This Side of 288
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, society has had to face some of the hardest times in most recent memory. Some of these difficult truths aren’t anything new to a number of our local residents here in Houston, Texas. There isn’t a single space in which talks of inequality haven’t already crept into. As we spent the better part of 2020 in our homes with our eyes glued to the television seeing just how our daily routines seemed to turn into things of the past. People weren’t allowed to come within an arms reach of one another. Distant relatives became all the more distant. The thought of one day being able to work from home became a new normal for a number of people. We could all only hope that this would blow over and that the never-ending spring break finally came to a close.
For those of us whose worlds had not quite changed that much, it only gave us more of a reason to bring forth our struggles — I may be speaking for myself. We felt invigorated with a profound strength to make a change in the world. A sort of reckoning was upon us and the time to act had finally come. The injustices were to be tolerated no more and the fight for equality across all grounds was the only thing on everyone’s mind. This newfound fight for equality led me no farther than across the street from my school at the University of Houston. I could throw a rock and it would land in an underserved community that had been dealing with so many injustices even before the pandemic.
It was in a little neighborhood between Scott Street and Nagle Street that I met the Nunez family with my friend Ed Pettitt. Ed had been working on getting a number of abandoned lots in the neighborhood cleaned up and repurposed, but people refused to listen. That all seemed to change when we met Juan Nunez and his kids. “The streets are full of potholes and there is so much construction material on the street that my kids can hardly play on the street,” he says, “the only place where they can play since they are not in school is across the street on the abandoned lot, but there is always the risk of them getting hurt by just walking there,” Nunez adds.
The 3rd Ward does not have as many of the luxuries that other neighborhoods are able to afford. There is less than $200,000 in park funds allocated to the sector in which the 3rd Ward falls under. Now, while that may seem like a lot it’s not even close to what other neighborhoods have allocated to them. Sectors that have Memorial Park and Buffalo Bayou Park have over $6 million dollars allocated to them already. In Ed Pettitt’s words, “The money that is put aside for the 3rd Ward isn’t even enough for one park.”
So, Ed decided to get to work and started ruffling some feathers. He started posting pictures online and tagging anyone who would pay attention to him. He tagged everyone from city council members to local representatives on his Facebook posts. In the end, his efforts finally paid off. After months and months of calling out representatives on his social media platform and one winter storm later, the lot that was once a literal dumping ground was turned into a patch of green that could one day be turned into a full-fledged park. While the process may still take a few more months, it is still worth the hassle. Anything to give a struggling community any sense of normalcy in a world that has left them wanting.
With the University of Houston continuously erecting new buildings left, right, and center this is the community taking a stand and saying that they are as much a part of the community as is the school. For as long as there are residents wanting to hold on to what little they have left of their community, there will always be a chance to keep on living in the neighborhood. In a world ridden with uncertainty, the only thing for sure is that there is still some good in the world. We just have to stand up together and fight for what is rightfully ours.
