‘Como is our birthright’: Fort Worth group uplifts historically Black neighborhood
Marcus Hudson had not driven by the Lake Como Cemetery in what felt like forever. But after visiting one afternoon this spring, Hudson knew it was time to do something about the overgrown grass and unkept headstones, many of which honor military veterans and founders of the historically Black Lake Como neighborhood.
“I felt at that time, the people that lay in these graves, they are the reason we can even say ‘Lake Como,’” Hudson said in late October, gesturing toward the gravesites dotting the cemetery, right off Bryant Irvin Road in west Fort Worth. “They are the ones that started the community. I felt prepared to call the men out in the community to come take some responsibility.”
What began as a mowing request from neighborhood leader Elouise Burrell has turned into a monthly gathering for Hudson and his fellow members of LEGACY, a community group in Lake Como that started in 2013 and has been recently reinvigorated by the cemetery cleanups. More than 20 men showed up for the first event in May, and at least a dozen volunteers have continued to come each month to mow and place flowers at every headstone.
LEGACY, an acronym for Leaders Encouraging Greatness Among Como Youth, is home to eight official members, all of whom are Black men who grew up in the neighborhood and want to promote a sense of community pride, especially among young people.
The group has begun talking with Fort Worth churches about potential partnerships, and Hudson foresees LEGACY pushing for more Black-owned businesses in Lake Como, particularly corner stores and markets. In addition, the members’ goals include starting mentorship programs for young Black men living in Como and rallying support behind businesses already in the neighborhood, said Hudson, the owner of a landscaping company and president of LEGACY.
“A lot of times, you’ll see that the negative is always at the forefront: It’s always in the papers, it’s always in the news, it’s always in the music videos,” said Kelton Russell, a LEGACY member who is leading the group’s mentorship efforts. “What we want to do is provide something positive for them so they can see the other side and that there are other avenues.”
Over the past few decades, Lake Como residents have faced a number of challenges, including uninhabited buildings and trash being dumped in empty lots, said Kevin Fulton, the vice president of LEGACY. The threat of gentrification has also loomed large, as developers buy up property and increase housing costs in a neighborhood across the tollway from the luxury Clearfork development.
“Historically, there were a lot of local businesses, and everyone really pitched in to help grow the community,” Fulton said. “We’re trying to build our youth up, build up our economic platform, and just bring the community back together like it was back in the ‘50s when our parents and grandparents were living here.”
While in-person gatherings have been limited due to COVID-19, LEGACY has gone beyond its cemetery cleanups by hosting a car wash fundraiser in August to benefit the Eugene Crosier Memorial Day Nursery, a preschool that has been in the neighborhood for more than 60 years.
Volunteers put in hours of labor to bring an old car wash up to code, and the fundraiser doubled as a voter registration drive and venue for vendors to sell desserts and crafts. Members were decked out in LEGACY gear stating their motto: “Como Legacy Matters.”
“We’re not going to be here forever, so we have to get the youth in the mindset of being able to take control of their community,” said Montaque Criddell, a LEGACY member who recently moved back to the Fort Worth area after 24 years in the Air Force. “With career education and mentoring, especially with the ones who have given up and are not doing so well in school, maybe we are that conduit to help them get back into school or turn their situations around.”
Criddell would like to see the organization promote career options in contracting, plumbing, technology and other trades so that students can see possibilities beyond their school athletic careers. For him, LEGACY’s mission goes beyond Lake Como and extends to communities across the Metroplex.
“My long-term vision for LEGACY is that we are able to affect all communities of color within Tarrant County and probably further,” Criddell said of the group’s ambition to establish chapters in the future. “We want to instill some type of pride and structure, things that most of these communities have and had, but some have lost. We’re trying to bring that back.”
Working with city officials on some of LEGACY’s economic and community priorities is a possibility, but for now Hudson wants residents to focus on what they can do to improve Lake Como.
“Como is our birthright, Como is our bloodline,” Hudson said. “The fight begins with us and once we change our mindset, then we can work on partnering with the city. But we have to change us first.”
