Best Response To The Media Glare

The Young Plaintiffs in the Cedar Avenue Case

Our sympathies go to anyone caught in the media spotlight. Fifteen minutes of fame is paltry compensation for the intense scrutiny that comes with the attention of the news machine. In July, as a lawsuit over police behavior in the 1995 Cedar Avenue incident inched toward trial, the microphones and cameras crowded in on the young plaintiffs, closing in to catch an expression of hostility, a moment of breakdown - and who could have blamed the youths for giving them just that? But what they gave the media was more extraordinary: teens involved in a volatile political case speaking for themselves with a poise and dignity beyond their years. As they reportedly did in negotiating a settlement with the mayor, these youths exhibited cool, maturity, and grace, doing themselves and all of Austin proud.