Brentwood, Houston

Brentwood is a residential subdivision in the Hiram Clarke community, in Southwest Houston, Texas. Jennifer Frey of The Washington Post said in 2001 that Brentwood was "a medium-size, lower-middle class neighborhood[...]"

Originally Brentwood was a White community, settled in the 1960s. Claudia Kolker of the Houston Press said that the first generation of settlers, who were White, as well as the second and third, who were Black, came for the "small-town quality." By the mid-1970s the community was changing into an African American neighborhood. Kolker said "the transition by most accounts was fairly gentle -- and if anything, scaled Brentwood even further up economically." Kolker added "Over the years, most of the white residents moved out and Brentwood became a sought-after prize for successful Black Houstonians tired of the city. And in contrast to the stereotype of what happens when a neighborhood changes hue, Brentwood became if anything more pristine, more fiercely nurtured, as its Black residents multiplied." During the transition period there was a conflict between area White people and area Black people who wanted to assume control of a local church. The church later evolved into a multimillion-dollar organization.

As the community matured, some portions decayed. Rod Paige, a man who would later become the superintendent of the Houston Independent School District and the Secretary of Education, spearheaded a move to excise a dump from the edge of the community. The Texas Supreme Court eventually sided with the residents. In the 1990s the Brentwood Baptist Church, a local church, suggested housing AIDS victims on the property. This led to controversy and paranoia within the neighborhood. Some residents felt that the church had betrayed their community, and moved to keep their families away from the AIDS victims.

As of 1996, the subdivision has a lot of stability in its pool of residents since relatively few people moved in and out of the community. This differed from nearby areas which have many rental units, such as Glen Iris, Meredith Manor, and Pamela Heights. Stanley O'Bryant, a realty agent of B E Henson & Associates and a letter carrier, said that Brentwood was "a very stable neighborhood. Hardly anybody moves." By 1996 the Hiram Clarke Civic Club had prevented the establishment of a correctional facility and an animal shelter on Brentwood's periphery.

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Wikipedia