Free Republic

Yolanda Anderson had owned a property gem in Austin for decades before she had no other choice but to put it up for sale. She didn’t want to do it, but when she was unsuccessful in securing funding to do extensive renovations on the pink-and-white Victorian — a marvel among passersby — she had no other choice. When the house sold in March, she moved her family to Oak Park, where they rent a condominium. “We really put our all into it,” Anderson said. “We reached out to the mayor, to our alderman, and there’s just no help for situations...

A Depression-era mural depicting white children playing outside in the winter was removed from Percy Julian Middle School in Oak Park because school officials said it failed to represent the school’s diversity. While some said the mural was upsetting to students of color who felt it excluded them from the school, a local historian likened the removal to a “modern-day book burning.” Cynthia Brito Millan, a coordinator for the middle school’s Social Justice Club, said the push to remove the mural began in February at a district school board meeting. Students expressed frustration about an atmosphere of exclusion for students...