Barry J.W. Franklin of King Tears Mortuary has been in the funeral business since he was in high school. King Tears Mortuary, located at 12th and San Bernard streets in East Austin.
Chicon
12th & Chicon: Charlie’s Playhouse
Charlie’s Playhouse was a blues club entertaining the predominantly black neighborhood in east Austin when it opened in the late 1950s. Within a decade the audience integration was pushing the regulars out, and in 1971 Charlie’s closed. The community is working so history doesn’t repeat itself, on the same block.
12th & Chicon: Businesses Adapting
A drug market intervention by the Austin Police Department in 2012 changed the activities previously common to 12th & Chicon. Despite the positives from this effort, there have been downsides too. Several of the long-standing businesses in the area are learning to adapt to the new 12th & Chicon.
12th & Chicon: KUT’s Coverage Approach
The KUT newsroom wants to share stories from the people that live near 12th and Chicon and know it best. In doing this, we do feel we have to acknowledge that our news staff does not reflect the diversity of the community we’ll be covering. We have several objectives in this project, and one of them is to learn ourselves, how to better report from this neighborhood and others in Austin. We discussed with Dr. George Sylvie, an associate professor at The University of Texas School of Journalism, the “how to’s” of covering a community we, and other media, may not be familiar with; how do you build trust, how to address stereotypes, how to seek non-official sources, how not to advocate, and more.
12th & Chicon: Rising Land Values
Changes in the population of Austin, and the people now living here, are creating opportunities, but they’re also causing tension between the newcomers and the old-timers. The impact in East Austin can be seen through new construction as well as felt by residents.
12th & Chicon: The Absence of Anderson High
In the summer of 1971, after years of trying to get families to integrate within different schools across Austin, the school district was forced to close Anderson High School. Students were rezoned to other high schools across the city, but it’s a move that still resonates within the community decades later.
12th & Chicon: Keep the Faith
The community surrounding the Mission Possible Church may be changing, but its role to serve people, all of them, remains steadfast and strong. Much like many of the area’s businesses and support centers.
12th & Chicon: Braces for Change
Neighbors and business owners on 12th & Chicon’s Southeast Corner in East Austin know it’s just a matter of time before change will come and impact them. A few of these residents shared their insight and history with us.
12th & Chicon: Staying Put
Many of longtime neighbors have opted to sell their property and move away from East Austin, but Brian Mays, one of the owners of Sam’s BBQ, is staying put. Mays talks about how the community around him has changed over the past few years.