{"id":62970,"date":"2025-11-24T16:09:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T16:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/62970\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T16:09:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T16:09:11","slug":"emmy-winning-documentary-unearths-dallas-untold-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/62970\/","title":{"rendered":"Emmy-Winning Documentary Unearths Dallas’ Untold Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Win Rooted in Community<\/p>\n

When Dallas Weekly sat down with Jerry L. Hawkins fresh off their Emmy win for\u00a0Recovering the Stories, the conversation opened with a laugh. Hawkins joked that between the Emmy and a community Tony recognition years ago, he was now \u201chalfway to an EGOT.\u201d But beneath the humor was a deep gratitude\u2014for the award, for the people who helped bring the project to life, and for the communities whose histories it uplifts.<\/p>\n

Recovering the Stories<\/a>\u00a0is a documentary series that traces overlooked chapters of Dallas history. The project originated not at KERA, where it ultimately aired, but at Dallas Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT), Hawkins\u2019 former organization. Its spark came from a Dallas history tour given years ago for visiting racial equity leaders. What stunned Hawkins most was not the guests\u2019 reaction, but the lifelong Dallas residents who admitted they had never heard these stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat stuck with me,\u201d Hawkins said. \u201cThe last comprehensive documentary on Dallas was 40 years old\u2014and it wasn\u2019t equitable. We needed something new. Something ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supported by a willing funder and a community advisory board made up of historians, activists, archivists, and local leaders, the team narrowed more than 100 potential stories down to six communities. After three years of interviews, research, and filming, the series launched on KERA last October.<\/p>\n

Why Local Storytelling Matters<\/p>\n

Hawkins\u2019 acceptance speech at the Emmys was limited to 20 seconds, nowhere near enough time for a true Emmy acceptance speech. But in an exclusive conversation with Dallas Weekly, Hawkins expanded on a theme that mattered deeply: public media is under threat, and storytelling like this is part of how we keep it alive.<\/p>\n

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, once the key conduit for federal funds to NPR, PBS, and their affiliates, has been defunded<\/a>. That leaves local stations scrambling for sustainability.<\/p>\n

Documentaries like\u00a0Recovering the Stories, Hawkins said, show what public media can still do at its best: partner with communities, highlight suppressed histories, and make those stories accessible to all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can start as small as working with a neighborhood-based organization,\u201d they said. \u201cAnd it can turn into something award-winning. That\u2019s the power of local media.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hawkins encouraged viewers to actively support KERA. \u201cThey bring news that actually impacts you. And most of it is accessible. You don\u2019t have to pay to participate in local media.\u201d<\/p>\n

The People Behind the Project<\/p>\n

If the Emmy belongs to anyone, Hawkins said, it belongs to the community.<\/p>\n

Hawkins credits KERA\u2019s video team, led by Casey Ellison, and the Dallas TRHT crew, including lead interviewer Dr. Caroli Climchock, as foundational partners. But the most profound credit went to the residents of West and South Dallas who volunteered their stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese were harrowing stories: bombings, gangs, resettlement. But they were also stories of resilience,\u201d Hawkins said.<\/p>\n

One familiar example of these stories: young people, under the leadership of Juanita Craft, integrating the State Fair of Texas.<\/p>\n

RELATED: The State Fair Was The Worst Thing To Happen To Fair Park <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIf they didn\u2019t do that, many of us wouldn\u2019t be welcome in that space today.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Comes Next<\/p>\n

The Emmy has already sparked new ideas. Hawkins hopes to produce a similar series in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n

The win also reinforced something personal. \u201cThe racial equity field has been hollowed out,\u201d Hawkins reflected. \u201cThis was deeply personal for me. It reminded me why storytelling matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Jerry Hawkins via Instagram<\/p>\n

A community celebration is already in the works. Hawkins plans to carry the Emmy with them everywhere for a week so Dallas residents can see it, touch it, take photos with it\u2014because in their words, \u201cit belongs to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Closing Reflections<\/p>\n

Hawkins ended the conversation with another round of gratitude for the community members who trusted them with their stories, for KERA\u2019s Casey Ellison and veteran journalist Sylvia Komatsu and for Dallas Weekly itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a dream to be associated with a historic institution like Dallas Weekly,\u201d Hawkins said. <\/p>\n

Hawkins\u2019 Emmy win is more than a milestone for a dedicated journalist. It\u2019s a moment of affirmation for Dallas, local media and the generations who fought to ensure their stories wouldn\u2019t be forgotten.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Win Rooted in Community When Dallas Weekly sat down with Jerry L. Hawkins fresh off their Emmy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62971,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[6007,6008,6009,33054,33055,102,104,103,6011,33056,33057,33058,30245,66,223,33059,33060,27],"class_list":{"0":"post-62970","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-black-media","9":"tag-black-news","10":"tag-black-press","11":"tag-casey-ellison","12":"tag-corporation-for-public-broadcasting","13":"tag-dallas","14":"tag-dallas-headlines","15":"tag-dallas-news","16":"tag-dallas-weekly","17":"tag-dr-caroli-climchock","18":"tag-jerry-l-hawkins","19":"tag-juanita-craft","20":"tag-kera","21":"tag-local","22":"tag-news","23":"tag-recovering-the-stories","24":"tag-sylvia-komatsu","25":"tag-texas"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}