‘We’ll get it done’: Whitmire backs restoration of Freedmen’s Town

Just roughly 95 days in office, Mayor John Whitmire has committed to supporting the preservation and revitalization of Houston’s Freedmen’s Town, the Fourth Ward community known for its signature brick roads laid by the hands of 1,000 formerly enslaved people in 1865.

His stamp of approval comes after advocates and project leaders from the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and the Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy met with Whitmire Friday morning to provide an update on the project, dubbed “Rebirth in Action: Telling the Story of Freedom .” The historic community was once the epicenter of prosperous Black life in Houston before it befell to decades of neglect, false promises and gentrification.

Project leaders’ passion for the project inspired Whitmire to request an impromptu tour late Friday where he and his staff walked among the remaining historical structures and examined the faltering condition of the brick roads.

Whitmire, who acknowledged that he was somewhat familiar with the history of the neighborhood and some of the previous restoration efforts, said it was evident that advocates came to him in desperation, frustrated by ample talk from the city followed by little action.

“This is probably the last opportunity to protect the community, the bricks, the remaining residences, repair of the drainage,” he said from Victor Street shortly after his tour ended.

Whitmire vowed to cooperate with ongoing plans and provide necessary leadership.

“We’ll get it done,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of patience for talk.”

City Council voted in mid-2021 to designate the community as its first Heritage District. The designation allowed nonprofits to raise money for restoring historically significant features and to develop cultural landmarks.

Backed by a $1.25 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts, the ambitious, multiyear project was announced early 2023 under former Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration with much fanfare and enthusiasm.

Although city involvement initially sparked community skepticism, community advocates were confident that this time would be different because it’s rooted in community involvement. Now with support from Whitmire’s administration, advocates are optimistic and confident that the project will be prioritized.

“Whitmire could’ve said, ‘I don’t want that project done. Take that off my books.’ And that would have been his right,” said Charonda Johnson, a fifth-generation Freedmen’s Town resident and the engagement manager for the Contemporary Arts Museum and the Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy partnership.

Capitalizing on the timing was crucial so they wouldn’t lose momentum, advocates say.

“This project has been an ongoing challenge for decades,” said Hesse McGraw, the executive director of CAMH.

“And what’s clear is that with the change of any administration, there’s a need to really get community vision around preservation and celebration of the heritage in front of an incoming administration. I think that we were able to do that successfully. Mayor Whitmore’s enthusiasm was exciting for all of us.”

Freedmen’s Town’s history ‘speaks for itself’

The history of Freedmen’s Town and its bricks “speak for itself,” said Whitmire.

“This just ought to be part of protecting our history,” Whitmire said. “Everywhere you look there’s history, but obviously the development and gentrification is pretty widespread. So this is an effort to protect the remaining historical significance of Freedmen’s Town. All Houstonians ought to know about it. They ought to teach about Freedmen’s Town in the schools.”

The next step is to get funding — up to roughly $10 million, he estimated — to complete the restoration project.

“The city’s broke,” Whitmire said. “If I had the money, I would just write a check, and we can start on this tomorrow.”

“What’s frustrating is, the city has gotten millions and millions of ARPA federal recovery money ,” Whitmire said. “It’s just a matter of making this a priority. And we better hurry because the gentrification and tear downs are happening every day.”

While city funding may be limited, Whitmire said he’s confident that he can help the project secure more funding with donations from private corporations and organizations.

In the meantime, McGraw said they are about two-thirds of the way through the initial two-year project, which includes art exhibitions to tell the story of Freedmen’s Town, community listening sessions and compiling resources.

So far, CAMH has hosted art residencies at Post Houston and plans to host more exhibitions that will elevate Freedmen’s Town and other communities across the country, including one with artist Theaster Gates beginning May 17 called “Theaster Gates: The Gift & The Renege,” “This Way: A Houston Group Show” at Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy Visitor’s Center in the spring, and a Black artists retreat at Freedmen’s Town beginning in September.

“We believe that it’s at the core that artists capture imagination and inspire change,” McGraw said, reflecting on what sparked CAMH’s interest in the project.

“We’ve been fortunate to be part of this larger effort, but also to be able to begin to bring together the resources that are needed to help realize this long standing vision that predates our involvement.”

That vision has been the topic of conversation at a series of stakeholder and community meetings since August, held to gather input on design alternatives and understand existing conditions along the brick streets. While the community meetings are open to the public, the stakeholders meetings are reserved for legacy activists and clergy members who’ve been working for decades to advocate to preserve Freedmen’s Town.

“It was a matter of being respectful to those who’ve been there and who had been doing some of that work, and getting their understanding of what has been, what did happen, where we are right now, what would they like to see,” said Sharon Fletcher, who assumed the role of interim executive director of the Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy in June 2023, shortly after former director, Zion Escobar left. “We wanted to make sure that we were including them, and not excluding them.”

The next public community meeting is scheduled for April 23 at the Rose of Sharon Baptist Church.

The project is still currently in its initial planning, which is focused on community engagement and design to develop a master plan to improve walkability, drainage and update aging underground infrastructure while preserving the more than 30,000 bricks along Freedmen’s Town’s main arteries, Andrews and Wilson Streets. That plan, facilitated by Houston Public Works , is expected to be completed in May, McGraw said.

The design concept report outlines the benefits and drawbacks of three different options to restore the bricks with a disclaimer that all options will involve some degree of impact to the existing bricks. But the project also recommends a “cultural monitor” be present for all activities surrounding the brick removal, storage, and replacement, and vows to consult the community in the final design of the desired brick patterns.

“Houston Public Works (HPW) understands the importance of preserving the history of Freedmen’s Town, while also providing strong infrastructure to the area. Our team is actively engaging the community in the creation of a design concept report to preserve the historic bricks and conduct much-needed infrastructure improvements to water and wastewater lines,” said spokesperson Erin Jones.

Jones did not provide the final cost estimate, but said that funding for engineering design after the planning phase has been appropriated by HPW’s capital projects team. Full implementation of the revitalization project is expected to be complete by summer of 2028.

“I’m more confident now than I have been and not because of Whitmire, (but) because of everything that is lined up,” Johnson said. “The funding is in place. The right partners are in place with the conservancy, the Contemporary Arts Museum, HPW, the community. We don’t all agree on everything, but we have come to a consensus.”

McGraw said he sees an overall sense of urgency to get this done.

“Anytime you’re engaged in a complex project that involves many different disciplines, and where those disciplines really need to listen to voices of community members and advocates, it’s not going to be a linear process,” he said. “There’s also so much hope right now that the coalition that has come together, is really well positioned to see this through.”