In Plain Sight: Black History of Dallas taught on HPUMC Group Tour

June 20, 2023 by Richard Stanford

As a church community, we recognize that we cannot follow Christ from a path of racism of any form. Learn how the Justice Ministry of HPUMC is working toward racial justice and equity, and find out how you can help.

On Wednesday, March 22, a group of retired adults from HPUMC, led by Richard Stanford, spent a full day touring local sites in a Black History and Human Rights Tour of Dallas. Richard grew up in Dallas and remembers firsthand the changes Dallas has gone through to become what it is today.

The physical evidence of the Black history of Dallas has often been leveled as typified by the State Thomas neighborhood, Little Egypt, and Deep Ellum/Central Track. But several sites remain: the freedman’s town of Joppa, the Tenth Street Historic District, Freedman’s Cemetery, and downtown at St. Paul UMC, Booker T. Washington HS, Black Dance Theater (the former Moorland YMCA, a Green Book lodging recommendation), and the Knights of Pythias Lodge (now the Kimpton Pittman Hotel). We toured MLK Blvd, Madison HS, the South Blvd Historic District, and the Forest Theater, soon to be restored as a community venue.

During our trip, we visited Highland Hills, one of the communities like Hamilton Park and Singing Hills that were developed to encourage middle-class Blacks to live in segregated neighborhoods. We enjoyed a tour of the adjoining Paul Quinn College, an AME-related college sitting on the original site where Bishop College once stood. Joe Washington, the first African American pastor at HPUMC, graduated from Bishop College. We ended our trip at the Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, with its Piccadilly Cafeteria exhibit remembering the integration of Dallas eating establishments in the 1960s. In the process of all of this, our group was able to discuss the integration of Dallas schools, the conversion of our City Council from at large to single-member districts, and the lives of the great Black leaders of Dallas.

These pieces of history are often not taught but are hidden in plain sight in locations like the Dallas sites toured in March. This trip allowed those in attendance to fill gaps in their knowledge of Black history and walk away with a richer understanding of Dallas' history. Visiting the Holocaust and Human Rights Museum was an impactful end to their day, and the group conversed about misconceptions and what they learned. As followers of Jesus, HPUMC aims to help people continue to grow while serving others.

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