// show/hide make a gift button when the main nav menu is opened Located in District H, the Independence Heights neighborhood was selected due to the severity of flood damage from Hurricane Harvey and previous flooding events, vulnerability to climate and other multiple hazards, watershed location, and the presence of active and supportive civic organizations. article.align-left {margin: 0 30px 20px 0;} Lead Consultant. In the process, the program displaced more than 475,000 households and one million people from 1957 to 1977. This is the first time in a long time that theres been this level of pushback against this type of project. The Neighborhood Support Team (NST) and the City of Houston request community review and comments on the draft of the Independence Heights Resilience Plan. Additional technical assistance came in January 2013 from Blues National Park Services Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program award, the OHIP collaborative and other local partnerships. .article__body h6.title{display: none;} For Independence Heights, this meant something bigger than cars and roads it is the downright displacement of its people of color. @media (max-width: 64em){ var $=jQuery; Today, the community is changing and we have many new neighbors who now call the community home. Independence Heights is located in the White Oak Bayou watershed. Independence Heights. This watershed moment inspired activists across several other states to push back on similar highway projects and marked an effort to center environmental justice in infrastructure work. We want to be a place where everyone can feel at home. .article__body h4 {font-size: 1.75rem; margin-bottom: .75rem; font-family: CopernicusMedium,serif; color: #0A509E;} .menu__share{left: 4em;} He bought a house right here on the North Loop, said Dubose, executive director of the Independence Heights Redevelopment Council. .webform-confirmation__message {padding: 4em 2em; font-size: 1.5em;} Along North Main, Rebuilding Together is partnering with the Independence Heights Redevelopment Council to carry out repairs and maintenance on 17 homes, a welcome center, a food pantry, and more. The State of Independence Heights meeting was held in coordination with the Independence Heights Redevelopment Council (External link) October 24th at Booker T. Washington High School located at 4204 Yale St. To take the community engagement survey, please click here. @media (max-width: 64em){ .views-exposed-form .js-form-item { padding: .2em .5em; display: flex; flex: 0 0 40%;} In addition, Houston Community College is located just east of the community as well as Lenotre Culinary School. Join others and make your gift to Houston Public Media today. Independence Heights Special Minimum Lot Size Possible Locations, The Special Minimum Lot Size Ordinance allows residents to preserve the lot size character of their neighborhood or block. In Pennsylvania, citizens are beating back plans to drastically widen an interstate through the city of Harrisburg. Three days later, Harris County, which encompasses Houston, sued TxDOT for failing to consider the impacts of displacement and air pollution on residents. div.title .menu--list .menu__item {font-size: 1.5rem;} The mural commemorates the powerful history of Independence Heights as the first Black Town in Texas. Independence Heights, the first municipality established by black Texans, was isolated from the rest of the city by Interstate 45 and the 610 Loop. With initial support from NeighborWorks America and then the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation, they have worked with more than 1,500 residents and 65 institutional partners to create a Neighborhood Health Equity Plan. This plan guides Northline efforts into the future to help resident leaders build a strong, safe, supportive, and connected community. What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, By 1915, the residents of the area in search of infrastructure and other amenities established their own city charter and became the first black municipality in the State of Texas. .pager__item--ellipsis{padding-top: 1em;} Independence Heights leadership is vested in a passionate group of people who respect one another and embody the values of our founding pioneers. EEDC is one of our Third Ward neighborhood partners. Email us at info@independenceheights.org, Change is on the horizon in Independence Heights. For example, when a New York commuter line going through Connecticut required replacing a historic bridge, the Connecticut Department of Transportation offered as much as $3 million dollars to support nearby museum exhibits and historic restoration. Together, they have established a network of congregations that join together to serve and support the entire community. The difference, these days, is that communities like Independent Heights now have some power to advocate for themselves. div#block-views-block-herc-committee-profiles, div#block-views-block-advisory-board-emerita-emeritus-kinder-profiles { max-width: 1380px; margin:0 auto; } .icon-print::before {color: #44474F;} /* Accordion */ This is why what happened in Houston was a watershed moment. Independence Heights is another community that has lost many contributing structures. Neighborhoods were lost, said state representative Garnet Coleman. Consider Colorados plans to build nearly 200 miles of new traffic lanes over the next decade; the Rocky Mountain Institute projected