Money can buy a lot in Texas, including a $1.5 million house, a nice front porch, and a very strong opinion about who parks nearby. What it cannot buy, as one Austin homeowner learned this week, is ownership of the curb.
The deed covers the lot and the walls, and the street out front belongs to everybody. A crowd that knows that street well showed up to point this out in person, and they brought plenty of volume.
The Texas dispute unfolded on East 9th Street near Huston-Tillotson University, a private HBCU of about 1,000 students in East Austin’s Chicon neighborhood, according to Atlanta Black Star.
Senior Bri Nunn posted the video on Instagram. She accused the couple of leaving notes on students’ cars to get them to move off the street. Nunn begins by asking whether the couple knows that parking there is legal. The conversation soon grows tense when the woman responds by bringing up her home’s price.
“We paid $1.5 million for our house, y’all’s graduation rates are 25%,” she says, apparently referring to Huston-Tillotson. The remark shifts the argument beyond parking, prompting Nunn to remind the woman that she lives in a historically Black neighborhood. The homeowner responds, “This is our neighborhood,” and threatens to call the police.
The homeowner’s remarks soon had consequences beyond the original argument. Over the weekend, students and community members gathered outside the couple’s house, playing music, chanting, dancing, and holding signs that challenged the idea that buying property meant owning the surrounding neighborhood.
@thehealingprojectatx later shared the footage on TikTok. One sign carried the message, “You bought a house, not our history, East Austin is ours.”
The City of Austin told FOX 7 Austin that parking is allowed on those blocks of East 9th Street. Police were reportedly called to the neighborhood several times, although the demonstrations remained peaceful.
Internet Reacts to Texas Homeowner’s HBCU Parking Rant
The comments section had plenty to say. One commenter wrote, “y’all gotta call a hbcu marching band for the next link up lollIl.” Another added, “The gentrification needs to stop. Love y’all for standing on business.” A third wrote, “idk it’s kinda cute. everyone just hanging and dancing.”
Other comments focused on the couple. One user wrote, “I wanna see her POV from inside so bad and what she doing.” Another guessed, “I know her husband saying ‘ see what you’ve done… dammit Karen.’” A separate commenter wrote, “And they know they can’t call the cops.”
Reports have not publicly identified the couple so far, and the claims about the notes and trash cans come from students.
