Politics and Civic Engagement in African American communities across the nation share a common thread, whether those communities are north, south, east or west. The quest for freedom, full citizenship, and equal human and civil rights largely define the historical political narrative of Black Folks in America. In East Austin, as in most all African American communities, political history is largely a story that chronicles the journey from slavery, to community building, through Jim Crow and the Black Codes, amassing internal political strength, and ultimately projecting that internal strength outwardly to propel Civil Rights Movements at various points in history. This section of the website will address the story of how the Black East Austin community and key individuals have, overtime, tackled these challenges. The goal is to track how East Austin moves from building internal political strength and nurturing representative leadership, to ultimately effect change within the community and upon the City of Austin as a whole.