BYRAN ANSWER: "No because we weren't trying him" Same question to JUROR EARL: "No because what someone did in the past doesn't make them creditable at the time of doing another job"...Man I feel for everyone who was convicted with jurors like this....