Gentrification Readings

Three things I thought were very interesting from the articles were:
1. How far back the history and actions that led to the current demographic environment of the area can be traced.
2. The 1928 segregation laws about Clarksville
3. In the "Dallas fed" article it talked about how the police treated the residents of East Austin differently, which I feel like is something that is not usually addressed or ignored if you live outside of the community.

1.) When reading the Empty Stairs article, I was amazed as to how far back in time the article went to explain East Austin. I did not expect the history to trace all the way back to the Republic of Texas era when the land was sold to freedman. History has always been an interested of mine, especially when it relates to your current surroundings or interests. It is mind boggling to think about how the actions, sales, and influences of that time effected the future so much.
2.) I currently live in the Clarksville area, and I have heard about some of the history of the area but I did not know fully the social climate of the area around 1928. My jaw literally dropped when I read the second article that stated how the city of Austin neglected the people's needs of this area so that they would be forced to moved into the "negro" district.
3.) The third point of interest caught my attention because my roommate, who is a Young Life leader at Travis High School, talks about this problem from personal experience. She says it is known among her girls (who live in this area) that the police discriminate and treat people in East Austin differently. She has told me stories about how the girls joke that if you're African American you will get in trouble over the hispanics, and that if they are with Hannah (who is a white, blonde hair, blue-eyed, bubbly college student) then they will not get in trouble. Hannah also says when she is in East Austin she can usually get away with going over the speed limit because the cops are busy doing other things than giving people speeding tickets. It is always interesting to read articles that have proof of what the community knows to be true. Sometimes we question the validity of if their is just a perception of discrimination amongst the people who are victimized, but the article proves the legitimacy of the situation.