March 18, 2021 Current ECHO Chair Alberta Phillips writes: Consider that African Americans make up a plurality – the largest share – of those experiencing homelessness in Austin: 36%. How is that possible in a city in which Black residents comprise roughly 8% of Austin’s total population? Mathematically, that is more than four times our … Continued
“Mexican American” households were concentrated in a neighborhood in the southwest of downtown. While some “Mexican American” households remained downtown through the 1940s, most “Mexican American” families arriving in Austin moved into the Hispanic/Latino neighborhood east of downtown – just south of the Black neighborhood—between current day East 10th Street and Cesar Chavez Street, and … Continued
While the influx of Hispanics into Texas and Austin during the second half of the 20th century led to a much greater dispersal of their population throughout the area, the effects of those segregationist policies are still visible today. The vast majority of Austin’s African-American and Hispanic populations remain east of I-35. But Austin’s divisions … Continued
Chinese community protests in Texas Senate. State lawmakers proposed a bill to prevent Asian immigrants from owning property. Chinese community members protested the bill, which did not pass.
City planners worked to “preserve” Austin’s image by drawing African Americans away from the city center and university areas. Blockbusting became pervasive until the Federal Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968 and made discrimination of underrepresented groups illegal (Blockbusting is the manipulation of a homeowner to sell or rent their home at a lower … Continued
Mexican American residents were pushed to move from “Old Mexico” in order to make room for City and related office buildings. Many of them were placed in the neighborhood bounded by East Ave.,/IH 35 on the west, the river on the south, Airport on the east, and 7th Street on the north.
The Great Depression creates homelessness and unemployment for people of all races and ethnicities in the U.S. on a scale not seen before or since.
The legalized segregation of negroes by the 1928 Master Plan evolved into the effective and real segregation of blacks and Hispanics in East Austin. Both forms of segregation kept Austin’s minority populations “out of sight and out of mind.” The master plan publicly acknowledged that it would save the city money.
The Mississippi River floods, displacing hundreds of thousands of people from Illinois to Louisiana and creating mass homelessness and speeding along the Great Migration. President Herbert Hoover oversees the recovery, which includes segregated camps for Whites and Blacks. Black men, under armed guard, are held captive and forced to rebuild levees in Mississippi, Louisiana, and … Continued
Austin City government adopted the 1928 Master Plan and created a “negro district” in what is now Austin’s City Council District 1. The plan formally segregated the city by creating a Negro district where all Black people are expected to live. Two aspects of the plan as it relates to Blacks are of specific note. First, the plan strategically sought to … Continued