News — Texas

In 1837, Houston, Texas was incorporated and divided into four wards. The Southeast ward was named Third Ward and over time this area became an important center of African American-owned businesses and a hub for black culture.

Third Ward originally comprised the area east of Main Street and south of Congress Street. After the Civil War ended former slaves from the areas surrounding Houston began to move into Third Ward.  At the time, African Americans were forced to live on the outskirts of the ward but as whites moved to the suburbs, blacks began to purchase property in the heart of the ward. In 1872, influential African Americans led by Reverend John Henry “Jack” Yates raised $8,000 to purchase four acres of land which would become Emancipation Park, the first park for black Houstonians and home to the annual Juneteenth Celebration commemorating the liberation of African Americans from slavery in Texas.

Between 1910 and 1930 the African American population in the Third Ward exploded from 22,929 to 66,357. As a result of the rapid population growth, African American owned businesses increased along Dowling Street, which became the area’s main business corridor.

Dowling Street also became the center of Houston’s blues movement. Blues clubs were lined up and down the street and became places where artists from throughout the South and Southwest went to experiment and perfect their craft. The Eldorado Ballroom the self-styled “Home of the Happy Feet,” was the premier venue featuring artist like Ray Charles, and B.B. King, as well as local artist Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb, and Jewel Brown.  African Americans came from all over East Texas to frequent the nightlife in Third Ward to have a fun night, allowing them a brief release from the everyday realities of the Jim Crow South.

The Third Ward was also home to other community landmarks such as Jack Yates High School, the second African American high school in Houston, the Covington House which served as Houston’s unofficial guest quarters for many prominent African American visitors, the Shape Community Center and Riverside Hospital, the first non-profit hospital for African Americans in Houston. Texas Southern University, founded in 1947, was the largest institution in the ward.

As African Americans left the South for better opportunities in the North in the first half of the 20th century, the Houston Chamber of Commerce, unlike most white urban leaders in the South, took out advertisements for “Heavenly Houston,” hoping to lure blacks to the city.  By the early 1950s, however, wealthy and middle-class blacks started leaving the Third Ward as they integrated formerly all-white residential areas. That outward migration continued through the 1960s and 1970s and now included business departures.  Those businesses that remained of the began to fail, leaving Third Ward a shell of its former prominence.

Today there are approximately 33,000 residents remaining in Third Ward and despite the efforts to gentrify the area, residents and community leaders have begun a concerted effort to preserve, protect and celebrate the rich history and heritage of Third Ward.

The Longview Race Riot occurred on July 10-12 in this northeast Texas city where 1,790 blacks comprised 31% of the town’s 5,700 people in 1919. Racial tensions were high across the United States due to race riots that began in March 1919. Just before the Longview Riot, local teacher and newspaper correspondent Samuel L. Jones and Dr. Calvin P. Davis, prominent leaders of the black community, had begun encouraging local black farmers to avoid selling to local white cotton brokers and to instead sell directly to buyers in Galveston. Also, local blacks set up a cooperative store where they competed with and angered local white merchants. These incidents raised tensions in Longview long before the riot occurred.

In early June, a local black man, Lemuel Walters, was beaten by two white men for allegedly making romantic advances towards their sister, a white woman from Kilgore. Walters was arrested and put in the Gregg County jail, but a mob showed up at the jail on June 17, and the sheriff gave Walters to the mob, who shot and killed him. The story was printed in the Chicago Defender on July 10 and enraged local whites who blamed the article on Jones although he denied writing it.

Later that day Jones was attacked and beaten across the street from the Gregg County courthouse by the same men who beat Walters. Dr. Davis arrived in his vehicle and took Jones to his office to treat him. The two men appealed to Mayor Gabriel A. Bodenheim for protection but were instead advised to leave town. Jones hid with relatives and they gathered twenty-five friends to protect his home. Around midnight, a group of white men arrived at Jones house but were met with gunfire. Three of the white men were injured, and another who hid under a nearby house was beaten badly by the black defenders of the home.

As the word spread, a crowd of almost 1,000 whites began to gather back in town with some breaking into Welch’s Hardware Store to take guns and ammunition. The crowd burned down Jones’s home, Dr. Davis’s home and office, and a black dance hall. Although Texas governor William P. Hobby sent eight Texas Rangers to Longview, the violence continued. On the night of July 12, Marion Bush, father-in-law of Dr. Davis, was killed by a local white farmer. On Sunday, July 13, Governor Hobby declared martial law in all of Gregg County, and ordered all residents of Longview to surrender their weapons at the county courthouse. An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 weapons were turned in, and more soldiers and Rangers arrived in town to quell the riots.

Seventeen white men were arrested for attempted murder on July 14, but all were released. Nine other white men were arrested for arson and then released. None of the men were prosecuted. Twenty-one black men were arrested for assault and attempted murder and moved to an Austin, Texas jail for their safety. Eventually, all were released without trials, to avoid any further unrest in Longview. Martial law ended on July 18, and citizens were allowed to retrieve their firearms the next day. The Longview Race Riot was one of twenty-five riots that took place from May through October 1917 during what would be called the Red Summer.

A 27-year-old Texas man has been accused of killing his wife and two children after he was found lying next to their bodies. Bryan Richardson has been charged with three counts of murder in the deaths of his wife, Kiera Michelle Ware, and their two young children, whose names have not been released, the Copperas Cove Police Department said in a statement.

According to reports, the police were called around 9:32 p.m. Saturday for a welfare check on the family in Copperas Cove after the deceased woman’s brother was not able to reach her.

Upon arriving at the home of the family, the police found “a large amount of blood on the kitchen and living room floors,” according to a criminal complaint obtained by KWTX-TV. A small dog was also found dead in a pool of blood in the kitchen, the complaint stated.

The police officers then found a large pool of blood outside a bedroom that was locked from the inside. They forced open the door and found Richardson lying on a bed covered in blood, with the bodies of his wife and two children next to him, according to court documents. A bloody knife, an empty six-pack of beer and an empty bottle of Trazodone, a prescription antidepressant, were also found in the home.

When the police asked Richardson what happened, he said he did not know, the complaint stated. The officers however found three cuts on Richardson’s left arm which he allegedly said were self-inflicted. Later, Richardson was asked if he was worried about losing his job, his wife or custody of his children. He allegedly responded, “I already lost all of those.”

Richardson, who worked at a GNC vitamin and nutrition shop, is being held on a $2.25 million bond. He has not yet entered a plea.

Small businesses have been struggling during the pandemic, particularly Black-owned businesses. In the last few months, Black owners of barbecue restaurants in North Texas say the pandemic has presented new challenges for their businesses that have seen a downturn in catering and in-store sales.

But following the protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in early June, some Black business owners said their establishments have seen surges in business. For some, the growth in customers looking for ways to support the Black community was short-lived. But for others, customers have continued to come back, thanks in part to social media.

“I think across the board, the initiative to support Black businesses has helped sustain us through the pandemic,” said Juan Reaves, who co-owns Smokey John’s Bar-B-Que.

This year, he said Smokey John’s saw its biggest Juneteenth sales — up 400% compared to last year. Still, Reaves says the cancellation of the State Fair of Texas was a “huge blow.” He said it usually brings in a third of his restaurant’s annual revenue.

“There’s no way we can make all that up,” Reaves said.

More than 40% of Black-owned businesses in Texas say they could close because of the pandemic, according to a preliminary statewide survey by the Texas Association for African American Chambers of Commerce.