On Wednesday evening, members of the African-American Resource Advisory poured over hundreds of mismatched portraits and histories in an attempt to choose 100 of East Austin’s African-American cultural district’s most influential residents, both past and present. The faces of these men and women will be tiled around the mural that will adorn the walls of the African-American Cultural Heritage Center, currently under construction and set to open in time for this year’s Juneteenth celebrations.
The center, originally commissioned in 2006, will be built as an expansion around the home of Dedrick Hamilton, one of Travis County’s first freed slaves. The facility will be home to the African-American Visitors Center, the Capital City African-American Chamber of Commerce, and Pro Arts Collective, an organization recognized for its work in spreading knowledge of African-American culture through community involvement in programs such as dance and visual arts. The center will be finished by the summer of 2012, and will cost $4.4 million. But despite the cost, many community members such as Chiquita Eugene, who serves as the chair of the African-American Advisory Commission, believe that the addition of the facility to the neighborhood will help address many problems faced in the East Austin area and revitalize the once culturally-rich area.
“Some issues have to do with cultural events, health issues, educational issues, safety issues…and the concern of business,” Eugene said. “Once upon a time, East Austin, for lack of a better way of explaining it, was the bomb. That sort of has gone with time, those entrepreneurs that had those businesses have sort of died on the vine so to speak. The facility is going to house all the information…on African-American historical pieces, [as well as a] walking tour of the area that will talk about the history of African Americans in that part of time.”
The portraits are one of the final steps in finalizing the design of a mosaic that will stretch across one wall of the facility. The art is being conceptualized by Reginald Adams, the founder of Museum of Cultural Arts, Houston, an organization dedicated to involving the residents of largely minority populated areas in the creation of art. MOCAH was commissioned by the African American Resource Advisory Committee and Austin’s Art in Public Places program, and Adams said he plans to invite the children of nearby Kealing Middle School to help with the physical creation of the mosaic in hopes of strengthening the community.
“When we go back home, wherever our home may be, the people who live in it and have to spend time around that piece can take ownership in it,” Adams said. “We talk about art as a tool for community development, and the aspect we’re looking at is people taking pride in their neighborhood or in their civic space because of their ability to contribute towards the enhancement of it.”
Robert Organ is the chair of deacons at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, located directly across the street from what will soon be the facility. As a lifelong member of the church and of the East Austin community, Organ believes that the creation of the African-American Cultural Heritage Center will instill in the local community a renewed sense of pride in their past.
“The African-American community is most proud of the preservation and restoration and what that represents,” Organ said. “I think the community as a whole is honored and proud that some value is placed on not only what happened back then, but on maintaining the history.”
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