Eight Years of Empty Promises: A Historically Black Neighborhood Calls Out Industrial Racism
CORPUS CHRISTI - Hillcrest residents request the support of the United States Department of Transportation to ensure the future of their historic black neighborhood.
On March 5, 2015, an administrative Complaint was submitted on behalf of the residents of the Hillcrest and Washington Coles neighborhoods in Corpus Christi, Texas under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI – funds are not to be spent in a way that encourages, subsidizes, or results in discrimination based on race, color, or national origin). The Title VI Complaint drew attention to the disproportionate impact of the design and location of Harbor Bridge on minorities in the northside Hillcrest and Washington Coles neighborhoods.
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) entered into an Agreement to settle the Title VI Complaint in December 2015. The Agreement put forward improvements to T.C. Ayers and H.J. Williams parks and the Booker T. Washington Elementary school site in the Hillcrest Neighborhood to mitigate the harm caused by Harbor Bridge construction, yet no progress has been made.
"The Hillcrest neighborhood is a historic victim of Texas-sponsored discrimination. It is systematic. No one has been calling them out on the carpet, and no one has been holding them accountable. They have avoided responsibility. But the Citizens Alliance for Fairness and Progress want them to know that the time for silence has passed. The sleeping giant has awakened,” said Lamont Taylor, chairman for the Citizens Alliance for Fairness and Progress.
Instances of environmental injustice and industrial racism, all of which were detailed nearly eight years ago in the Title VI Complaint, have only increased with the introduction of more industry and construction, all while none of the promised and agreed upon improvements to local parks have been made.
In a recent complaint, TRLA attorneys, Karis Adams and Jennifer Richards urge the United States DOT to investigate TxDOT’s failure to comply with the Agreement; oversee the enforcement of and compliance with the Agreement; and take action against the noncompliant parties, as allowed by the terms of the Agreement.
The Citizens Alliance for Fairness and Progress is a community advocacy group, made up of residents of the Hillcrest and Washington-Coles neighborhoods, in Corpus Christi Texas. The Citizens Alliance for Fairness and Progress was founded out of concern for the deteriorating conditions in the neighborhoods due to heavy industry.
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid provides free legal services to people who cannot afford an attorney in 68 southwestern counties, including the entire Texas-Mexico border. TRLA attorneys specialize in more than 45 areas of law, including disaster assistance, family, employment, landlord-tenant, housing, education, immigration, farmworker, and civil rights. Our hotline is open from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (CST) Monday - Friday: (956)-996-TRLA (8752) or toll-free at (833) 329-TRLA (8752)
Contact: Julia Fourt, Public Relations Manager – Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, jfourt@trla.org