History of African Americans in Dallas–Fort Worth
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The
Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...
has 1.2 million
African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
, the 2nd-largest metro population of African-Americans in Texas. In 2007, ''
Black Enterprise ''Black Enterprise'' is a black-owned multimedia company. Since the 1970s, its flagship product ''Black Enterprise'' magazine has covered African-American businesses with a readership of 3.7 million. The company was founded in 1970 by Earl G ...
'' magazine ranked Dallas as a "Top 10 city for African-Americans".


History

Freedmen’s Cemetery was established in 1861. The Hamilton Park neighborhood was one of the first suburbs in Texas built for African Americans in 1953. In the mid- 1800s, lynchings of African Americans took place in
Dealey Plaza Dealey Plaza is a city park in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas. It is sometimes called the "birthplace of Dallas". It was also the location of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963; 30 minutes after the shooting ...
. In the late 19th century, there were over 11,000 black people in Dallas. In the 1990s, the number of African-Americans making annual incomes of $100,000 or more (adjusted to $75,000 as of 1990, from the circa 2005 number) increased by 300%. Around 2005, increasing numbers of African-Americans moved to suburban communities to the north. In 1995, Dallas elected its first black mayor,
Ron Kirk Ronald Kirk (born June 27, 1954) is an American lawyer, politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the United States Trade Representative from 2009 to 2013 and the 57th Mayor of Dallas from 1995 to 2002. Born in Austin, Texas, ...
. The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex gained approximately 259,000 new African-Americans between 2010 and 2020, or a nearly 27% increase, 10th of U.S. metropolitan statistical areas during that time span. According to the
Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...
, in years 2006-2010 the DFW area had an annual average of 7,678 black people migrate into the area, giving it the 4th-highest inward black migration of all U.S. metropolitan areas. In 2012 Jamie Thompson of ''
D Magazine ''D Magazine'' is a monthly magazine covering Dallas–Fort Worth. It is headquartered in Downtown Dallas. ''D Magazine'' covers a range of topics including politics, business, food, fashion and lifestyle in the city of Dallas. The first iss ...
'' stated that Dallas "still suffers from an image problem among black professionals who perceive other cities—Atlanta; Chicago; Houston; or Washington, D.C.—as being more appealing and friendly to blacks." In 2019, Dallas elected its second black mayor,
Eric Johnson Eric Johnson may refer to: Music *Eric Johnson (guitarist) (born 1954) an American guitarist and recording artist * Eric D. Johnson (born 1976), member of multiple indie-rock bands including Fruit Bats, The Shins and Califone Politics * Eric Joh ...
. In addition to the
New Great Migration The New Great Migration is the demographic change from 1970 to the present, which is a reversal of the previous 60-year trend of black migration within the United States. Since 1970, deindustrialization of cities in the Northeastern and Mid ...
, since around 2010, many African Americans have been moving to the metroplex for its affordable
cost of living Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time can be operationalized in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a c ...
and job opportunities.


Geography

In 1850 there were at least 207 black people in Dallas County, making up less than 10% of the county population. Historically, the black community was strongly concentrated in the inner-city areas of Dallas and Fort Worth but that has slowly changed since the 1980s. In the northern suburbs, the black population rate has grown 178% since the 1990s. The strongest growth is in the southern suburbs; for example, Cedar Hill was approximately 51.9% black in 2010, after a gain of more than 12,500 new black residents since 2000. The southern suburbs ( DeSoto, Duncanville, Lancaster, Cedar Hill) have been noted as the core of the African-American middle class and upper middle class community in the metroplex. Stop Six is a historically black neighborhood in Fort Worth. In 2005,
Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
had 62 households of African-Americans with annual incomes of at least $100,000; there were none in 1990 with the equivalent in 1990 dollars ($75,000). That same year, the median income of African-American households in Rowlett was higher than the overall median income for that city.


