Pleasantville

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Pleasantville, over in Harris County. Now settle in, because this one's got some weight to it — and some genuine triumph, too. After World War II, African Americans in Houston were up against a wall when it came to finding a place to live.

Some neighborhoods had restrictive covenants written right into the recorded plats, language that specifically excluded African Americans by name. Other neighborhoods didn't bother putting it in writing — the discrimination was more subtle, but no less real. Either way, the door was shut.

So here's where the story turns. Two Jewish developers, Melvin Silverman and Bernard Paul, decided to do something about it. They joined forces with a Black realtor named Judson Robinson, Sr. — born 1904, passed in 1986 — and together these three men set out to build something Houston had never seen before: a master planned community, designed specifically for African Americans, that they called Pleasantville.

Not a handful of houses. Not a modest subdivision. Fifteen hundred homes.

Intended for middle-income African American families — including veterans coming home from the war, men who'd served this country and come back to find the housing market had no room for them. By late 1949, the first residents were already moving into the Pleasantville apartments, some of them waiting right there on-site for their own homes to be completed. Come early 1950, the first home was built.

And here's a detail I love — homeowners could tailor their homes to their own personal specifications. This wasn't take-it-or-leave-it. This was yours to shape.

Over on Market Street, the first businesses took root: a grocery store, a dry cleaners, a drug store, a barber and beauty shop. The kind of everyday commerce that tells you a community is alive. And it kept growing.

Gas stations came. A community center. A library.

Elementary and junior high schools. Several churches. That community center became a social gathering place — and a popular stop for political campaigns, which tells you something about the kind of civic energy Pleasantville was generating.

And that energy produced people. Among them, Judson W. Robinson, Jr. — born 1932, passed in 1990 — who became Houston's first African American city councilmember elected after Reconstruction.

Doctors came out of Pleasantville. Lawyers. Politicians.

Business owners. All of this, built in the era of segregation, in a city where the housing market had tried its level best to keep African American families out. Pleasantville was the first master planned community of its kind in Houston.

Three men saw an injustice, rolled up their sleeves, and built fifteen hundred homes to answer it. The marker's in Harris County. The neighborhood's still there.

What the marker says

After World War II, African Americans struggled to find housing in much of Houston. Restrictive covenants in some recorded plats specifically excluded African Americans, while in other neighborhoods discrimination was more subtle, yet no less real. In response to the unfair housing practices, Jewish developers, Melvin Silverman and Bernard Paul, collaborated with Black realtor, Judson Robinson, Sr. (1904-1986), to develop a master planned community for African Americans called Pleasantville. This undertaking provided 1,500 homes intended for middle-income African Americans, including veterans and their families. By late 1949, the neighborhood’s first residents moved into the Pleasantville apartments, some awaiting completion of their homes. In early 1950, the first home was built. Homeowners could tailor their home to their own personal specifications. Located on Market Street, the first businesses in Pleasantville were a grocery store, dry cleaners, drug store, and barber and beauty shop. In later years, the community established gas stations, a community center, a library, elementary and junior high schools and several churches. The community center became a social gathering place and popular stop for political campaigns. Among other influential figures, Pleasantville produced Judson W. Robinson, Jr. (1932-1990), Houston’s first African American city councilmember elected after Reconstruction, along with doctors, lawyers, politicians and business owners. Geared towards successful African American families, Pleasantville was the first master planned community of its kind in Houston in the era of segregation. (2017)