Hillcrest residents and faith leaders criticize Corpus Christi’s desal vote, calling it the latest blow to the city’s historic Black neighborhood.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As Black History Month comes to a close, residents of Corpus Christi’s historically Black Hillcrest neighborhood say Corpus Christi City Council’s 5-3 vote to advance the inner harbor desalination project in their community feels like the latest chapter in decades of neglect.
Community leaders say they were disappointed — but not surprised — when council approved the desalination measure Tuesday evening, despite objections from residents who argued other sites should be considered.
“I understand that the city needs water, but you’ve already done studies on other sites and there are other sites you can choose besides a Black neighborhood,” said Deanna King, president of the Corpus Christi NAACP, who grew up in Hillcrest.
Once a thriving, close-knit community, Hillcrest is now described by lifelong residents as nearly unrecognizable. Years of buyouts and nearby industrial construction have dramatically reshaped the area.
“Basically everybody was close-knit, family and everything, but we been neglected,” King said. “We should get the same quality of care in this neighborhood as other neighborhoods instead of being neglected.”
After years of buyouts and disruptive nearby construction, Zoltan Webb is one of the few residents remaining. Brooks AME Worship Center — led by Pastor Claudia Rush — is now the only church still open in the neighborhood.
When Rush became pastor in 2023, she said she quickly realized the church’s role extended beyond spiritual guidance.
“I had the bad attitude of, ‘These people are going to do what they want. I don’t care,’” Rush said, referring to city leaders. “And I realized that’s not right, because it’s not going to change anything.”
Rush says advocacy is deeply rooted in the history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The denomination was founded in 1787 after a group of Black worshippers, led by Richard Allen, left a Philadelphia church following acts of racial discrimination.
“While at the altar praying, when the Anglos came in, they were like, ‘Okay, enough. It’s time for y’all to get up,’” Rush recounted. “They pulled them up off their knees, and they said, ‘You won’t ever have to worry about us again.’”
That moment led to the founding of the AME Church and a legacy of civil rights activism — a tradition Rush says continues in Hillcrest today.
Residents argue that the timing of the vote during Black History Month underscores what they see as a pattern of disregard for their community.
While the city maintains the desalination project is necessary to secure long-term water supply, many Hillcrest residents remain wary — saying they have heard promises before.
For them, the fight is no longer just about a plant site, but about preserving what remains of a neighborhood that once stood as a cornerstone of Black life in Corpus Christi.