Politics and economy

In 1995, the city of Dallas elected its first black mayor
Ron Kirk Ronald Kirk (born June 27, 1954) is an American lawyer, politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the United States Trade Representative from 2009 to 2013 and the 57th Mayor of Dallas from 1995 to 2002. Born in Austin, Texas, ...
. He held office from 1995 to 2002. In 2019, Dallas elected its second black mayor,
Eric Johnson Eric Johnson may refer to: Music *Eric Johnson (guitarist) (born 1954) an American guitarist and recording artist * Eric D. Johnson (born 1976), member of multiple indie-rock bands including Fruit Bats, The Shins and Califone Politics * Eric Joh ...
. Dallas' Black
Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
was established in 1926 and is the oldest in the United States. Fort Worth and some surrounding cities also have a black chamber of commerce.


Media

''
The Dallas Weekly The ''Dallas Weekly'' is a newspaper headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the major Dallas-Fort Worth black newspapers. It was first published in 1954. From 1954 to 1985 the publisher was founder Tony Davis, from 1985 to 2018 James Washing ...
'' is the largest African-American-centric publication based in the region. The '' Dallas Examiner'' is the other widely circulated African-American-centric publication in the metroplex. Other black newspapers include the Dallas edition of ''
African-American News and Issues ''African-American News and Issues'' (AANI) is a weekly African-American newspaper published in Houston, Texas. The newspaper is distributed to zip codes that have the largest concentrations of African Americans within the state of Texas. Circulat ...
'', ''Black Economic Times'', ''Community Quest'', ''The Dallas Post Tribune'', ''LaVita News/The Black Voice'' in Arlington, ''Minority Business News'', and ''Minority Opportunity News Gazette''. The '' Dallas Express'' was published in the city from 1892 to 1970.


Education


Primary and secondary schools


Segregation era

In the era before the racial integration of schools,
Dallas Independent School District The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas (USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the U ...
had five high schools for blacks:
Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
,
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...
,
James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
, and two others for a brief period:
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
,African American Schools in Dallas
" Marion Butts Collection,
Dallas Public Library The Dallas Public Library system serves as the municipal library system of the city of Dallas, Texas (USA). History In 1899, the idea to create a free public library in Dallas was conceived by the Dallas Federation of Women's Clubs, led by pre ...
. Retrieved on August 3, 2018.
and L. G. Pinkston.Hacker, Holly K.
Would a new Pinkston High really cost $130 million? Hard to say
"

. ''
The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
''. October 29, 2015. Retrieved on November 21, 2015. The attached contemporary article
School Begins 'Great Effort' in Education
describes it as a "Negro High School" (a school legally earmarked for black children).
Other schools for black children included George Washington Carver Elementary School (in
West Dallas West Dallas is an area consisting of many communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas, United States. West Dallas is the area bounded by Interstate 30 on the south, the Trinity River on the east and north, and the Trinity River's West Fork on ...
), Benjamin Franklin Darrell Elementary School, Frederick Douglass Elementary School, Eagle Ford Elementary School, Joseph J. Rhoads Elementary School, H.S. Thompson Elementary School, Phyllis Wheatley Elementary School, and Colonial School. 9th Ward School was the first secondary school for black children; its name was changed to Dallas Colored High School in 1893, and in 1927 the building was converted to B.F. Darrell Elementary School, named after a principal at Dallas Colored High. The former Dallas Colored transitioned into Booker T. Washington High School, which opened in 1922. Colored School No. 4 became Frederick Douglass Elementary School in 1902. In 1930 Phyllis Wheatley Elementary was built. In 1939 Lincoln High School, the second black high school, opened. Carver Elementary opened in 1954. In 1955, due to the increasing number of black students around
Fair Park Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex in Dallas, Texas, United States, located immediately east of downtown. The area is registered as a Dallas Landmark and National Historic Landmark; many of the buildings were constructed for th ...
, the former Lagow Elementary School for white children was converted into the Joseph J. Rhoads Elementary School for black children; it was the first racially converted school in Dallas. In 1956 the former Forest Avenue High School for whites was converted into Madison High for blacks. Colonial School was converted into a school for black children in 1957. Roosevelt opened in 1963. The Catholic church operated St. Peter's Academy for black children in Dallas. Carrollton Colored School was the school for black children in the
Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (CFBISD) is a school district based in Carrollton, Texas, United States. The district covers most of the cities of Carrollton and Farmers Branch and parts of Addison, Coppell, Dallas, and ...
in the segregation era.


