KUT is hosting a live, one-hour conversation during Morning Edition about the Austin Independent School District's plan to consolidate schools. You can watch the conversation on this page, stream the audio on KUT.org or listen on the radio at 90.5 FM, starting shortly after 9 a.m.

The president of the Austin Police Association says five Austin Police officers were taken to the hospital on Tuesday after trying to arrest a homeless man in Downtown Austin.

Latinx Americans need to be proud and fight against negative stereotypes, Alejandra Castillo, president and CEO of YWCA, said during a Hispanic Heritage Month kickoff Tuesday afternoon. The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs hosted the open event, where around 50 students and faculty gathered to listen to the LBJ School alumna speak about her journey as a Latina immigrant and woman growing up in the U.S. and changing attitudes toward Latinx communities in the United States.  Castillo said her speech’s timing is critical as the country debates policy matters such as immigration, criminal justice reform and the environment.  “A lot of the social justice issues that we have grappled with are now much more heightened,” Castillo said. “The principles that LBJ espoused are being tested, so for me, coming and speaking to the students was of paramount importance.” Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, director of civic engagement at the LBJ School, said the school is training the nation’s next generation of leaders and wants students to see their potential through Castillo’s leadership.  “She is one of the foremost voices in Latino advocacy, one of the foremost voices for communities of color, and within that, women in particular,” DeFrancesco Soto said.  Castillo said her organization is the largest organization in the country that provides services to survivors of gender-based domestic violence. “When I see a mother who comes to me and says, ‘YWCA saved my daughter’s life,’ we choke — it brings tears,” Castillo said. “If that’s not a testament that I am on the right path, I don’t know what is.”  Hispanic Heritage Month commemorates contributions, like Castillo’s, from the Latinx community to the United States, according to the school. Edda Pleitez, a Salvadoran American global policy graduate student, said for her, Hispanic Heritage Month means appreciating the beauty in people’s differences. Pleitez said the term “Hispanic” draws controversy because it historically excluded indigenous persons and people of color within the Latinx community, but she said she is always there to support those who deal with that battle.  “Hopefully, over time, that heals,” Pleitez said. “At the end of the day, events like this are still bringing these issues and these groups of people to light.” Of her dual Hispanic American identity, Castillo said both exist within her.  “Neither side over the other, they make me whole (and) a much more complete individual,” Castillo said.

The Asian Desi Pacific Islander American Collective (ADPAC) held a screening of the “American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs” on Tuesday at the Multicultural Engagement Center, followed by a discussion about Asian American activism.  The ADPAC is a student organization that aims to serve, educate, empower and represent the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American community at the University, said Sarah Philips, ADPAC director of operations. The discussion centered around Grace Lee Boggs, a Chinese American author and social activist, and how she and other similar activists influence Asian American activism today. “(The event) was about discussing what activism looks like for Asian Americans in today’s world and how that was affected by early Asian American activists like Grace Lee Boggs,” said Ananya Murthy, biochemistry and biomedical engineering senior and ADPAC finance director. Philips, an Asian American studies and government senior, said she chose Boggs specifically because of how her work connects with how she feels Asian American activism should look like on campus. Boggs is known for her work with black communities in Detroit and civil rights activism during the 1950s and 60s. “What’s really cool about her is that she expressed solidarity before there was even a word for that,” Philips said. “She worked a lot with black organizations and was also a community activist. At UT, (Asian Americans) are overrepresented compared to the general population. So it’s a lot of solidarity work, and Boggs embodies that.”  According to the University’s Fall 2018 Student Profile, 19% of students identified as Asian American. According to a 2016 estimate by the US Census Bureau, more than 6% of the general U.S. population identified as Asian American. Lynn Huynh, women and gender studies and advertising junior, said Asian American activism is about more than solidarity.  “Asian American activism has to be done both externally and internally,” Huynh said. “Externally, we have so much to work on, like building solidarity. But internally, there’s so much more we need to work on, like making sure we’re accounting for all Asian American communities and worrying about gentrification.” Philips said she’s inspired by Boggs because of how she defied Asian American stereotypes. “I really believe that we should all know who Grace Lee Boggs is,” Philips said. “We’re told Asian Americans are apolitical, and we’re told that Asians don’t do this or Indians don’t do this. But when you hear and watch about Grace Lee Boggs, there’s a lot of things she does that breaks that incorrect stereotype.”