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Top Stories: Dallas Cultural Affairs Commission Agrees On Moving Confederate Symbols

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The top local stories this evening from KERA News:

The Dallas Cultural Affairs Commission unanimously adopted recommendations from a task force appointed by the mayor on what to do with the city's Confederate monuments and symbols. 

It agreed to loan or donate the statue of Robert E. Lee on a horse to a museum or another historic location. That statue is in storage now; it was removed this summer from Lee Park, which the city has changed back to Oak Lawn Park. 

Other stories this evening:

  • Texas lawmakers began hearing testimony this morning from state and local education officials about the impact of Hurricane Harvey on the state’s schools. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath told the House Public Education Committee almost all of the school districts affected by the historic storm have reopened. In total, 1.9 million students attend school in the 60 counties that fall under Governor Greg Abbott’s state disaster declaration for Harvey. Morath's office estimates the damage to the state's public schools could top $1.6 billion.

  • NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem continue to face backlash from fans, owners and the president. Long before the NFL protests, though, Muhammad Ali was making waves as an outspoken advocate for racial justice. Today on Think, Krys Boyd talked with journalist Jonathan Eig about how Ali challenged the idea of what a successful black athlete should be. 

  • Fort Worth Actor Sherry Jo Ward has written her first play, "Stiff." She stars in the one-woman show, and it's a tough role. In today's Artist Spotlight, Art&Seek's Jerome Weeks says that's because Ward is playing herself suffering from an extremely rare disorder that leaves her in constant pain, her muscles rigid or trembling.  

 
 
You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:22 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.

Gus Contreras is a digital producer and reporter at KERA News. Gus produces the local All Things Considered segment and reports on a variety of topics from, sports to immigration. He was an intern and production assistant for All Things Considered in Washington D.C.