After renting for the majority of her adult life, Tonia Macklin recently became a homeowner for the first time. The native of southeast Houston achieved this goal with the assistance of the Harris County Homeownership Collaborative’s Own the HOU initiative, a multiorganization effort that seeks to bridge the homeownership gap for people of color. “The biggest difference has been feeling a sense of freedom,” Macklin said. “The main advantage is when something needs to be done you can get it done yourself, without having to wait on someone else to do it.”

On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, Greater Houston Community Foundation (Foundation) hosted over 45 guests to gain new insights into issues related to place-based initiatives. The panel discussion was moderated by Anne Whitlock, Founding Director of My Connect Community. Panelists included Kathy Flanagan-Payton, Huey German-Wilson, Mary Lawler, and Anne Whitlock, who work with organizations implementing unique place-based strategies in different communities around Houston.

Houston's very own LeToya Luckett will headline this year's 11th Annual Lyons Rennaissance Festival. The event set for March 23 will kick off at noon between the 3800 and 4800 blocks of Lyons Avenue in Houston. “Y’all, I’m super excited to headline this year’s Lyons Avenue Renaissance Festival,” said LeToya Luckett, singer, actress and former Destiny's Child member, in a news release. “It’s always a joy to perform in my hometown (of) Houston, so please make sure to join me on March 23rd.”

Two years ago, Corisha Rogers began a journey toward homeownership by seeking assistance from a housing counseling agency in Houston. She took an eight-hour homebuyer education course and paid down debt, monitored her credit and increased her income to become an attractive candidate for a mortgage.

The Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corp. is restoring and preserving the group of cottages adjacent to the DeLuxe Theatre, which serves as the neighborhood's creative hub, to create an affordable housing community for artists.

The Fifth Ward community is celebrating its 10th Annual Lyons Avenue Renaissance Festival on Saturday. Just don't expect any jousting tournaments or medieval getups — instead, visitors can watch a helicopter drop 50,000 plastic, treat-filled Easter eggs to gaggles of screaming children.

The NAACP Image Award-nominated film “Memory Builds the Monument” was acquired by Paramount for continuous airings on BET throughout Black History Month. The documentary short, which spotlights the vibrant community of Black artists in the Historic 5th Ward of Houston, Texas, will also be available for streaming on BET+ starting Feb. 1.

In 1971, The DeLUXE Theater hosted The DeLUXE Show, America’s first interracial art exhibition. The DeLUXE Show is now the District’s annual art exhibition with a continued focus on the community powered by 5th Ward Cultural Arts District’s mantra of “Art for the People.”

When a block of 600-square-foot homes were built behind the DeLuxe Theater on Lyons Avenue, the thoroughfare was the cultural and commercial center of Fifth Ward, a thriving business district where more than 40-Black-owned businesses sold everything from groceries to shoes.

The largest cultural celebration of Houston’s historic Fifth Ward returned this past weekend with a bang. The 9th Annual Lyons Avenue Renaissance Festival, hosted by the Fifth Ward Cultural Arts District and under the leadership of the Fifth Ward Redevelopment Corporation (FWRC), offered attendees live music, an interactive Kid’s Zone, art activities, vendors and food trucks galore.

With a multitude of film festival nominations and prestigious premieres under its belt, there is no denying Memory Builds the Monument’s presence in the film circuit. The documentary will be having its world premiere at SXSW–renowned as one of the most competitive film festivals on a global scale–on March 11th and an online screening the following day. Residents of the United States will be able to access the screening via SXSW’s website with an online registration pass.

Preservation of Houston’s historic St. Elizabeth’s Hospital leads to new mixed-income multifamily housing development in Houston’s 5th Ward. Built-in 1947 in a racially segregated Houston, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital was the first medical facility dedicated to serving African Americans in Harris County.