Karen Mays Terry – VR Story
Karen Renee Mays Terry, a lifelong resident of Austin’s Rogers Washington Holy Cross area, highlights the importance of distinguishing between living in an area and being part of a true neighborhood. She has been involved in achieving historic designation for her neighborhood, which has produced many influential community members. Karen speaks about gentrification erasing the history of African Americans in Austin. Emphasizing the importance of remembering and honoring the contributions of people of color.
Mairlyn Poole-Webb – VR Story
Born and raised in Austin, Marilyn Poole-Webb became active in the neighborhood association as East Austin experienced rapid demographic changes and gentrification. Instead of resisting the inevitable changes, the community embraced them by sharing the neighborhood’s history with new residents. Marilyn emphasized the importance of understanding and respecting the area’s history, which helped new neighbors develop a sense of pride and connection.
Cynthia Mays Hurst
Cynthia, a native Austinite, shares that her parents bought their home in 1959 when she was six. Her father, an Air Force member and local artist, attended Huston-Tillotson University and created art displayed around Austin. As a young African American couple, her parents chose their neighborhood to provide family stability in an up-and-coming area. Cynthia recalls moving into their home and the friendly, close-knit community they enjoyed.
Stuart King – VR Story
Stuart King, a 69-year-old resident, has lived in his neighborhood since 1959. He notes significant changes over the years, primarily the absence of children. King recalls being part of the Jack and Jill organization, a social group that provided educational and cultural activities for families. King expresses a deep attachment and love for East Austin, considering the community as part of his identity.
Connie Kirk – VR Story
Connie Jo Kirk, an Austin, Texas native, fondly remembers East Austin as a wholesome, integrated community where Blacks and Hispanics coexisted harmoniously without racial tensions. She recalls a time when neighbors shared recipes and held decorative street parties, fostering a united community spirit. Kirk highlights that East Austin is the original neighborhood of Austin. She emphasizes that East Austin’s rich history and the legacy of its leaders remain accessible for future generations to learn from.
Dollhouse Barbershop
Roosevelt “Bubba” Stewart cut hair at the Dollhouse Barber Shop on Rosewood Avenue in East Austin. Bubba ran the Dollhouse Barbershop for more than forty years until rising rents and dwindling customers forced him to close.
Roosevelt “Bubba” Stewart (1933-2018), East Austin native and lifelong owner of Stewart’s Doll House Barber Shop at 1811 Rosewood Ave
The Austin City Council proclaimed October 19, 2017 as Roosevelt “Bubba” Stewart Day in honor of Stewart’s 60+ year service as one of East Austin’s most prestigious and longest-serving barbers.
Hillside Drugstore
Headed by Ulysses Young, known cordially as Doc Young, the Hillside Drugstore began providing various medicines and remedies to East Austin residents in 1949. Young relocated his home just behind the phramacy with the intention of continuing his work with the city’s few Black pharamcists. It now stands as a restaurant under the same name, with many of the smae fixtures, hoping to keep the original pharmacy’s legacy alive.
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Leal’s Tires
Originally located at the corner of East Cesar Chavez and Chicon Street, Leal’s Tires boasted bright yellow paint and beautiful murals with homages to Aztec culture. Leal’s was known for having affordable services and working with customers when they didn’t have money to pay in full. Leal’s eventually relocated to far East 7th Street after restaurant owners purchased their original location. Many voiced concern when the restaurant kept Leal’s murals as their own and opened as “Lou’s Bodega” but offered highly-priced meals instead of reasonably-priced items typically found in a true bodega. However, the establishment soon changed its name to Lou’s and acknowledges the legacy of Leal’s.
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Blackshear Fine Arts Academy: History of Blackshear
From a wooden shack in the 19th century, to a modernized school in the 21st century, the Austin Digital Heritage Project collaborates with Creative Action to provide an abridged history of Blackshear Elementary School, also known as Blackshear Fine Arts Academy.
Blackshear Fine Arts Academy: Principal Friendly Rice
In this special report, the Austin Digital Heritage Project collaborates with Creative Action to showcase the life and legacy of Mr. Friendly R. Rice, who led this historical school in East Austin between 1931 and 1972 during Austin’s discriminatory laws under Jim Crow.
Interviews include alumnae, such as Betty Ussery and Arlene Youngblood, and Vonnye Rice Gardner, Mr. Rice’s daughter.