Historic Preservation – 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 […]

Montopolis Wants Its $8 Million Dollar Museum and Cultural Center

Posted on August 30, 2024August 30, 2024 by Fred McGhee

Seven years ago the Austin City Council passed a resolution directing the city manager to utilize hotel occupancy tax dollars to acquire the Montopolis Negro School with the intent of repurposing this “historic asset” into a cultural center and museum. This decision did not spring up out of the political ground from nowhere; it was […]

Austin Needs to Fix Its Historic Preservation Problem

Posted on September 20, 2017October 18, 2017 by Fred McGhee

Map of Austin’s Urban Freedmen’s Communities, Circa 1900 Austin last took a hard look at its historic preservation program in the early 2000’s, where a joint task force made up of Planning, Zoning and Platting, and Historic Landmark Commissioners made some recommendations to upgrade but not fundamentally alter the city’s program as originally established by […]

Some Thoughts on the Audit of Austin’s Historic Preservation Program

Posted on February 7, 2017February 7, 2017 by Fred McGhee

Thanks to my long-suffering and loving wife and children I was able to attend yesterday’s Austin City Council Audit and Finance Committee hearing. The centerpiece of the meeting was the presentation of the city auditor’s most recent audit of the historic preservation department. Jo Clifton of the Austin Monitor also attended the meeting and filed […]