Three digitization days to collect family memorabilia and oral histories that explore how urban renewal and school desegregation impacted Dallas’s communities of color in specific neighborhoods, including historically African-American communities in former Freedmen’s Towns—Short North Dallas (now Uptown and Deep Ellum), Joppa, Elm Thicket (North Park), Little Egypt, Queen City, and Tenth Street, as well as historically Mexican-American communities like La Bajada, Los Altos, La Loma, and the former Little Mexico.  The materials would be used in subsequent exhibits and programs at three branches of the Dallas Public Library and be accompanied by a short film compiled from the oral histories recorded.  Panels discussing the historical significance of the exhibit items would include members from community groups, such as the African American Genealogical Interest Group and the Dallas Mexican-American Historical League.  With donor permission, the digitized materials would be made available for research at the Dallas Public Library by the Dallas History and Archives Division.

buildingcommunityWORKSHOP will partner with the Dallas Public Library to mount digitization events and exhibitions at three library branches in Dallas’s southern sector. Many neighborhoods in the southern sector face challenges such as blight, vacancy, and deterioration. Yet, these communities also possess rich cultural histories that often go untold in traditional narratives. During the mid-20th century, the city of Dallas experienced many changes in its built and cultural form; the design and planning decisions that underlied these changes often had disproportionate impacts on communities of color. These stories often are only preserved in the minds and personal artifacts of residents. Through this new digitization and oral history filming project, which will result in three exhibitions and three short films, residents and stakeholders alike will gain a greater understanding of how physical and cultural changes have left a legacy that is still evident in the inequities we see today.