Jaison Oliver
@oJaison
Followers
5,779
Following
3,286
Media
2,898
Statuses
21,352
Educator. Organizer. Engineer. Yalie. Blogger. Detroiter. Black. Imagining and creating a better world. He/Him
Houston, TX
Joined June 2012
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
seokjin
• 857765 Tweets
Judge Cannon
• 187741 Tweets
LINGORM TSOU EP4
• 173574 Tweets
#ใจซ่อนรักEP4
• 161962 Tweets
Jack Smith
• 143265 Tweets
#THEFIRSTTAKE_SB19第2弾
• 123140 Tweets
#海のはじまり
• 97227 Tweets
Morning Joe
• 83287 Tweets
Special Counsel
• 72945 Tweets
BLEND AND BREW X NORAWIT
• 51320 Tweets
UVERworld
• 49193 Tweets
Coolock
• 48965 Tweets
あんスタ
• 46155 Tweets
プライムデー
• 42735 Tweets
NCAA
• 37304 Tweets
Ford Foundation
• 36879 Tweets
海ちゃん
• 33701 Tweets
11th Circuit
• 31661 Tweets
CHK CHK BOOM MV TEASER 2
• 26737 Tweets
#StrayKids_ATE_D3
• 26580 Tweets
ジンくん
• 20240 Tweets
Jack Black
• 17965 Tweets
gracie
• 15696 Tweets
田中れい
• 15286 Tweets
TAKUYA
• 15169 Tweets
Mase
• 14291 Tweets
#幸せになってほしかったキャラ挙げろ
• 13309 Tweets
J Prince
• 12139 Tweets
Museum Card
• 11886 Tweets
Larry Fink
• 11475 Tweets
ミュージアムカード
• 10664 Tweets
Romanowskiego
• 10633 Tweets
弥生さん
• 10385 Tweets
Had to track down my jstor login for an article and it's wild how much effort goes into keeping people from learning what they wanna learn.
6
53
534
Community policing in action.
This is your reminder that hiring more school police won't prevent school shootings but it will eat up overtime dollars so they can show up in force and pull a neighbor out of a public meeting.
HISD Police just removed a woman who went over her allotted speaking time after multiple warnings to stop. She had sat down and finished speaking by the time police removed her.
18
74
139
10
132
386
Our jails are a public health crisis. In the Harris County Jail, where 86% of people are awaiting trial, 7 people have died in the last 90 days.
We must release people. And we must hold DA Kim Ogg accountable for frivolous charges.
2
188
364
Listening to a parent speak against a mask mandate: "More children die from car accidents every year but we don't ban cars or lower the speed limit."
So you agree we need better public transit to protect our children?
16
52
374
Yesterday, during a press conference, Houston Police Chief Acevedo announced that HPD is ramping up arrests of low-level crimes and misdemeanors to put more Houstonians in jail.
We're still in a pandemic. Our jails are still hotspots. This is dangerous.
A man died from COVID in a Houston jail cell last week because he couldn't afford the $100 bail. He died for the crime of being poor, awaiting trial for the alleged crime of stealing food.
His name was Preston Chaney.
Mass incarceration is a public health crisis.
898
20K
67K
5
249
327
Can we talk about motivational speakers? Because I get really annoyed when I join a meeting and have to listen to vague remarks about how everyone is so powerful. This ain't worth the increase in my zoom hours.
3
16
309
We're getting an Esperanza Spalding show on IG tonight 😍😍😍😭🖤🖤🖤
9
89
295
My face looks weird because I was squatting to take the pic but I got my
@harriscountypl
enhanced library card this week!
It's a FREE photo ID that's available to all Harris County residents regardless of age, immigration, or housing status.
9
77
263
Spending some time with the City of Houston and HPD's budgets, policies, etc to look at where funding is being allocated for FY 2021 and came up with this visualization (shout out to the
#DefundNYPD
folks).
