Patricia Calhoun is a resident of Rogers Washington Holy Cross, a historic East Austin neighborhood built for and by black professionals after World War Two. In this interview, she discusses the close bonds of the neighborhood, gentrification, ongoing historical research, and more.
Interview Highlights
Close ties in the community
“The neighborhood was really a kind of a close, cohesive neighborhood because I guess the commonalities was education, and either Huston Tillotson University – College at that time – or the lower level schools, the high school, junior high, elementary. Much as we have now, it was very active. One of the interesting things about the neighborhood, they all knew each other very well. And I would say more than acquaintances, they were all essentially friends. There were some that were closer friends than others, but most had known each other for many, many years.”
Gentrification on the Eastside
“[Rogers Washington] represented, I think, of what East Austin used to be in terms of just a complete, cohesive community. Yes there were differences, economic differences as well, but because we were segregated and we could not go across the freeways, we call it, we built our own and the communities thrived, our businesses thrived.And so we could see that Austin was losing that. And particularly on the Eastside. One of the things I remember, several of us, in conversation, it was the feeling that in a very short time it was like you never existed. So the whole face of the community – and it is different. But unless we took steps to preserve our stories and our histories, then in a few years, the Eastside of Austin and the African-American families who inhabited this part of town would be totally gone.”
Ongoing historical research on an African American credit union
“One of the things that we’re still researching is the existence of an African American credit union. That was very much instrumental in providing funding for the homeowners. And, so that’s one of the things that’s ongoing.It was headquartered in the Chase building onNavasota that’s now owned by University of Texas. But that’s where the State Teachers Association met. And we think the credit union might have been a part of that. I have found some documentation where the idea of a credit union and, I think a national credit union, entity was presented to the teachers association.We haven’t gotten much farther than that, but we are researching that.”
Remembering Rogers Washington Holy Cross
“I’d like it to be remembered as a community of love. We didn’t talk about our churches and what an important part of our lives our churches play. And the black church, I think, has been the strength of many of our communities, most of our communities.As you look at the Bible, and as a believer, it’s love that makes the difference in the world. And I see this community and saw this community as a community of love. While we had our differences, we were all the same, many of us had slight differences in our backgrounds, there was just a commonality. And we loved one another. And through that love you do things for one another. You care about one another. You’re interested in how this person is doing.”