that to be the equivalent of adding 70,000 new cars to the road. Subscribe to CitizensNet or manage your preferences here: Thank you for your interest in the City of Houston! But that wasnt the only interstate that divided or dismantled Houston communities. Our community was established around 1905 when the Wright Land Company developed the area and sold lots to African Americans. Im sure it will, but one of the changes we dont need is we dont need more people displaced (and) more culture erased, Dubose said. Even decades later, the communitys powerlessness to stop that destruction haunts her. Eventually, the road would displace a flourishing business district, more than 300 families, and her great-grandfather. Thanks to shifting attitudes, at least 16 cities have already demolished or replaced their aging freeways with options like green spaces, and several others could face the same fate. We are identifying opportunities for old and new residents to work together creatively on ways to reclaim our historic identity and shape our future revitalization efforts, while we work to remain true to our roots and utilize local talent to rebuild our community. To complicate the problem, displaced families have limited options for finding places to move within the city limits, as housing prices and rental rates are significantly higher than what their homes are currently appraised. In 1908, the first deeds were recorded and by 1915 it was home to some 600 people seeking a better life. /* Alignment */ RELATED: Federal officials tell TxDOT to halt I-45 expansion. .three-col-text p a:hover {color: #697E2F; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: #697E2F; text-decoration-thickness: .1em; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; text-underline-offset: 1.5px;} .article--story h4.article__title {font-size: 1.5rem;} We have a chance to set that right., A Home Owners Loan Corporation redlining map from the 1930s that labeled "hazardous areasmajority Blackof Nashville in red (left) and the subsequent paths of Interstates 40 and 440 (right). At the helm of our leadership are the ministers of the community. There are also nine additional GO Neighborhoods that LISC engage with at different levels of investment: Acres Homes, Alief, Denver Harbor/Port Houston, Greater Third Ward, Gulfton, Kashmere/Trinity/Houston Gardens, Magnolia Park, and Sunnyside. Learn More .article__main-image { height: 350px; } Housing and Community Development (HCD) staff will also discuss the revised activities and budgets in the Draft Action Plan for Disaster Recovery: 2021 Winter Storm. .alert {padding: .75em;} Next, FHWA will send investigators to Texas. These plans will weave together climate adaptation and risk reduction, economic development, infrastructure modernization and social empowerment into one neighborhood strategy. The story of Independence Heights is just one narrative representing many places across the nation of how the black population settled into communities and spaces, creating enclaves of homes and self-sufficient communities reflective of a way of life. Families were caring and looked out for each other. We're in the process of transitioning services for our Today in Houston newsletter. All around us investment in neighborhoods and infrastructure is occurring. Our vision is simple, we envision a diverse, healthy and vibrant community built on our faith and a historic past. The super neighborhood boundaries includes: I-45 (east), Tidwell Rd. Register now. form.webform-submission-form label {margin-right: 1em;} An effort to reconnect neighborhoods cut off by historic investments and ensure new projects increase opportunity, advance racial equity and environmental justice and promote affordable access. They established their own nonprofit organization known as the Independence Heights Ministerial Alliance that has given birth to other entities that serve the greater community. .article__main-image img{position:relative; top: auto; left: auto; right: auto; bottom: auto;} In December 2012, the OST/South Union community joined the partnership, followed by Fifth Ward in September 2018, and Northline in January 2020. The freeway leads from the suburbs into Houstons downtown. Independence Heights is home to 4,000 kids under the age of 17. Livable Centers; Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. .article--story h1.article__title {font-size: 2.5rem; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 1.5rem;} /* Captions */ Click here to resend it.). Independence Heights Redevelopment Council Hunter Memorial Church Of God In Christ Tanya Debose Oscar Green Iii Green Chapel Ame Church Percy Moultry Burglary Break-in Break-ins Burglaries Vandalism Vandalized Adam Zuvanich Follow Adam Zuvanich Welcome to the discussion. To submit comments, please access the public forum here: Public Comment. Given all of the harmful impacts, its hardly surprising that a growing segment of America has soured on big road projects, says Joseph DiMento, a University of California, Irvine law professor, and co-author of Changing Lanes: Visions and Histories of Urban Freeways. .article .article__breadcrumbs span {color: #44474F;} Collaborative capacity is growing, there is momentum building and some participation in advocacy and training. Tags Ada Edwards community activists houston city council Rodney Ellis sheila jackson lee sylvester turner. Avenue CDC is the Convening Agency for Near Northside and Northline GO