Tucked in the corner near the East Loop lies the neighborhood of Pleasantville in northeast Houston. A drive through its streets may seem unassuming for the quiet and quaint area, but that’s because some don’t know about its historical impact.
To understand Pleasantville’s significance, we need to go back to the 1940s when redlining and housing discrimination were still in full effect for African American and Jewish-American military service members.
Two builders, Melvin Silverman and H.M. Cohen, partnered with real estate agent Judson Robinson Sr. to create a master-planned community for these two disenfranchised groups. It would be a place where they could safely live, work, and play in the same neighborhood.
Mary Fontenot, president of the Pleasantville Historical Society, explained that until that point, Black Americans could only move into homes used and left behind by white Americans.
“That was the first time (African Americans) actually got to go in and make (their) own decision when they bought a home. That’s a big deal,” Fontenot said. “We had our own schools, grocery stores, laundromats, and furniture stores. The homes were of better quality and design. Our nickname at one point was the ‘Black River Oaks.'”