Brett Cross is a small-town kid who grew up in Western Texas, among the oil fields, near Odessa. He worked in the oil fields, worked his way up to doing pipeline work, eventually moving to green energy work. He even became a foreman, working hard to provide for his family. And Brett was at work when he got the call from his wife Nikki that changed their lives forever. It was May 24, 2022, Nikki was at their sons’ school, Robb Elementary, in Uvalde, Texas. “This is not a fucking joke,” she said, “there’s a shooter at the boys’ school.” We talk to Brett about his life before, about living in a small town, working and making your own fun, we talk about some of the family memories he cherishes most. We remember Brett and Nikki’s son Uziyah “Uzi” Garcia, we talk about the day Uzi was taken from them, along with 18 of his classmates and two of his teachers, and we talk about the unimaginable fight for justice and real change that Brett and Nikki have been fighting ever since.

Studio Production: Maximillian Alvarez
Post-Production: Jules Taylor

CW: This episode discusses school shootings and the murdering of children. Additional links/info below…

• Brett’s Twitter/X page
• Sneha Dey, Erin Douglas, Andrew Zhang, Brooke Park, & Jessica Priest, The Texas Tribune / ProPublica, “21 Lives Lost: Uvalde Victims Were a Cross-Section of a Small, Mostly Latino Town in South Texas“
• Edgar Sandoval, The New York Times, “A Year After the Uvalde Massacre: Did Anything Change?“
• Gus Bova, Texas Observer, “The Uvalde Parents Won’t Back Down“
• Elissa Jorgensen, American Statesman, “‘There Are no Good Days’: Uziyah’s Family Won’t Stop Fighting Until Gun Laws Change“
• Danielle Campoamor, Today, “A Father’s Fury: Uvalde Dad Brett Cross Is Mad as Hell and Wants You to Know It“
• Kayla Padilla, Texas Public Radio, “Arrested Uvalde Father Says Police More Upset With Him Using Expletive Than Children Dying“
• Yvette Benavides, David Martin Davies, & Julián Aguilar, Texas Public Radio, “‘We Did It!’ — Uvalde’s Entire School Police Department Suspended Following Activism from Families“
• Lomi Kriel, Alejandro Serrano, & Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune / ProPublica, “‘Cascading Failures’: Justice Department Blasts Law Enforcement’s Botched Response to Uvalde School Shooting“
• John Woodrow Cox, Steven Rich, Linda Chong, Lucas Trevor, John Muyskens, & Monica Ulmanu, The Washington Post, “More Than 360,000 Students Have Experienced Gun Violence at School Since Columbine“

Permanent links below…

• Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!
• Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page

Featured Music…

• Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song
• Jules Taylor, “John L. Handcox Remix”
• Follow Jules on Twitter and Facebook

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