Post-segregation

Around 2005 increasing numbers of African-American students attended schools in the
Best Southwest The Best Southwest is a term commonly applied to four Dallas suburbs – Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, and Lancaster – in southwestern Dallas County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the four suburbs had a combined population ...
area. Wealthier African-American parents often moved to different school districts to get perceived better educations for their children. Around that same time period increasing numbers of wealthier African-American families were sending their children to private schools; in 2001 there were 5,400 black students in the region's private schools. From 2000 to 2010 the number of black students in Dallas ISD decreased by 20,000. In 2010 that was the lowest in the post-1965 history of DISD. One reason for the decline in the percentage of black students is the move of black people to suburbs; they did so due to a perception that public schools there have a higher quality than those in DISD, as well as general desires for higher quality housing and lower crime environments. Another reason was the growth in charter schools which take students who would otherwise attend DISD schools; in 2010 5,900 black students attending charter schools in the area lived in the DISD boundaries. Other reasons for the decline in the percentage of black students included a perception that DISD has moved its focus away from black students and towards Hispanic students, and the fact that many Hispanics have moved into traditionally black neighborhoods.


Colleges and universities

Paul Quinn College Paul Quinn College (PQC) is a Private college, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black African Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist college in Dallas, Texas. The college is affiliated with the African Methodist E ...
is the only
HBCU Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...
in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. In 1961,
Bishop College Bishop College was a historically black college, founded in Marshall, Texas, United States, in 1881 by the Baptist Home Mission Society. It was intended to serve students in east Texas, where the majority of the black population lived at the t ...
, a black college in
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...
, moved to Dallas but closed in 1988. In the late 1940s, Texas
Vocational School A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...
provided black
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
veterans vocational courses. The
University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of Te ...
leads Texas in awarding the most bachelor's and master's degrees to African-Americans.


Recreation

The DFW metroplex is also home to one of the largest HBCU football classics in the country with the State Fair Classic. Dallas Black Restaurant Week promotes and celebrates some black owned restaurants and culinary professionals in the DFW Metroplex.
Dallas Black Pride Dallas Black Pride (also known as Dallas Southern Pride) is an annual five-day event to celebrate the emerging black LGBT community in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The event has been in existence since 1996. It is held in conjunction with ...
is the largest black LGBT celebration in Texas. Notable African-American cultural point of interest includes the African-American Museum of Dallas in
Fair Park Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex in Dallas, Texas, United States, located immediately east of downtown. The area is registered as a Dallas Landmark and National Historic Landmark; many of the buildings were constructed for th ...
and the Dallas Black Dance Theatre and The Black Academy of Arts and Letters both in
downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
. The South Dallas Cultural Center places a heavy emphasis on supporting and displaying blacks in the performing, literary, and visual arts. In Fort Worth, The Lenora Roll Heritage Center Museum and
National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum The National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum, formerly the National Cowboys of Color Museum and Hall of Fame, is a museum and hall of fame in Fort Worth, Texas. History The National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum was founded F ...
houses history highlighting African-American culture primarily in the North Texas region. In Irving, the Jackie Townsell Bear Creek Heritage Center is a museum that tells the story of Bear Creek of West Irving, one of the oldest established black communities in North Texas.


