Houston Neighbors Said No To Walmart And Invested In Black-Owned Businesses After The Hurricane
Three months ago, Hurricane Harvey ripped through Houston and coastal Texas, killing 82 people, displacing more than 60,000, and leaving parts of Houston with severe wind and flood damage. As the city recovers from the strongest hurricane to hit in more than 50 years, many of its residents in historically Black neighborhoods continue to struggle for resources and support.
“Houston is the tale of two cities,” explains Andrew Cobb, cofounder of West Street Recovery, a nonprofit disaster response organization that formed out of Hurricane Harvey to aid residents in underserved neighborhoods.
“A lot of people in Black and brown and low-income neighborhoods still need help.”
“If you flew in from the airport and drove around, you’ll probably be like, ‘Well, I don’t see the problem,’” he says. “B...