10
200
260
I'm concerned about this framing of Houston's "officer shortage" that's going unchallenged. There are so random stats in the piece that it's easy to just go along with the narrative, but we need to ask more questions. I'll share a few here that I have for
@ChengYilun
The Houston Police Department could receive over $1 billion operating funds next year for the first time in its history.
2
2
7
2
59
245
Kaba: We are the ones enacting the logics of punishment and calling it other things. And that's hard to dislodge because it's so seductive and punishment feels good. There's a pleasure seeing people harmed when you've been harmed and we have to talk about that.
#AMC2020
0
84
236
This is in Harris County.
Please share this video with someone who doesn't know a lot about the criminal system: $5,000 bail for "sleeping under a bridge." Judge laughs. The whole process of sending this man to a cage takes a minute. This is what we're suing about across the US
@CivRightsCorps
22
392
802
6
152
220
I've never posted a video of myself playing and I haven't seriously picked up my bass in years but I decided to stretch and be a little courageous during
#BlackHistoryMonth
.
Since it’s
#BlackHistoryMonth
gonna do something I rarely do (post myself playing)
If you feel so compelled, quote tweet this verse of “Lift Every Voice” with a performance of your own (singing or playing) and repost this note for others who might join in the chorus 🖤
113
921
3K
19
35
207
Thread. This is the result of the city INCREASING the Houston Police Department's budget after thousands of us asked for alternative public safety investments.
This can't go on.
2
117
196
Shout out to Metro. Last night would've been impossible without them.
Hey
#HTown
, are you ready to be transported to the concert of a lifetime? 🎉🚌
METRO's finest are here and ready to help you get to the Renaissance World Tour tonight at NRG so you can see Queen Bey herself 👑 Get deets on how to ride at -M
2
10
65
3
16
197
If I were to tweet out the costs of random parts of Houston's secret police contract and match them with other city spending, would people be interested?
Example:
Officer Clothing Allowance - $1.3 million
Youth and Family Services - $1.2 million
#HouBudget
11
54
187
What a terrible way for Houston to stand out during this time of crisis. Mayor Turner really needs to answer for this.
And why do the constables have such excess capacity that allows them to ramp up evictions so drastically?
1
93
175
I thought it said $150K at first and I was like "I guess that's small for a power company" but then I read again and it's $150.00 I'm actually laughing out loud bc it's so absurd.
This is crazy. Greg Abbott signed a bill passed by the Texas legislature to “weatherize” the broken power grid.
But they built in a loophole where gas companies can pay $150(!) to opt-out—and the Republican legislators are just learning about it now!
346
3K
8K
3
55
174
Fun little fact looking at eight months of Houston police data last year: the biggest single cause of arrest is DUI. Over 500 people A MONTH.
Imagine how much safer Houston would be with better public transit.
"Over the past two decades, surveys have found that people who live in these urban areas, as 85% of Texans do, have consistently said they would prefer investments in public transit instead of bigger highways."
@TxDOT
@USDOT
@rethink35
@StopTxDotI45
1
20
55
7
49
175
School district takeovers are often a way for conservative state leadership to control the finances of liberal cities.
Mike Miles already said he wants to put a bond on the ballot in Nov 2024 and now he's trying to drastically remove financial oversight.
When a superintendent lacks sufficient board oversight and community input, it's like a captain sailing without a compass. The educational journey can veer off-course, missing valuable insights that ensure a school system meets its goals.
#EducationGovernance
#CommunityInput
3
40
124
5
91
165
This is wild. For those who aren't familiar with Houston schools, the reason that people are reacting with unanimous opposition is Cullen Middle School only has about 300 students and 70% are Black.
✨NEWS✨At our Military Career Day this afternoon,
@HISDSupe
announced HISD will open Cullen Military Academy at
@Cullen_Bobcats
. The academy will support students aspiring to serve in the armed forces after high school graduation. Read more here:
3
5
22
4
114
166
For Houston there's a list at (pictured here)
and another at
I recommend everyone make a list of 911 alternatives for different emergencies they can reference in time of crisis. I made one back when Defund the Police really started picking up steam and Twitter was sharing a lot of alternatives
51
11K
37K
2
183
157
"Technically I don't have to give your bike back to you"
Asset forfeiture is a revenue item in the Houston budget. Police can (and do) take people's money/belongings and make money off of it. Even when it's completely legal.
Here’s the explanation from a Perth Amboy police officer:
175
195
561
6
101
159
I appreciate these consistent reminders that police will quickly give up all responsibility for public safety when it's politically convenient.
But during budget conversations, they're the only thing separating us from a violent death.
@houstonpolice
@TroyFinner
Chief Finner: "The ultimate authority to end a show is with production and the entertainer, and that should be through communication with public safety officials."
4
2
2
2
60
152
Note for Houston: civil asset forfeiture is a dedicated source of funding for the Houston Police Department.
Last year, the money and goods they took paid for the overtime equivalent of 35 full-time police officers.
Thread. Have you ever heard of "civil asset forfeiture"? You're never going to think about the police the same way again. (1)
271
13K
28K
6
67
138
Thomas Gamelin was sentenced to 20 years in prison for stealing a TV and cigarettes from Walmart during Hurricane Harvey (he was on parole).
We really need better ways to deal with poverty.
HPD Chief Art Acevedo warns looters ahead of Hurricane Laura
6
17
36
1
58
139
The key to surviving the summer? Watermelon juice.
Also, if you're juicing it yourself I recommend juicing everything including the rind so it's not too too sweet.
6
8
141
Many of y'all know I've been kinda tuned out of the specifics of what's going on. But I want to explain why this upsets me so much.
5
85
130
Are we really going to pretend like TEA hasn't been interfering with HISD this ENTIRE TIME?? There was an interim superintendent from 2018-2021 because TEA stopped HISD from picking a new leader.
In closed door meeting with lawmakers, Education Commissioner Morath apparently telling them that HISD performed worse than other ISDs from 2019-2022. Members pushing back, noting that COVID had a particularly negative impact in large minority districts like Houston
#txlege
18
58
170
2
48
126
Houston says ABSOLUTELY NOT
astrologers said go back into your photo album to see what you were doing in august 2017 and thats what you will be doing very soon
785
593
8K
5
32
125
My timeline is full of people celebrating the HISD mask mandate announcement. I really hope we're able to celebrate more districts taking these types of obvious safety actions soon.
3
15
123
Go visit The Reading Room, Art is BOND, and Kindred Stories when you're in Houston!
Meet the women using their libraries to create spaces for Black art, literature
1
57
115
I've talked about asset forfeiture before and it has been widely covered. But I just don't believe police should be able to steal people's property and money and use it to fund their overtime.
"Technically I don't have to give your bike back to you"
Asset forfeiture is a revenue item in the Houston budget. Police can (and do) take people's money/belongings and make money off of it. Even when it's completely legal.
6
101
159
1
42
114
It stuns me how people keep dying in our jail (or satellite jails) and the world just keeps moving.
This man, who court records describe as homeless, has been arrested multiple times for attempting to avoid police. We know police harass them, yet avoiding them is a felony.
Harris County Jail inmate who was recently transferred to Louisiana correctional center has died, authorities say
1
5
8
1
50
111
My name is Jaison and I'm here to tel you that a dishwasher can be more than a drying rack. This is my testimony.
Dear young black adults, use your dishwasher. You're not gonna get in trouble. You're free.
257
6K
23K
7
28
112
This looks amazing.
Today is the day!
#DancingAtDusk
– A moment with Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring is now available to watch on demand!
Enjoy this moment of magic - we hope it lifts your spirits at a time when we are unable to gather together in a theatre❤️
Watch here:
7
211
586
5
30
109
Remember what I said about the Texas Education Agency having a specific focus on districts with large Black populations when it comes to takeovers?
Lancaster ISD is 76% Black.
10
69
110
Why are police so insistent on telling us that crime is worse than ever, despite the fact that their budgets are reaching record highs?
Is there any other profession that publicly tells us they can't fix the problems we pay them to fix? Hmm maybe politicians.
3
31
107
People in Houston definitely want mass transit. I'm people.
@mightylzrdking
Not a big Whitmire fan, but people don’t want mass transit. People want their own personal mode of transportation. And the pollution issue will soon be eliminated by renewable fuels and non-hydrocarbon fuels.
11
0
1
6
18
106
6
12
103
Which one do you think is more likely to reduce car accidents and deaths in Houston?
a) A PR campaign about how to drive safely and a wider I-45
b) expanded public transit making people less reliant on cars
Houston traffic has gotten worse, as careless drivers cause uptick in fatal crashes
4
22
27
9
22
107
I feel like people use Claudette Colvin in a shady way and I don't like that. Why make some broad (untrue) claim about being the first person to be arrested for resisting bus segregation? Just give her her deserved props.
September 5, 1939 — Activist and the first person to be arrested for resisting bus segregation, Claudette Colvin, was born in Montgomery, Alabama.
5
397
1K
1
20
103
Houston launches $3M fund to help up to 100 child care centers stay open
1
17
104
As a "compromise" we get cops "helping" people get housing (even while they evict people) without housing stock
cops providing youth services without counselors
cops trained for mental health response with no place for services but the jail
UPDATE: Want to make clear that one thing that makes this "let's spend more on cops AND fix inequality too" line so disingenuous is they know investing in cops is the only thing meaningfully on the table and that massive investment in housing, schools, health, arts, etc. isn't.
23
270
2K
2
27
104
I wish I could easily mute all this back and forth until they settle on a lie.
3
15
97
Nope. What we're not gonna do is let this turn into a means to attack immigrants in Houston. Domestic violence isn't an issue specific to immigrants.
ICE: Man accused of killing HPD officer is in country illegally
9
7
21
1
33
98
Good morning to everyone who puts sugar and butter in your grits. Stay strong. Ignore the haters.
18
27
99
It's supposed to be nice outside so I'm going to drop some art happening today in Houston that I've seen or plan to check out at some point. None of these spaces charge admission.
It's not exhaustive but definitely enough to keep you busy and relatively safe.
5
28
99
There was just a presentation to the city council public safety committee about all these car crashes happening during police chases.
What could someone steal from Kroger that possibly justifies all this?
#BREAKING
Chase with alleged shoplifter ends in crash with innocent driver | SkyEye video shows aftermath on I-45 feeder
7
6
4
2
31
95
Zip Codes in numerical order:
77011
77012
77013
77014
77015
77016
77020
77022
77026
77028
77029
77032
77033
77036
77037
77038
77039
77048
77050
77051
77060
77076
77078
77080
77086
77087
77090
77091
77093
77099
77502
77503
77504
77506
77587
5
87
94
Has anyone been a part of a book club focused solely on Houston authors? I can't pretend I would participate regularly but I like the idea of it. I could even help make a book list!
17
3
94
"The Peyton Manning of not releasing body cam footage"
"The Meryl Streep of keeping poor people in prison"
5
39
93
I don't think I've ever run into someone I knew riding the bus in Houston. Just curious: do Houston Twitter folks ride the bus?
81
3
90
You know what's wild? Chief Ac*vedo showed up in my replies like Candyman with a Dropbox link but the process for HPD public information requests is ridiculous.
4
21
88
I know I talk about policing a lot on here but it's like that meme "if johnny has 5 apples..."
Look at this chart. If we spend all our money on policing, we can't spend it on other stuff. We can't have it both ways.
4
44
92
This is Nina, one of the people who has been using their time and energy to make sure people all over Houston can eat through community fridges. And now they need help.
Nina is still in need of urgent funds and has yet to meet their half way mark! Please donate!
0
37
25
1
92
89
Chief Acevedo, I never tagged you in the first place. You came to my Twitter feed sharing links, not engaging in discussion.
Men get promoted despite being sexual harassers all the time. If you want to tell me that the harassment case against you was false, then explain that.
9
26
91
Mayor Turner has signed on to Mayors for a Guaranteed Income.
This program cost $3.8M in Stockton. We give that to police officers as Weekend Premium Pay thanks to the police union contract that was supposed to expire last year.
People who got $500 a month for free used it to pay off debt and get full-time jobs, according to a study. The privately funded California program was a test of universal basic income, which aims to bring people out of poverty with a guaranteed income.
55
860
2K
3
43
88
Reading this made me mad. Thinking about how teachers have to go in their pockets and on DonorsChoose to get basic school supplies. But HPD gets a $2000 allowance just in case they want to go buy more stuff the department ALREADY buys for them.
The Equipment Allowance means every HPD officer gets an equipment allowance of $2,002 every year to "reimburse" them (nothing about receipts) so they can buy guns, ammo, cuffs, batons, etc.
1
1
8
3
35
88
What does "huge enrollment declines" mean exactly? While we've steadily lost enrollment in recent years, note that a drop of nearly 10,000 students is DOUBLE the students we lost after Hurricane Harvey.
This is a disaster-level drop only surpassed by the pandemic. Quick 🧵
Woah. Huge enrollment declines in HISD from this: .
6
21
49
4
34
91
I had no idea Crime Stoppers gets money from courts directly.
"A review of Texas law suggests that Crime Stoppers Houston is financially incentivized to generate
fear of crime, as the organization has a financial stake in churning people through the criminal legal
system."
A fascinating, in-depth look of how media has covered pretrial reforms in Harris County
1
14
43
1
43
87
Elementary school recess for 30 minutes is a MINIMUM requirement of state law. So yes we can say he's changing course and listening to parents but only to the point of not breaking the law.
Last week, HISD told parent advocates that 5th graders at NES & NES-A schools would get no recess.
But today, Miles changed course based on community pushback, telling principals to make room for a 30-min recess period for all elementary students.
5
25
40
5
33
89
Yes I've seen
@MosesSumney
perform twice in 3 days because I've been waiting THREE YEARS since I first saw him at SXSW. So good.
2
12
88
Crowdsourced voter guide for Houston and Harris County is out! See our explanations for why we thought certain candidates were better (highlighted in green) or worse (red). This is the last weekend of early voting!
#HarrisVotes
#HouVotes
10
41
88
I was curious about whether this was true, so I pulled up the adopted budget.
Maybe I don't know what defunded means but every single sheriff, constable, & DA line item actually went up FYI.
12
31
87
F Mike Miles on Wednesday: only a couple people were booing. It's only a small group who weren't cheering.
F Mike Miles on Friday: if you boo me, we'll find out who you are. But that's not a threat.
#HISDTakeover
HISD teachers booed F Mike Miles during the pay-for-performance presentation today. He threatened to remove disruptive people and find out who they are. Where would he put them? In a discipline zoom room? 🤔 Teachers want to be heard. Not patronized.
42
209
576
3
31
86
Tomorrow's not promised and our electric grid is still broke.
Text her that you want your hoodie back today.
7
14
80
It's wild that the 8th largest school district in the country is being taken over tomorrow and we know literally nothing.
The controversial Texas Education Agency takeover of Houston ISD is set to take place tomorrow, despite community concerns.
@GeraldHarrisTV
#KHOU11
1
14
10
2
38
82
I really played the bass for 10 years of my life and then...stopped. Wild. Shout out to the Cass Tech orchestra and all the different orchestras I was in back in Detroit.
1
2
78
I went on Thursday! I'll definitely be spending lots of time there.
Houston’s First Full Service Vegan Breakfast Restaurant & Coffee Shop!
Black-Owned Vegan Coffee, Breakfast and Vinyl Shop!
📍Mo' Better Brews | 1201 Southmore Blvd, Houston, TX 77004
11
505
1K
2
10
82
This is disappointing. Houstonians went out of our way to facilitate a space for
@houstonpolice
to answer questions about the budget and as of 6 days ago we appreciated Chief
@TroyFinner
's commitment to making it happen. Today, HPD backed out of that commitment.
#HouBudget
8
38
82
Math time!
HPD's 3-week overtime costs for George Floyd protests are approximately:
1/5 of the health dept's annual budget
1/4 parks
1/2 libraries
2x neighborhoods
4x the Youth and Family Services budgets
100x the New Americans budget (yay, DACA!)
HPD overtime costs for George Floyd protests were $21,504,404 for the time period from May 26 through June 12, per a records request I got back today.
I also asked for the cost to the 33 HPD vehicles the department said were damaged during that time. The response: $13,173.
13
130
235
2
72
79
!!
Here's a map showing where ShotSpotter devices are concentrated in Houston. There are 3 separate entities: Harris County Precinct 2, City of Houston, Spring Branch ISD.
EXCLUSIVE: A WIRED analysis of data leaked from the surveillance company formerly known as Shotspotter reveals the secret locations of 25,580 gunshot detection microphones.
Check our interactive map to see if there's a sensor mounted near you.
58
198
510
5
43
84
Last week a bunch of us came together to go through ALL of the contested races in the Harris County Democratic Primary ballot. Here's the list of recommendations we put together:
Feel free to use and share as you see fit!
#HarrisVotes
Wednesday, 5:30-7:30pm. Going through the Harris County Dem primary ballot together on Zoom. I'll have some way of facilitating it that'll make it manageable. I was going to post the link publicly but nah I'll dm it
6
2
20
8
45
80
Zoom lets you pick which breakout room you want to go to now?! This is a gamechanger.
3
6
78
Reading this today for a book club and Rebecca Solnit has BARS.
2
11
79
At my workshop on Saturday, a 10 year old drew this in response to text from the Souls of Black Folk.
1
26
78
The new Alief Neighborhood Center is beautiful! These are the community spaces we all need and deserve.
I share
@TiffanyForAlief
's excitement and I'm looking forward to more big events to activate the area!
2
9
77
If Rikers is a human rights crisis, what about the Harris County Jail (in Houston) where at least 22 people have died this year?
People like Mealer, DA Ogg, and CrimeStoppers are campaigning on more death. That's their vision for Houston.
2
38
75
What's a reasonable number of suspensions to have at an early childhood center?
Asking because I'm looking at a school where suspensions increased 384% in a single school year.
Black students? 404%
At-risk students? 544%.
26
27
72
Thread. Police shouldn't be a first response to homelessness. In fact, they shouldn't be a response to homelessness at all.
Thread: Today's story is heartbreaking, but it's important. Police arrested a woman who was homeless because a cop said she hit him with an umbrella. What happened next is the everyday violence of our court system. (1)
12
382
870
1
25
75
The groundhogs were eating up his garden. He got upset. Tried cameras and building a fence to keep them out (policing) but it didn't work. And then he just BUILT ANOTHER GARDEN WITH STUFF THEY LIKED.
Everybody eats. We get cute videos. Abolition works.
The end.
0
16
76
"We walked out of school because every day at James Madison High School is feeling more like jail. High school is supposed to be a space to get your education, make memories, and find yourself."
3
30
74
Remember when during the George Floyd protest an HPD officer ran a horse into the crowd and trampled that woman? What ever happened to that investigation?
New Acres Homes horse, named Matilda, joins Houston police’s mounted patrol
2
0
8
1
16
72
Happened upon a food truck owned by a Nigerian-Jamaican from NY. Very happy about these jerk lamb chops that I destroyed. Should've known because they were closed or out of food every other time I saw the truck.
If you're ever around Westheimer & Dunvale check them out.
5
9
71
Why is HPD, which gets nearly a billion from the city alone, raising another $770,000 from conservative donors?
I hope y'all don't think they're letting donors play in interactive shooting arcades to raise money for homelessness prevention or school counselors.
4
26
70
Me trying to subtly encourage folks to attend church online today when all I really wanna do is post this
2
11
68
This is pretty much how I feel. If traditional public schools and charters weren't forced to fight over intentionally scarce funding, all of our children and communities would benefit.
3
16
67