There is an area of Corpus Christi known as Hillcrest.
It was once made up of predominantly of African-American residents.
But the black population is diminishing.
The schools are closed, as well as the majority of businesses.
Many homes are boarded up; others are being torn down.
I went on a ride along today with a man who has lived in Hillcrest all his life.
His name is Robert Wilson and this is his story.
"Everything that you see here is history, I mean there were houses there were apartments, houses, apartments, stores you name it, we had everything.
This used to be our drug store, a pharmacy, this used to be our hill store, another one used to be a barber shop, next to it Elmo’s barber shop, I mean we had everything that we needed.
You started taking things away from here that gave us a sign. That y’all were taking our neighborhood. Everyone knows who I am when I ride through here.
We created love in our community and what do we get in return? Y’all took it from us. To build a bridge, that could have went somewhere else.
We know the schemes and the plots, I mean we know about the sulfur falling on our houses. We know about everything we now about all the way to you contaminating our ground over here with the pollution; through the drain pipes.
I mean all the insights is there and I pray that this goes viral, I pray that this gets out.
You put us through so much and took so much from us that we couldn’t help but to leave, that’s what you wanted us, to leave. Now were all gone and all we can do is come back and think of memories. Think of memories that we had. Good times that we had.
Were there bad times, yes there was bad times. There are bad times in every neighborhood in every city. This is no different right here.
This was no different but y’all had a plan from the beginning to run us out. And we know this. I know this. I saw this way back when I was 14-15 years old and I’m 47 years old now," Robert Wilson.
