Third Ward is a predominately African American community with a rich history and cultural legacy. In 1872 former slave purchased 10 acres just blocks from UH to establish a park to celebrate their new found freedom. This Emancipation Park became Houston’s first city park.  Third Ward has been called the cradle of the city’s civil rights movement because black college students sat down at a segregated Third Ward lunch counter to first protest discriminatory policies in 1961.  

Most of the social activism from the African American community grew out of Third Ward.  The Urban League and the NAACP had offices there; the latter still does.  Most of the African American newspapers started in Third Ward including the oldest, The Forward Times. The only black owned radio station KCOH is there as well. Many of African American judges, elected and appointed public officials have traditionally resided in Third Ward. The oldest black church in Houston is in Third Ward along with over a dozen other churches that are more than 100 years old.

The church that has produced more black Eagle Scouts than any in the country is in Third Ward. The state’s only black owned bank, UNITY, is there as well as is the city’s only black owned hospital, Riverside, that closed in 2015 after 89 years. Third Ward has a rich cultural legacy as well. It gave birth to the critically acclaimed black Ensemble Theatre, the Houston Museum of Art and Culture, and Project Row Houses. It was the home of international muralist John Biggers (deceased), music icon Beyonce and jazz phenom Jason Moran. In the last five to ten years Third Ward has attracted investors due to its proximity to downtown and the universities.

Townhomes are proliferating on the west side generating fears that have stimulated the formation of organizations with goals of halting gentrification, promoting affordable housing, and preserving the culture. TSU and UH have constructed residence halls with thousands of new beds, and five new private student housing projects will be open by 2017. Governmental partnerships have resulted in a couple hundred affordable rental units, a new public library and a $33 million comprehensive enhancement of Emancipation Park.  Despite this rich legacy and impressive list of assets, sections of Third Ward remain home to educational, health and economic disparities, especially the northern Third Ward area.