How do you preserve the history of Black and brown Austin residents?
That’s the question the “What Once Was� project hopes to answer by combining local stories with augmented and virtual reality. Head to and you’ll learn about the history of the Victory Grill, the Harlem Theater, and Doris Miller Auditorium. You’ll also hear oral histories from residents of the Rogers Washington Holy Cross neighborhood, one of the first planned and built by Black professionals.
"What Once Was" was developed at E4 Youth, a nonprofit that helps underserved youth in Austin learn skills for careers in the tech and creative industries.
“We're really a creative workforce development organization,� E4 Youth’s founder, Carl Settles Jr., says on the latest episode of Black Austin Matters. “Our vision is to build a pipeline of 10,000 K through 24 students who embrace their stories and have the digital skills that they need to thrive.�
Getting the blues
Settles moved to Austin as a child and studied music at UT. But he felt unfulfilled as a vocal major.
“All I could do was study to be an opera singer,� he said, ”but that wasn't what I was interested in. I wanted to play the music that I grew up listening to in my household.�
At first, Settles gravitated toward jazz; then he discovered the blues. But he struggled because what he was interested in musically not taken seriously.
"It was not 'legit,'" he said. "It was not classical.�
But in accepting his love of the blues, Settles came to understand his own story had merit.
“So much of our success is seen in terms of how far away from our culture we can get, and about mimicking what supposed success looks like," he said. "And that's largely an empty pursuit.�
More than skills training
Settles went on to become a teacher and later worked in educational software. Then his career took another turn � into the world of advertising.
"Yes, our kids need to know skills. But if they don't know who they are, they don't know their story, how can they even put that into any type of context?"
Settles wondered whether the first-generation college students he dealt with on a day-to-day basis would know how to make a career transition like he did.
"And if it was difficult for me � a person of relative privilege � to get into those areas, how would they even go about it?" he said.
And so started E4 Youth.
Settles said he knew he had to do more than just give the kids in the program skills training. He also needed to make them feel seen and heard.
“It's not just like � Oh, well, we'll teach them Photoshop and, you know, they'll go to some job fairs,'" he said. “Yes, our kids need to know skills. But if they don't know who they are, they don't know their story, how can they even put that into any type of context?�
Join the community
E4 Youth has a creative leadership academy, high school enrichment clubs, and soon will have its first brick-and-mortar space.
“We're partnering with the Housing Authority of the City of Austin to open a welcome center at Rosewood Courts,� Settles said. Rosewood is the site of one of the first public housing complexes for African Americans in the country. It’s currently undergoing redevelopment.
“We will be doing storytelling all over Austin, but that will be our headquarters where people can come and record their own oral histories,� he said.
One thing E4 Youth and the "What Once Was" project could use is more involvement from the Austin community.
“We're in that minimum viable product stage, or MVP stage, in terms of our development,� Settles said. “So we need help developing the product. And we just want engagement, we need connection. So come check us out and get in where you fit in.�
