The city and the Port keep finding ways to destroy Corpus Christi. Instead of viewing the Hillcrest community as an essential part of the city’s rich history, they see it as the place to put things no one else would ever want and, in doing so, keep finding ways to destroy “home” to many.
While the Hillcrest neighborhood has been hollowed out by a questionable buyout program, the fact remains that it is the only historically African American neighborhood left in Corpus Christi. It’s a neighborhood where I am the pastor of the 95-year-old church in Corpus Christi, Brooks A.M.E. Worship Center.
This neighborhood has been the target of repeated environmental racism. First, the city of Corpus Christi segregated African American residents to Hillcrest once they knew “Refinery Row” was in the making. Next, Interstate 37 was located just south of the neighborhood. Third, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Port negotiated a buyout program that resulted in the Hillcrest population declining drastically. Now a desalination plant.