Hundreds of Black families moved to Independence Heights, the first incorporated African American municipality in Texas, in the early 1900s, and by 1911 a two-room school opened on East 39th to educate their children.
That eventually became Burrus Elementary, which received a state historical marker in 2023 during a major community celebration. This June, however, the historic campus closed for good alongside 11 other schools in the largest mass closure of HISD campuses in the last 20 years.
“And they feel like that is definitely a slap in the face to the community — a disrespect to the community,” said State Rep. Charlene Ward Johnson, a Democrat whose district includes the school…