In January, Change Corps will be volunteering to create a mural in the Independence Heights neighborhood of Houston, honoring Dr. Martin Luther King and celebrating the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. 

 

Independence Heights is a historically significant neighborhood within the City of Houston.  Independence Heights is bounded by North Tidwell and 610 to the North and South and I-45 and North Shepherd to the East and West. 

 

In January of 1915, Independence Heights became the first city incorporated in the state of Texas by African-Americans. 

 

The history of Independence Heights is significant because the city, which quickly elected a mayor, established several churches and built a school and City Hall, was completely managed  by African-American owned businesses.

 

 

Independence Heights became a place where African-American families, excluded from or marginalized in other communities, encountered the support and resources to develop themselves, build their own homes and participate in civic life.

 

Although the newly formed city enjoyed a rich community life, in 1928 its residents - hoping to gain paved roads and improved public services - voted to dissolve their city status in order to be annexed by Houston.

 

While Independence Heights continues to boast a strong and vocal contingent of descendents of its original founders and residents, when integration opened up new opportunities in other parts of the city, much of the younger generation chose to leave the neighborhood. 

 

Independence Heights has faced its share of challenges - over the past thirty years economic decline has led to abandoned lots, public safety issues and high rates of poverty. 

 

Yet since its founding Independence Heights has been a community that has offered opportunity and support to those who seek it.  It has a strong network of churches, organizations and individuals willing to extend a helping hand to support one another. 

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