No Chill on the Bike Path: Houston's Third Ward in 7 Acts

No Chill” looks at the historic Houston, Texas neighborhood known as the Third Ward. African Americans in early twentieth century Houston were legislated into living in the Third Ward, a former Jewish enclave. A good portion of the African American history in Houston has taken place in the Third Ward. Whether it is freed slaves pooling their money to purchase land for a neighborhood park that the city would not provide, to The El Dorado Ballroom where all the greats such as Dizzy, Lena, Louie, Janis, Lightning, BB, Miles, and the rest regularly played to sold-out shows, hosting both Texas Southern University (an HBCU) and the University of Houston, hosting over 225 places of worship, having a legendary group of public schools that turned out celebrities of all types, be they actors, politicians, athletes, academics, or clergy, to at one point being the model for what a successful African American neighborhood could be, with home ownership, business ownership, and all the amenities of any middle to upper-middle-class neighborhood that could be in any city in the United States.

Third Ward was the epicenter for the civil rights movement in Houston, with the Black Panthers headquartered on its main street of Dowling where the local president and another member were gunned down by HPD, Dr. King speaking at the Historic St. John MBC, the Houston SCLC Chapter located at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, and much of the cities civil rights activism emanating from Texas Southern University.

Today the Third Ward is but a shell of its former self. 85% of the residents are renters, once proud public schools are failing, the University of Houston is expanding its footprint with little concern for the neighborhood, Texas Southern University attempts to grow while still attempting to keep its footprint minimized, the lone grocery store is on its way out, small businesses with a few exceptions are limited to fast food outlets, gas station/convenience stores, bars and clubs. Small-scale investment in so-called 'skinny houses' is bringing in residents that neither looks like the traditional Third Ward resident nor shares much of the traditional culture of a Third Ward resident. Entire blocks are boarded up, dumping and garbage piles are the norm not the exception and urban decay is everywhere. A recent search of the tax roles shows entities amassing large amounts of land.

“No Chill,” asks everyone from residents, to academics, to business people, to activists, and former politicians about the future of the Third Ward, in an attempt to gain for its viewers some insight into what the possibilities are for this historic neighborhood. Many dreams exist about what should happen to this amazing neighborhood, filled with wish lists and idyllic outcomes, but not many if any real plans, with a leader fronting it, definitive action plans as well as funding sources, and an educated base supporting a plans execution. The one group conspicuously absent from “No Chill” is the current batch of politicians, all of whom chose not to lend their voices to this project, yet all intimately involved in the behind the scenes, covert planning for Third Ward's future. Not the mayor who now seeks “private” funding to do what government should have been doing for the last 50 years, to a congresswoman who in spite of her bombastic persona has done next to nothing to help this neighborhood, to the rest who pay lip service but have no record of promoting any viable plan for this historic neighborhood that they are tasked with representing.

Very few urban environments have a large plat of land so close to the immediate downtown district that can be a landing spot for the reverse white flight currently taking place across the nation as those who once fled to the suburbs, fearful of minorities and inner-city crime, now seek to return to the convenience of urban living. Will Third Ward become the new urban subdivision model, or will it be preserved for its residents, maintaining the history that cities like Houston are so apt to bulldoze and forget.

"No Chill" does not purport to answer these questions, but rather to educate its viewers so that they can make more informed choices and craft more educated opinions about the future of the Third Ward. If “No Chill” can succeed in at least promoting engagement and discussion, as well as education about this crucial decision, it will have succeeded in its goals.