The purpose of this petition is to help show The City Of Longview how gentrification is negatively impacting the communities that they don't see as ideal, and/or fitting their views of how things should look. Gentrification is part of a greater problem (than most are aware) and results in the forceable pushing of minorities off their rightfully owned land and properties. It forces indiviuals out of neighborhoods they helped build up and forces them to demolish what they have built by hand. My family has been the proud owners of the first African-American owned restaurant/motel, formally known as White's Drive-In and Motel, since the early 1950's.The owners that built it from the ground up were Arthur and Florence White. It later turned into what many others may know as White's BBQ run by Audrey White (Arthur and Florences daughter) and Eddie Carothers Jr.(Audreys husband). This restaurant/motel is a historical landmark and was even visited, and stayed at, by the great Ray Charles and his band in the 1960's when African-Americans couldn't stay at white owned motels. Being that it was the first drive-in burger place in town it set the tone for drive-ins, even before Sonic Drive-In was created. This property is located near Interstate 20 on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in Longview, Tx. We want to see this historic landmark recognized, saved, and restored to it's original beauty, and not just destroyed and demolished like other historical places have been. The city is claiming it to be a danger to the community in which it stands, but it is not, being that the grounds are constantly being cleaned and and the buildiing being maintained to the best of abilities. Your signatures will be a great help in keeping this building standing and recognized for what it truly is, history, and not a hazard or eyesore.