Austin Politics – Fred L. McGhee

Austin’s Latest Example of Whitesplained and Elitesplained History — How the Omission of One Word Reveals Much About How They View the History of Segregation

Posted on October 26, 2025November 6, 2025 by Fred McGhee

It has come to my attention that certain City of Austin officials wish to strip the word “Negro” from official designations and commemorations of the Montopolis Negro School. They prefer to refer to the school as the “Montopolis School” despite the fact that one of the most important things that makes the school historic is […]

No More Fake Austin History — The Time Has Come For Me to Take a Stand On Muny

Posted on October 18, 2022October 18, 2022 by Fred McGhee

I am a conservationist and preservationist, an environmental professional who believes in the rational planning envisioned by the authors and supporters of environmental laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Over the years I have taken pride in the fact that enactment of these […]

My Testimony Before the Austin Historic Landmark Commission About Oakwood Cemetery

Posted on January 29, 2020January 29, 2020 by Fred McGhee

I spent the evening of Monday, January 27, 2020 before the Austin Human Rights Commission and the Historic Landmark Commission testifying about the desecration of graves at Austin’s Oakwood Cemetery. I took some of my evening time on Tuesday, January 28th to testify before the city’s Parks and Recreation Board, which actually oversees the city […]

Pomp and Circumstance is Not Historic Preservation

Posted on December 17, 2019January 7, 2020 by Fred McGhee

In a sign of how backwards and behind the times historic preservation is in Austin, the newly installed (permanent) director of Austin’s Parks department issued this memo to the Assistant City Manager about the burials desecration “burgeoning scandal” at Oakwood Cemetery. Sadly and predictably, the memo does not address the concerns and questions I have […]

Austin Doesn’t Give a Shit About Dead Negroes Either

Posted on December 11, 2019December 15, 2019 by Fred McGhee

It is a burgeoning scandal that is as unfortunate as it was predicted. The City of Austin is facing fresh questions about the handling of renovations to the “Chapel” at Oakwood Cemetery, the city’s oldest official burial ground. Facts have arisen that appear to indicate that the city not only gave the go-ahead to excavate […]

Setting the Record Straight About the Austin People’s Plan

Posted on August 20, 2019August 21, 2019 by Fred McGhee

The Austin Monitor’s recent story about the City of Austin’s Plan to “mitigate” displacement correctly quoted me as not seeing much of the People’s Plan reflected in the city’s anti-displacement strategy. But there is more, of course, to the story. City staffers in the Neighborhood Housing department as well as members of the city’s Equity […]

We’ve Imagined an Austin Without the Poor

Posted on July 29, 2019October 5, 2019 by Fred McGhee

Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies released its 2019 State of the Nation’s Housing report, and it makes for interesting reading. Once you get past the standard neoliberal fare about how “there isn’t enough housing” or not enough “choice” or “opportunity,” you can unearth some nuggets. Two Austin findings stand out: 1.) Real home prices […]

Butthurt Jayme Mathias Doesn’t Like How Democracy Works

Posted on May 12, 2019June 3, 2019 by Fred McGhee

It is a noted axiom of political theory that elites prefer the type of democracy that benefits them and their cronies. The role of the electorate is to choose from a pre-screened and selected slate of issues and candidates whose role, if they do their job well, is to appear to be fighting the man, […]

My Final Community Development Commission Meeting

Posted on March 14, 2019May 22, 2019 by Fred McGhee

Tuesday, March 12, 2019 marked my final meeting as a member of Austin’s Community Development Commission. The Montopolis community will elect a replacement at its March 25, 2019 meeting. My service on this commission first began after the 2014 city council election, in which I strongly supported Steve Adler for mayor over his primary opponent, […]

Redefining “Progressive” as Neoliberalism

Posted on December 12, 2018January 17, 2019 by Fred McGhee

This new book by the Berkeley based author Randy Shaw about the housing crisis is currently making the rounds. It is even being featured on left wing websites such as Counterpunch as a “progressive” take on the affordability question. Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. The book features chapters […]