Over the weekend, I got a call from Tristan Hallman at the Morning News seeking a response to some claims made by Chief Reneé Hall about how we handled a profile of her in the May issue of D Magazine. You can read what Hallman wrote here. Hall has two beefs with D Magazine. The first concerns the photograph you see with this post. Hall said:

“It was my thought that it was more of a fun shot and not going to be used in that matter, and that was one that was actually used. That’s the thing about art. It’s different things to different people.”

First, on behalf of our staff photographer, Elizabeth Lavin, I would like to thank the chief for her assessment of the photograph’s merits. I, too, see it as art. It’s a great shot. But I have no idea what she means by saying she thought it was “more of a fun shot and not going to be used in that matter.”

Dallas may host its parade in the relatively temperate month of September, but it’s Pride Month here too, as evidenced by the rainbow skyline we enjoyed a few weeks back.

So here’s a timely find from UNT Special Collections, which is digitizing old TV news clips from Channel 5, with a special shout-out to the sharp eye that recognized an uncredited Harvey Milk being interviewed at the “Texas Gay Conference V” at Dallas’ Royal Coach Inn on June 10, 1978.

The California politician and gay civil rights activist, who would be assassinated later that year, imagines a world where LGBT men and women at a conference in Dallas won’t have to hide their faces from TV news cameras. America’s highest ideals demand equal rights for LGBT people, Milk says. It’s the country where anyone can make it.

“In this country, if gay people can make it, then it’s putting a green light that the system works, that you’re wanted,” Milk says. “And also it tells all those other people—the minorities, the disenfranchised, the poor… ‘Hey, if a gay person can make it, I can make it.’ And it tells people to get into the system and work within the system instead of being shoved aside.”

The first clip below is what aired on Dallas television in 1978. The second is B-roll, including more of the Milk interview. From the second clip, this quote’s a keeper: “Young gay people (should know) that there’s hope that they can become doctors and lawyers and politicians, God forbid, and businesspeople.” Credit to UNT Special Collections, the Resource Center LGBT Collection, and KXAS-TV.

[News Clip: Gay (Rights conference)] on The Portal to Texas History.

[News Clip: Gay (Rights conference)] on The Portal to Texas History.

The photo used for the cover of Nasir, Nas’ new album, is a striking one. It was taken in South Dallas for a 1988 feature in Texas Monthly, which covered how the crack epidemic was tearing apart the neighborhood. The photographer, Mary Ellen Mark, spent much of her career documenting the people and the parts of town that society too often neglects. More of Mark’s photo work is currently featured in a yearlong exhibition downtown at the Museum of Street Culture, a new and important program we wrote about earlier this year.

The Kids Are Our Future. NASIR out everywhere tomorrow! Executive Produced by @kanyewest #NASIR pic.twitter.com/gpRUBT7FPU

— Nasir Jones (@Nas) June 14, 2018

Scott Bennett and Ronen Akiva are two dads whose children had a very modern problem: they couldn’t fit a standard minimum-wage job into their activity-packed schedules. So Bennett and Akiva came up with Skratch, an app that gives busy high school students, ages 14 to 19, the opportunity to earn cash by taking care of your odd jobs and the freedom to do so between extracurriculars.

“It’s about meeting kids where they are,” says Bennett, pointing out that kids are also learning the importance of responsibility and cultivating professional relationships.

How Skratch works: teens register and select their preferred tasks (dog-sitting, lawn-mowing, and so on), while individuals or organizations (“sponsors” in Skratch nomenclature) can post jobs they need done—anything from tutoring to tech assistance. The two are connected by neighborhood and task. Rates are preset and payments are made to the “Skratchers” through the app. To keep kids safe, adult sponsors are screened against Texas’ sex offender registry, and parents receive a message as soon as their children accept a gig and throughout the process.

The app is now available in 30 Dallas-area ZIP codes, with plans for expansion throughout North Texas within the next 12 to 18 months and nationally in a few years.

Here, a sampling of “Skratchers” available for hire.

Laura Bush Pleads For an End to Separation of Immigrant Families. From the Dallas resident’s Washington Post opinion piece: “I live in a border state. I appreciate the need to enforce and protect our international boundaries, but this zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart.”

Mayor Mike Rawlings Also Offers an Immigration Opinion. “The separation of a child from a parent who has entered our country to seek asylum is cruel and unconscionable. Dallas is willing to help in any way we can by working closely with outside agencies and community partners.”

Boxer Errol Spence Jr. Keeps Welterweight Title with First Round Knockout. The Desoto southpaw was favored to win the bout at The Star in Frisco, but knocking out his opponent in the first round was unexpected (for Spence especially; he said he hoped to give the sold-out crowd a better show and take Carlos Ocampo out in the 4^th or 5^th round). One fan who didn’t mind the quick win: Jerry Jones. “I saw a guy in this ring who knew what he wanted,” said Jones. “When you knock a guy out by hitting him once on the side of his back, you’re bad to the bone.”

In this month’s issue, we feature 10 weekend getaways from as close as Bridgeport (where you can sleep in safari-style accommodations overlooking the lion enclosure at a big cat rescue) to as far as Marfa (where you can stay in a 19th-century fort and explore Native American rock pictographs).

Last year’s travel issue included the Pearl Brewery district in San Antonio, a historic neighborhood that has become a culinary destination. But this summer may be the better time to head south. To celebrate its ties to Spain, the city is launching Olé, San Antonio, a summer-long celebration of food, dance, and art. Here’s a taste: