Episode 4: David Rodriguez
David Rodriguez grew up on Karankawa land in Wharton, Texas in a family whose roots reach back to before TX was a state. At the time of our interview in June 2014, he was 26 and living on Tonkawa and Sana land in Bastrop, TX. In this episode, he shares stories of raising livestock for the FFA as a kid, his mom kicking him out of the house after coming out at age 17 and their journey towards reconnection, his frustration with the marriage equality movement's celebration of assimilation, and his love of farming.
Check out David & Josh's goat farm in Lane City, TX at www.countryqs.com and donate to support them during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has drastically reduced their farmer's market income, on Venmo at @countryqs13.
And, if you have additional funds, we're asking folks to please donate to R.E.S.I.S.T., a campaign led by formerly incarcerated Black womxn, including caregivers, sex workers, and mothers, with the goal of ethically buying land to build a sustainable center in which they can heal, grow, and organize together.
And to support Miguel Mendiás, a queer, trans, artist and activist of Czech, Basque, and Raramúri / Tarahumara (Indigenous Mexican) descent who is in the process of reclaiming his family’s 4th generation Mexican-American adobe home in the high desert of Marfa, TX on unceded Jumano-Apache territory. The house, which belonged to his great-grandmother, was threatened with public auction by the county and is in a remote part of Texas that has experienced rapid gentrification.
Host/Producer/Lead Editor: Rae Garringer. Assistant Editor/Composer-Performer of Acoustic and Electric Guitar Music: Tommie Anderson. Editorial Advisory Dream Team: Hermelinda Cortés, Sharon P. Holland, and Lewis Raven Wallace. Theme Song Composer/Banjo: Sam Gleaves. Theme Song Pedal Steel: Rebecca Branson Jones. Most importantly, thanks to David Rodriguez for sharing his story so generously with us all.