Thread by @nonsequiteuse

Ok #Houston we need to have a talk about gentrification v. revitalization. And while I hate to target a specific person, this example is egregiously bad. #HouNews 1/

Revitalization is being in new infrastructure while centering the community already in place, making sure legacy residents can stay in place, & local business are the norm instead of chains. 2/

Gentrification is “discovering” a neglected, usually non-white community, and calling it a blank slate.

Exhibit A is *this guy.*
3/

If you’re not from around here - and as we will see, this guy is not, you might not know 5th Ward is one of Houston’s oldest & most historic Black neighborhoods.

The demographics are, like the rest of the city, changing. But the history is clear.
4/

So this guy prides himself on being a “true champion” who has “made it his mission” through a process he calls “really listening” to learn about “diverse” neighborhoods like 5th Ward.

5/

Well, buddy, really listen to this. If you’re gonna name-check your fave spots in the Nickel, maybe skip Irma’s, which is downtown, and Ninfa’s on Navigation, which is the mf’ing Second Ward. (And PS, do NOT call it EaDo. That’s the language of gentrification.)
/6

And #Houston, we need to talk about East River.

No one will ever mistake this stretch of the Ship Channel for the lower east side of Manhattan or Williamsburg.

Nor should they.

East River ain’t it, chief.
7/

It is Buffalo Bayou - Houston’s most iconic waterway. It is the reason Houston exists. Because of that bayou, after the 1900 storm, Houston was able to leapfrog Galveston and become the booming port city we are.

Calling it East River is utter fucking bullshit.
8/

But the worst - by far - is this guy calling 5th Ward a blank slate.

It.
Is.
Home.
To.
Generations.
You.
Are.
Pricing.
Out.
And.
Erasing.
9/

You can’t brag about it’s historic character & architectural vernacular AND THEN say it’s open season for tearing it all down to build what you want.
10/

So here this loud & clear, Keith.
*Really listen.*

Then STFU and listen some more. Maybe check in with the Sotheby’s Martha Turner PR flak who set you up for this.

Then apologize to 5th Ward & hop on I-10 west & head back to northwest Houston.
11/

Stop erasing Black history in #Houston.

Stop erasing Fifth Ward, and keep your paws off Fourth & Third while we’re at it.

Stop renaming neighborhoods.

Stop calling people’s lives & homes a blank canvas.

Black Lives Matter.

12/12

PS - @MarthaTurnerSIR is your PR team ok?

That’s a rhetorical question. They are not.