“It’s called gentrification. It’s what happens when the property value of a certain area is brought down. You bring the property value down. They can buy the land at a lower price. Then they move all the people out, raise the property value and sell it at a profit.” (Furious Styles, from the movie Boyz ‘N the Hood)
When a young Sean Roberts heard Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne) deliver his soliloquy on gentrification in the 1991 John Singleton classic, it was Roberts’ introduction to the term.
Roberts took away from that scene the definition of gentrification held by most Black people—it flips Black communities, converting them to homes and businesses owned by whites.
But Roberts, as an adult and practicing attorney, now views gentrification as a tool to help preserve and revitalize the neighborhood that’s home to his law office, Houston’s historic Riverside Terrace.
And he’s on a mission to get other Black people on board.
Different spin on gentrification
“Gentrification is generally a term you only hear in the Black community,” said Roberts. “It’s a word that carries a negative connotation. And what it really means is economic development… and that by economic development we’re placing hardships on grandma whose taxes are going up and she’s going to have to leave.”
Roberts rejects that interpretation of gentrification for two reasons. First, he contends “grandma” and other seniors receive tax breaks, alleviating the worry of additional financial hardship. Second, Black people’s current neighborhood preservation model isn’t working because oftentimes, the homeowner’s children or grandchildren don’t want the home. Or worse.
“But all we’re preserving is a system where these houses get foreclosed on at auction because grandkids don’t want the house,” said Roberts.
Roberts also contends the “don’t sell the home” philosophy equates to Black people losing homes or retaining them without exploring financial opportunities.
“We want to change the conversation around how to maximize the value of assets because the way everything is happening in our community is backwards,” he said. “We’re taught to keep the value down. We’re taught to never sell it, which means you never realize a gain.
“We want to change that conversation because this is the first step in wealth creation.”
By “we,” Roberts means himself and Clive Markland. Together, they run Roberts Markland LLP (2555 N. MacGregor Way, Houston 77004). The firm, recognized for its legal prowess and community dedication, recently purchased its third historic home on Riverside Drive to repurpose into office space to accommodate the needs of its growing team.
Preservation and revitalization
The newest property is located at 2617 Riverside Drive, and the other two offices are just steps away at 2555 N. MacGregor Way and 2627 Riverside Drive. To date, Roberts Markland LLP has acquired and is in the process of restoring and repurposing eight historic properties on Riverside Drive, reaffirming its commitment to the community’s resurgence and its role as stewards of its rich history.
“We are dedicated to preserving and revitalizing this important historic section of Riverside Terrace, one building, one business, one block at a time,” stated Sean Roberts. “Our efforts are designed to transform the narrative around gentrification, focusing on preserving the unique architectural styles of the area while opening new businesses such as the art gallery Hotel King David, Augustine’s Restaurant and the Black Art Museum of Houston to complement longstanding local establishments in the area.”
Economic corridor
Roberts believes that by making an economic corridor in what was once a residential corridor, his firm can facilitate Riverside Terrace’s economic and cultural viability.
“We have enough housing over here. What we don’t have are businesses that supply amenities to this neighborhood. Four or five years ago, you had to drive to Montrose just to get to a decent HEB,” Roberts stated, who believes one of the ways to preserve a community is to make it economically feasible.
“It just makes economic sense to put commerce in these houses versus people in residences. That’s what we’re trying to do with Riverside, and we’ve been successful so far.”
Feasibility
Roberts believes that if Black people can let go of the belief that what was once a house must always stay a house, positive change can happen.
“This is not original thinking. You go to Magazine Street in New Orleans; this is what they’re doing. You go to Bissonnet right here in Houston; this is what they’re doing. They’re preserving and putting businesses in,” argued Roberts.
Traditional stance
Still, many argue that gentrification is a losing proposition for Black people.
“If we look at where people end up if they move, poor residents moving from historically Black gentrifying neighborhoods tend to move to poorer non-gentrifying neighborhoods within the city, while residents moving from other gentrifying neighborhoods tend to move to wealthier neighborhoods in the city and in the suburbs,” said Stanford University sociologist Jackelyn Hwang.
Hwang co-authored a 2021 study that found the negative effects of gentrification are felt disproportionately by minority communities, whose residents have fewer options of neighborhoods they can move to compared to their white counterparts.
Hwang and others have voiced over the decades arguments against gentrification, including displacement (e.g., loss of affordable housing, erosion of community, limited options), increased cost of living (e.g., higher rents and property taxes, loss of essential services), cultural erasure and more.
Thought leader, college professor and author of Black AF History Michael Harriot calls gentrification “micro colonization ” and describes the first Europeans who arrived on what later became known as American shores as individuals “who came to gentrify an entire continent.”
Pushback
But Roberts pushes back against this by highlighting the history of Riverside Terrace, which broke ground in 1924 as a whites-only residential enclave.
“Riverside Terrace was Houston’s answer to River Oaks, which not only like every other subdivision in Houston [forbid] Blacks from ownership, River Oaks also [forbid] Jewish families from buying houses,” said Roberts. “So, [Riverside Terrace] came up. And what makes it so dynamic is the fact that when Riverside Terrace was built, Blacks again were restricted from buying homes here. Blacks ended up having to forcibly come into Riverside Terrace… in the 1950s.”
That history of Black fight and determination is a story Roberts believes is worth preserving.
Community response
Roberts says his firm’s efforts have been “very well received” because of the respect Roberts Markland LLP has for the neighborhood.
He believes future success depends on not taking the same exclusionary approach the founders of Riverside Terrace took.
“We can’t make the same mistakes by saying, ‘We only want Black businesses in here,’” said Roberts. “We want everybody who sees a functioning neighborhood is one with nice amenities and things for your kids to do, walkable places and parks and things like that. We have all of that here.”
