On this day 106 years ago, more than a dozen Black soldiers were executed by hanging following the Houston riot of 1917. Recently, the editorial board praised the U.S. military for overturning the convictions of all 110 soldiers who were tried together in a rushed trial and represented by one man who wasn't even a lawyer. We called on all the institutions that played a role in the historic wrongs of that time to follow their lead. That includes us. Our Sunday editorial takes an in-depth look at how our own predecessors repeatedly wrote in support of a rushed prosecution. We regret the role the Chronicle played in the deadly miscarriage of justice.
Last week, we asked readers to write in about the changes at Rice University's quad with the statue of its founder, who had enslaved fellow Texans, getting moved from its pedestal at the center to a new home in a corner of the space. We continue to gather your responses and hope you'll send your thoughts on how institutions are revisiting our city's difficult history.
This weekend, state Sen. John Whitmire won the 2023 mayoral runoff. Only 247,969 people cast a vote. That's 21 percent of registered voters, a downright depressing turnout. We do find some solace and hope in voters like Eric and Christine Hudson.
"I try to be an educated voter, and if I'm not, I don't vote," Eric told a member of the editorial board outside a polling location at the Proctor Plaza Community Center in the Heights. He had a printout of the editorial board endorsements folded in his pocket. Along with Christine, he not only consulted our endorsement summaries but read through our full write-ups and used the detail to note where he disagreed with us.
The habit of reading the paper started early --- he remembers watching his grandparents read the Chronicle. Is there a way to get new generations of Houstonians to be more like the Hudsons? Let us know what you think about the turnout and results.
Send your letters to viewpoints@houstonchronicle.com. (Our apologies if that email address didn't work for you in recent days. It's back up and running.)
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