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Portrait of John Esteban Catano Molina at the ice rink in the Memorial City Mall, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, in Houston. John Esteban always dreamt of figure skating but there were no ice rinks in his hometown in Colombia. The 17-year-old moved to the U.S. with his parents a few years ago. He found himself at the ice rink at The Galleria and tried skating. He even taught himself to ice skate, practicing multiple times a week. Now he's doing double jumps with the encouragement of local coaches. As the Winter Olympics gets under way on Friday, there are many young people like Esteban with Olympic-like dreams - in a sport in which Black and Latino skaters are few - but they need support.

Mayor Whitmire said 'undocumented immigrants' from Gulfton don't go to the Galleria. Here's what he missed

When I learned that Mayor Whitmire made comments that undocumented immigrants would not want to go to the Galleria and that they wouldn't be welcomed there, I thought he was partly right.

But what the Mayor missed in his message is that the Galleria, for many people, is an aspirational place, where dreams are made. It reminded me of my story about a teen from Colombia who taught himself to ice skate by watching YouTube videos.

He dreamed of skating on real ice, one day. When his family moved to Houston for a better life, he got that chance to skate at Galleria's ice rink.

Everyone deserves a chance to dream, and have those dreams come true.

Click here to read my column.

Do you have a story to share or know of one that needs to be told? Share it with us here.

Joy Sewing, Columnist

Joy.Sewing@houstonchronicle.com

Worth your time

At far left, 'Stay Woke' is the headline of Houston Informer editor C.F. Richardson's column for the May 24, 1924 edition of the paper.

Photo by: Houston Informer

Did 'stay woke' originate in Houston? The famed social justice slogan is celebrating 100 years

I imagine few people know the term "stay woke," which has become a conservative battle cry against any diversity efforts, has roots in Houston, one of the nation's most diverse cities.

The evidence appears on the front page of a 1924 edition of the Houston Informer, a prominent Black newspaper in Texas, with an article titled, "Stay Woke."

It's a discovery recently made by classical music historian Paul Schleuse, a Houston native and Rice University graduate. During the pandemic, he researched the history of Houston's Black classical musicians for his new book. After reading Richardson's article, Schleuse looked up references to "woke" and "stay woke," but found no mention of it before the 1930s.

It's certainly not in most history books.

Please read more of my latest column.