Neighborhoods. People have had enough, and theyre getting louder about it, she says. We share the Building Sustainable Communities . Based on that assessment LISC provides three levels of investment to respond to the needs of each neighborhood within the network and the resources LISC can attract to the initiative: Comprehensive high capacity for change and LISC is all in with integrated investments. .overlay__content h1 {font-size: 2.75rem; line-height: 1.25;} Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees, Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics, Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools, Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations, Revenue and expense data for the current fiscal year, CEO, Board Chair, and Board of Directors information, *with the ability to download the data for 2018. #giveBTN{display: none;} Houston, TX 77005-1892, Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Campus Carry, The National Network of Education Research-Practice Partnerships. She said her community had over 1,300 structures and less than 100 exist now. And we cannot simply continue to widen our freeways at the expense of Black and brown communities., Thats not a big ask. The decision of power and where alignment of highways went through really became weaponized, and that became a tool to confirm a lot of the racial redlining practices and segregation practices that were occurring, he said. The freeway leads from the suburbs into Houston's downtown. /* Titles (Headers) */ Independence Heights Redevelopment Council cannot currently be evaluated by our Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors. It has increased the pressure many officials feel around this process.Every day people are holding decision makers more accountable., That call for accountability is now reaching the highest levels: Its disproportionately Black and brown neighborhoods that were divided by highway projects plowing through them because they didnt have the political capital to resist, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNNs Jake Tapper in December. Karen Warren / Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle, By Rachel Butt, David Wethe and Kevin Crowley, By Faiz Siddiqui, Rachel Lerman and Jeremy B. Merrill. .page-body__content figure figcaption a {color: #00205B;} Deboses organization also sought legal assistance to have Independence Heights historic significance recognized in project impact studies. The community has completed two comprehensive plans including the Near Northside Quality of Life Agreement (QLA) and the Near Northside QLA 2.0. OST/South Union GO Neighborhoods multi-year comprehensive initiative focuses on neighborhood revitalization by addressing the many aspects of developing a sustainable community a good place to work, live, and raise a family. .page-body__content blockquote p {font-size: 1.5rem;} And now the Texas Department of. Will it change again? I- 45 had the worst impact because that split Third Ward, split 5th and 4th Wards, and split areas north of downtown. .menu--quick{padding: 10px 0;} .page-body__content .align-right {padding: 0 0 1rem 1rem;} SEE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERS LISTED HERE, Funders + Partners div.title--tall {padding: 30px 5% 40px;} /* Hero */ } To submit comments, please access the public forum here: Housing and Community Development (HCD) staff will also discuss the revised activities and budgets in the Draft Action Plan for Disaster Recovery: 2021 Winter Storm. Sankofa Research Institute is one of our Third Ward neighborhood partners. .page-body__content figure figcaption {padding: 10px 20px; background: #f3f3f3; color: #000;} For the first time, the federal government is acknowledging the damage left behind. We are identifying opportunities for old and new residents to work together creatively on ways to reclaim our historic identity and shape our future revitalization efforts, while we work to remain true to our roots and utilize local talent to rebuild our community. In 2017, residents of Independence Heights, Acres Home, Fifth Ward and other communities of color began receiving notification of the I-45 project, an expansion which would double the capacity of lanes on the road to accommodate more cars. South Union CDC is one of our Sunnyside neighborhood partners and a recipient of the GO Innovative Project and Innovation grant. If so, please add your thoughts in this forum by Friday, March 31. We are building on our strengths, our historic churches, excellent schools, community resources, and our people. Many American cities got on board: Collectively, theyve made room for roughly 30,000 new freeway lanes over the past quarter century, nearly doubling our highway capacity, and costing upward of $500 billion. A verification email has been sent to you. Tejano Center for Community Concerns is one of our Magnolia Park neighborhood partners. Just how much was there before, and who was impacted by that kind of separation and segregation. Copyright 2021 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved. When Tanya Debose looks out at her Independence Heights neighborhood, she sees history threatening to repeat itself. Edwards chaired city council committees that dealt with affordable housing, flooding and the HIV/AIDS epidemic and was described by colleagues as compassionate, selfless and community-minded. Forgot your password? .three-col-text p a {color: #3455DB; line-height: normal !important; text-decoration-style: dotted; text-decoration-color: #00205B; text-decoration-thickness: .1em; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; text-underline-offset: 1.5px; display: inline;} LISC Greater Houston. /* Helpful Links */ .page-body__content p {font-size: 1.125rem; padding-bottom: 1.5rem;} Education. The Independence Heights Redevelopment Council is our Independence Heights neighborhood partner. Before it became a Houston neighborhood, it was a city, one of the oldest if not the very first Texas cities to be founded by African Americans. In an e-mail, he writes, The record investments in public transportation, passenger rail, electric buses, and transportation safety will help support a cleaner, healthier, and better working transportation future., Most of the recent changes would not be possible without the groundwork laid by citizens like Debose and the residents of Independence Heights. .h3, h3 {margin-bottom: 1rem;} Color of Life Community Resource & Activity Center Houston Guided Pathways to Success (Equity in Higher Education Initiative) HYPE Freedom School, Inc. Mufasa's Pride Rites of Passage Prairie View A&M College of Education Urban Enrichment Institute Together, they have established a network of congregations that jointogether to serve and support the entire community. "I hoped for, you know, at least acknowledging African Americans and acknowledging our historical and cultural assets in the community," Debose said. Still, she sees signs of the U.S. Department of Transportations new efforts toward equity in the fact that they stepped in to temporarily halt the new I-45 project. We are finding new ways to come together as a community as new families move to the neighborhood and our diversity increases. And to their relief, the administration requested that TxDot pause its project for further review, invoking the Civil Rights Act. We are building on our strengths, our historic churches, excellent schools, community resources, and our people. Independence Heights Redevelopment Council. 90% Draft | Independence Heights Neighborhood Resilience Plan. .button__text {font-size: 1.25em;font-weight: 600;} Seems like you are already registered, please provide the password. Community Design Resource Center. An interstate highway system was constructed, urban renewal programs were established and, in the process, countless buildings were demolished. $(".icon-close").click( function() {$("#giveBTN").toggle();}); Infrastructure has been used for decades to create barriers and establish unspoken division lines in communities of color across America. or on the image below. .page-body__content ol li, .page-body__content ul li {font-size: 1.125rem;} Independence Heights leadership is vested in a passionate group of people who respect one another and embody the values of our founding pioneers. Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? LISC also supports Acres Homes, Alief, Denver Harbor/Port Houston, Greater Third Ward, Gulfton, Kashmere/Trinity/Houston Gardens, Magnolia park and Sunnyside. .views-exposed-form{display: flex;} It was 1924 when Deboses great-grandfather bought land here, in the first African American municipality to be founded in Texas. TxDOT spokesperson Danny Perez defends his department, pointing to more than 300 public meetings where a majority of comments supported the I-45 project. Sometimes were not cognizant as were driving on these roads and highways. Soon the area located just northwest of downtown Houston became home to some 600 residents. This revised plan incorporates an additional $19.7 million in disaster recovery funds that will help Houstonians recover from the 2021 Winter Storm (the Freeze) and enhance resiliency in future events. div.matrix.matrix--default {max-width: 1080px;margin: 0 auto;font-family: 'MalloryBook', sans-serif; .tableauPlaceholder {margin-bottom: 2rem;} Buttigiegs approach upends our nations unquestioning devotion to roadbuilding that dates back to the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. form.webform-submission-form {padding-top: 0;} /* Page Body */ .article__main-image img{position: absolute; top: -9999px; left: -9999px; right: -9999px; bottom: -9999px; margin: auto;} Houston activists fuel a growing movement to increasingly center environmental justice in infrastructure and protect urban neighborhoods from endlessly expanding road projects. Freeway projects were often designed to continue that segregation. .views-exposed-form .form-actions { display: flex; } border-bottom: 1px solid #303B61;font-size: 1.15em;} The stories of displacement were passed down from her mother. Then theres the way this work has targeted communities of color. My Connect Community is our neighborhood partner in the Gulfton neighborhood. Apr 13, 2023 - Entire condo for $80. .article--story h2.article__title:not(.summary) {display: none;} Fast forward into the 1950s, a time when Houston was growing, and the small town of Independence Heights had already been annexed in 1929 into the city. Youll receive your first NRDC action alert and update email soon! In January 2013, OST/South Union was designated a GO Neighborhood by Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). Click on the link in that email Project Row Houses is one of our Third Ward neighborhood partners. Other looming threats attributable to the proposed I-45 projects pathway are the destruction of churches, family homes and the depopulation of area