Freedmen 's Town Scores a Victory! : Houston Indymedia

Lenwood Johnson and the Free Man's Neighborhood Association won a victory today when the City of Houston agreed to do exactly what Lenwood had been demanding for months and months: dig the ground adjacent to historic brick streets in Freedmen's Town to lay new water and sewer lines and leave the historical brick streets alone.

While Mayor Bill White and Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee are taking credit for preserving an historical neighborhood, it is really the few remaining original residents of Freedmen's Town who forced the City to at least say that they are going to do the right thing.

Originally, the City said that they couldn't dig under sidewalks and had to lay new sewer and water lines under the streets.

The bricks on many of the historic streets in Freedmen's Town were hand made over a century ago by freed slaves and then laid into streets. Two of the streets the City insisted had to be torn up were Andrews and Wilson Streets.

On Monday, the Free Man's Neighborhood Association held a press conference on Andrews Street to denounce City Hall for telling the media that they had an agreement with their association.

"Not only do we not have an agreement with the City that they will not destroy our streets, but they also have refused our requests for community forums to discuss this issue," Lenwood told the media. "We are still asking for a community forum so that residents can give their input to the City and we want to see in writing the contracts they draw up to do the work."

Immediately after Monday's press conference, balls started rolling and the mayor and the congresswoman and the ministers and the preservationists all began making statements about preserving the African American history and leaving the historic streets intact.

"Now we just have their word. We still want to see the contracts the the City will draw up with their contractors who will do this work. Then, after we see the contracts, we will still need to monitor what work actually takes place. These City officials and congresspeople are the same ones who have let the developers destroy our neighborhood, our history and our culture. Why should we trust them when they say something?" Johnson said.

Freedman's Town is on the National Register of Historic Places and is the oldest African American community in Houston.

Free Man's Neighborhood Association is a non profit that was founded as a vehicle to organize diverse neighborhood groups to produce unifying lobbying efforts to preserve Freedmen's Town, its indigenous residents and businesses.

The supporters and members of the Freed Man's Neighborhood Association meet on Tuesday nights at 7PM at 1111 Genesee Street and welcome support. For more information, contact Lenwood Johnson at 281-709-3001.

Channels 2, 11, 13, and 26 had their cameras ready to roll when Lenwood and Njeri arrived on the corner of Andrews Street and Wilson Street.

For some reason, maybe thinking they could derail this struggle to save their streets, the City told the media they had reached an agreement with the Free Man's Neighborhood Association.

Speaking from the heart, Njeri Shakur explains to the media how dear their community, it homes, businesses, and evens streets are to the people who live in Freedman's Town. She told how their ancestors, freed slaves, had made each of the historic bricks lining the streets with their hands.

Accompanied by Busi Peters, left, Sister Akua Holt, second from the left, interviews long-time residents about their feelings toward the City's position that the streets would have to be dug up in order to put in new water and sewer lines.

Jackie Pruitt said she had lived all of her 51 years in Freedman's Town, gone to school and church there. When Sister Akua asked her what she would tell the mayor, she responded, "I'd tell him to leave us alone. To stay out!"

Njeri and her great granddaughter, Brea, enjoy a moment on the historic Andrew Street's bricks with Mr. J.

Eileen and Lenwood share memories while posing for photographers on Andrew Street. Eileen is a life-long resident of Freedman's Town.