The project threatens to disrupt the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people, most of whom are from communities of colour.
The project will see the demolition of approximately 1,000 homes and apartments, 344 businesses, 2 schools and 5 churches.
Mount Olive Baptist Church is also included in this area. It shares a corner of Houston’s Interstate 610. There has been a pastor for over two decades, Pastor Joseph Johnson.
A fallen tree caused the destruction of Mt. Olive. Pastor Johnson rebuilt the church with his own hands and proudly reopened the doors. Mt. Olive’s doors won’t be reopened because they will be shut again due to the freeway project.
Johnson stated that Johnson said, “When they come here with these big machines and how it going to start biting into the building, which took us years to construct it here, it’s only going to take them a few days to destroy it.”
The demolition of buildings in Independence Heights, which was the first Texas city to be incorporated by African Americans in the early 1900s is also planned.
Tanya Debose was forced to leave her home by her great-grandfather when the interstate was built in 1959. She is now working to defend Independence Heights from gentrification and the freeway project.
She stated that “Nobody cares what happens to the people who are being forced here or elsewhere”
While it investigates environmental and civil rights violations, the federal government has placed Houston’s major projects on hold.
Texas Department of Transportation stated that it is working with affected communities and offering buyouts — sometimes exceedingly high market value — to anyone who has been displaced by the freeway.
Pastor Johnson purchased the state’s purchaseout, but with skyrocketing construction costs, he worries that it won’t be enough to build a new congregation on land nearby when Mt. Olive is destroyed.
“My faith is God is going to bring us through it, as they say, one-way or another.” Johnson stated that God will bring us through it.