schools. #block-views-block-news-rice-block-1, #block-views-block-news-releases-view-block-1, The State of Independence Heights meeting was held in coordination with the Independence Heights Redevelopment Council October 24th at Booker T. Washington High School located at 4204 Yale St. To take the community engagement survey, please click her e. Independence Heights Special Minimum Lot Size Possible Locations 5. They were essentially built as barriers between Black and white communities. Tanya Debose, executive director of the Independence Heights Redevelopment Council, said an entity is needed to take stock of the county's cultural and historical assets as they pertain to. .views-exposed-form .js-form-item label {margin: auto; font-family: CopernicusBold,sans-serif; font-size: 1.1rem; color: #00205b;} .article__body h5 {font-size: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: .5rem; font-family: CopernicusMedium,serif; color: #00205B;} .resize500 img { max-width:500px; } Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? .page-body__content p a {color: #3455DB; line-height: normal !important; text-decoration-style: dotted; text-decoration-color: #00205B; text-decoration-thickness: .1em; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; text-underline-offset: 1.5px; display: inline;} .article__body h6 {font-size: 1.25rem; margin-bottom: .5rem; font-family: CopernicusMedium,serif; color: #0A509E;} In 1908, the first deeds were recorded and by 1915 it was home to some 600 people seeking a better life. .article--story .article__body p {font-family: 'MalloryBook';} .hero__footer p {line-height: 1.25;} Black property owners along the present-day 610 Loop were being considered in a plan to build a new freeway that would be used to help transport people into more suburban areas. elements[i].href = 'ckeditor-accordion-container'; "It allows TxDOT the opportunity to do it right, and not just run over us," Debose said. Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Try a low commitment monthly plan today. /* 3 Column Text */ about GuideStar Pro. Get a 42-inch oscillating fan for 15% off with this deal. Conceived on the heels of World War II, the law promoted urban freeways, sometimes for a means of rapid evacuation, and often deliberately routed through communities of color. Find out what's popular at Intermarch Contact in Villard-sur-Doron, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes in real-time and see activity They want to keep the small town front porch feel of the community intact. We are so glad that you stopped by our online community. At the time, Independence Heights was the only incorporated African American municipality in Texas. .article__body h3 {font-size: 2rem; margin-bottom: .75rem; font-family: CopernicusMedium,serif; color: #00205B;} Tanya Debose, executive director of the Independence Heights Redevelopment Council, speaks during a tour of Independence Heights, north of 610, on Jan. 5, 2018, in Houston. It was still the Jim Crow South, she says, and many people were probably not willing or brave enough to speak up. And there are current projects doing more of the same. } I-45 expansion impact report may not have considered Independence Heights, Elon Musk describes Starship flight as 'roughly what I expected', Elon Musk said the test flight of SpaceX's Starship rocket was "roughly what I expected. } In a presidential memorandum issued in January, President Joe Biden wrote: The Interstate Highway System disproportionately burdened historically Black and low-income neighborhoods. /* Initiatives in center list */ Effective or not, the I-45 expansion would displace some 1,300 homes, businesses, schools, and houses of worshipin many of the same Black and Latino neighborhoods already decimated by those earlier roads. Let the Houston Public Media newsroom help you start your day. OST/South Union Across boundaries, community leaders are focusing on ways to lessen the impacts of displacement and the losses of cultural and historical assets. To review the draft, click. .teaser-summary p a:hover {color: #697E2F; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 2px #697E2F solid;} Over the last few years residents, former residents, business owners, church leaders, parents, educators, community leaders, and our partners have come together to imagine and vision a new future for our historic community, Independence Heights. Helping to shed light on this hidden gem is Tanya Debose, a fifth-generation descendant of the people who founded Independent Heights and executive director of the Independence Heights Redevelopment Council (IHRC) founded in 2005 to improve the quality of life for people in Independence Heights, particularly through . div.article__header div.tags-center { padding: 0 1em; } .views-exposed-form{display: block;} .page-body__content blockquote {margin-bottom: 30px;} Then, on November 15, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. article.align-center {margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; display: table;} Independence Heights has been impacted by highway construction before. .page-body__content h2 {font-size: 2.25rem; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-family: CopernicusMedium,serif; color: #0A509E;} **Please note** If you are already signed up for the newsletter, you do not need to sign up again. The opinions expressed in this commentary are her own. div.initiatives-by-center div.created { display: none;}