Gentrification: An (Austin) East Side Story

By Jamilah King Feb 11, 2010

For outsiders, there are probably two popular characterizations of Austin, TX: the eccentric, liberal college town in the heart of a red state, or more recently, the home of SXSW, the wildly popular music conference held each year in the city. But 15-year-old Gabriel Padilla has a different view. Inspired by Detroit rapper Invincible‘s Locusts, the Austin resident and member of the Young Scholars for Justice Program at PODER, a local grassroots environmental justice organization, decided to team up with staff members to document his community’s fight against gentrification. The result? A full-length documentary detailing Austin’s ugly racial past and East Austin’s current fight to live. Via Emergence.

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