Notable people

*
Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the ...
- R&B/
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
artist *
Chris Bosh Christopher Wesson Bosh (born March 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. A Texas Mr. Basketball in high school, he played one season of college basketball for Georgia Tech before declaring for the 2003 NBA draft. Bos ...
- former
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
player *
Juanita Craft Juanita Craft (born Juanita Jewel Shanks; February 9, 1902 – August 6, 1985) was an American activist and politician. Craft was an activist in the civil rights movement and also served as a member of the Dallas City Council in Texas. Biography ...
- civil rights activist and politician *
Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) a ...
- gospel singer *
Bishop T.D. Jakes Thomas Dexter Jakes (born June 9, 1957), known as T. D. Jakes, is an American bishop, author and filmmaker. He is the bishop of The Potter's House, a non-denominational American megachurch. Jakes's church services and Evangelistic sermons are b ...
- gospel preacher *
Eric Johnson Eric Johnson may refer to: Music *Eric Johnson (guitarist) (born 1954) an American guitarist and recording artist * Eric D. Johnson (born 1976), member of multiple indie-rock bands including Fruit Bats, The Shins and Califone Politics * Eric Joh ...
- Mayor of Dallas *
Jill Marie Jones Jill Marie Jones (born January 4, 1975) is an American actress and former professional dancer and cheerleader. Jones is best known for her role as Antoinette "Toni" Childs-Garrett on the UPN comedy series, '' Girlfriends'' (2000–2006). Jon ...
- actress *
Ron Kirk Ronald Kirk (born June 27, 1954) is an American lawyer, politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the United States Trade Representative from 2009 to 2013 and the 57th Mayor of Dallas from 1995 to 2002. Born in Austin, Texas, ...
-
Mayor of Dallas The Mayor of the City of Dallas is the head of the Dallas City Council. The current mayor is Eric Johnson (Texas politician), Eric Johnson, who has served one term since 2019 Dallas mayoral election, 2019 and is the 62nd mayor to serve the posit ...
* David Mann - actor and singer *
Tamela Mann Tamela Jean Mann (née Johnson; born June 9, 1966) is an American gospel singer, songwriter, and actress. Mann began her career as a singer with the gospel group Kirk Franklin and the Family. She was a featured soloist on several tracks while wit ...
- actress and singer *
Deion Sanders Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons ...
- TV personality and former NFL player * A. Maceo Smith - civil rights activist *
Emmitt Smith Emmitt James Smith III (born May 15, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Among other accolades, he is the lea ...
- TV personality and former NFL player *
Spinderella Deidra Muriel Roper (born August 3, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spinderella or simply Spinderella, is an American DJ, rapper and producer. She is best known as a member of the hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa. Roper occasionally appeared in ''Th ...
- hip-hop DJ


See also

*
History of the African Americans in Texas African American Texans or Black Texans are residents of the state of Texas who are of African ancestry and people that have origins as African-American slaves. African Americans formed a unique ethnic identity in Texas while facing the pro ...
**
History of African Americans in Houston The African American population in Houston, Texas, has been a significant part of the city's community since its establishment.Haley, John H. (University of North Carolina at Wilmington). " Black Dixie: Afro-Texan History and Culture in Houst ...
**
History of African Americans in San Antonio The African American population in San Antonio, Texas has been a significant part of the city's community since its founding. African Americans have been a part of the Greater San Antonio's history since the late 1800s. San Antonio ranks as the ...
**
History of African Americans in Austin The history of African Americans in Austin, Texas, Austin dates back to 1839, when the first African Americans, African American, Mahala Murchison, arrived. By the 1860s, several communities were established by Freedman, freedmen that later ...
* Demographics of Dallas–Fort Worth * History of Mexican Americans in Dallas–Fort Worth * History of Nigerian Americans in Dallas–Fort Worth * Chinese Americans in Dallas–Fort Worth * Indian Americans in Dallas–Fort Worth


References


Further reading

* Lawe, Thedore M. "Racial Politics in Dallas in the Twentieth Century," ''East Texas Historical Journal'' (2008) 46#2 pp 27-41
online
* Mokuria, Vicki, and Diana White. "Cinder and Soul: The Biography of a Historically Significant African-American School in Dallas, Texas." ''Journal of Social Studies Education Research'' 12.1 (2021): 76-94
online
* Phillips, Michael. ''White metropolis: race, ethnicity, and religion in Dallas, 1841-2001'' (University of Texas Press, 2010). * Selcer, Richard F. ''A History of Fort Worth in Black & White: 165 Years of African-American Life'' (University of North Texas Press, 2015)
online
* Wilson, William H. ''Hamilton Park: A Planned Black Community in Dallas'' (JHU Press, 1998
online


External links


Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society
*
The New Face of Affluence
" ''
The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
''. – A series of articles about black professionals in DFW {{DEFAULTSORT:History of African Americans in Dallas-Fort Worth Ethnic groups in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex African-American cultural history Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Dallas-Fort Worth History of Dallas African-American history of Texas