THE GOVALLE DOOR

As part of the Bolm Road Govalle community mural walls curated and organized by Raasin McIntosh of Raasin in the Sun and in conjunction with Gonzo Viz, I installed this door on an empty stretch of fence under a tree between two amazing murals .
The front tells the story a bit of how Govalle, and East Austin in general is perceived. This fun, hip area, full of cool shops, art, places to eat, etc...and I think those things are great.
But what sometimes gets lost in the hype is the history of the place, the people who lived, developed and fought in that area, which has been celebrated beautifully by man of the murals on that stretch of Bolm between Airport and Springdale.

One thing I wanted to bring out is the the 1928 Austin City Plan, which I myself was not aware of until a few years ago. Commissioned by the city, it among other things, lays out a government sponsored plan to segregate the African American community (and de-facto over the years other non-white residents ) to East Austin, laying the groundwork for even further segregation in the 50s with the construction of i35 along what was East Avenue. I just think people understand, especially in all the turmoil about what is taught in school, that this was a deliberate government sponsored initiative which had repercussions for generations of people up to today, where the ironic side of gentrification is moving ahead full steam.

Thanks Betsy Askew for the assist!