40th Birthday of Blackland (Austin TX)

 Three of the five founders of the Blackland CDC gather in 1995.  (R-L) Charlie Smith, Katherine Poole and Bo McCarver. 

Observing the 40th Birthday of the

Blackland CDC

On a hot afternoon on August 3, 1983,

five neighbors gathered at the concrete

picnic table in Alamo Park and signed

incorporation papers to create the

Blackland Community Development

Corporation. The action set in motion

another tactic in a larger strategy to

preserve and enhance the

neighborhood that was then faced with

aggressive annexation by the University

of Texas that started in 1980.

The following month, the city awarded

the new nonprofit $500,000 in federal

Community Block Development Grant

funds to build nine units of affordable

housing. 

That the community would become an

active developer shifted the battle from a

desperate defensive struggle to focus on

the right to build and determine its future.

The aggressive actions of the university

continued and on July 26, 1988,

bulldozers accompanied by plain-

clothed, armed deputies were sent into

the western side of the neighborhood to

demolish 28 houses UT had bought, 26

of which could have been rehabilitated

and leased to low-income households.

Among the casualties of that blitzkrieg

was George Worlds, a 79-year-old black

man who had heart issues and lived with

his nephew on Concho Street. They had

been served an eviction notice several

days earlier by their absentee property

owner/landlord who wanted them out so

he could complete a sale to UT. On that

morning, Worlds awoke with bulldozers

taking down the houses on each side of

him. He had a stroke and died two days

later. We negotiated with UT officials

and the property owner and they agreed

to delay the nephew's eviction until after

the funeral.

Mr. Worlds was one of many casualties

in the 12 year war.

Today, a concrete obelisk with a bronze

plaque stands under the large Live Oak

in front of 2004 Chicon Street on which

the names of eight other elderly who

died during the stress of the conflict are

inscribed.

In 1992, the neighborhood and UT

administrators came to an agreement;

peaceful and positive relations have

since prevailed. UT students and faculty

have volunteered thousands of hours of

labor to the neighborhood. Last winter,

former UT president, Gregory Fenves,

accompanied a team of students to work

at the Stewart Conservatory.

closeup of the photo immediately above

The Blackland Miracle welcomes

articles and news from all residents.

Contact McCarver at /512) 573_0786

Source: The Blackland Miracle 43.8 (August 2023)