North Dallas/South Dallas: Somewhere Willie is Smiling
Categories: Dallas
Written By: Shawn Williams
For centuries we as African-Americans have divided ourselves, on many levels. As a matter of fact, those who brought us here in shackles and chains have taken every available opportunity to promote separation within our race, be it physical, mental, or spiritual. You need look no further than The Willie Lynch Letter to see that there was a deliberate and systematic plan to divide those who were enslaved, and ensure that it be a permanent condition. The document does not try to hide the intention of these slave holders, as it suggests how differences should be used to instill distrust and envy amongst it’s property:
On the top of my list is “AGE” but it is there only because it starts with an “A”; the second is “COLOR” or SHADE, there is INTELLIGENCE, SIZE, SIZE PLANTATIONS, STATUS ON PLANTATION, ATTITUDE OF OWNERS, WHETHER THE SLAVES LIVE IN THE VALLEY, ON THE HILL, EAST, WEST, NORTH, SOUTH, HAVE FINE HAIR, COURSE HAIR, OR IS TALL OR SHORT….DISTRUST is stronger than TRUST, and ENVY is stronger than ADULATION, RESPECT, or ADMIRATION.
The Willie Lynch Letter
In 2006, we are still divided along many of these same lines, but for the sake of today’s blog, I want to focus on differences that Black Dallasites make according to which part of town we call home. More specifically these debates and discussions generally divide along northern and southern boundaries. I’m just as guilty as any brother or sister who uses place of residence as a divider, but I can say that I do it knowingly. For the past 6 years my family and I have lived south of downtown, having lived in Grand Prairie and now Southern Dallas. I often joked with close friends that I became nauseous as soon as I drove north of 635, and blacked out once I made it to the George Bush Turnpike.
Personally, I won’t begrudge a man for where he (or she for that matter) chooses to root his family. There are any number of factors that go into where one chooses to set up shop. But I don’t hesitate to challenge a black man or black woman to examine their motives, and be honest about whether or not they are participating in their own form of “white flight”. Dr. Claud Anderson suggests that as soon as a predominantly white neighborhood becomes 10% black (or “minority”), FOR SALE signs immediately begin to pop up. In this town our white brethren flown darn near to the Oklahoma border. But they better know we won’t let them leave us too far behind. So Little Elm, Prosper, Fairview, Anna, you better get ready, cause we’re coming for you too.
We must all realize that this is a bigger issue than where I can afford to live, and getting the most house for your money. Economic factors are at the top of the list when deciding to buy a house, but life has got to be about more than black folks coming home to a fat crib in Sache closing the door, never to be seen or heard from again. Every other race of people realizes that the sum of the whole is greater than its parts. There are Little Mexicos, Little Saigons, and Little Indias in every reach of the city. While our immigrant brothers and sisters are moving together and raising communities, black folks are trying to get as far away from one another as possible.
Our political and economic power is strongest when we are together. This is a majority rule country, who gives the minority little more than lip service. They have given this to us as a label should tell us know what they think about us, and where they intend for us to stay: MINORITY. Whether it’s Frisco or Southlake, Highland Village or Highland Park (check that, they won’t let us into HP) we are diluting the power of our voices, our vote, and our dollar as we move on up and move on out. There are more black people in Southern Dallas than the entire city of Atlanta. We can go to church in the hood, but we can’t live in the hood. The kids in our “urban” neighborhoods could be blessed just by seeing successful black families milling about the grocery store. But too often they are tied up waiting in line at the Cheesecake Factory or checking out the North Park Mall expansion. We MUST rebuild our communities, and a good start would be bringing our “Talented Tenth” back home.
June 26th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
Shawn, the whole north/south thing here has always been interesting to me because most people try to suggest it’s a distance thing. You know “you live all the way down there . . .” What’s funny is Allen, McKinney, Parker, Frisco, and one day Sherman are all way up there so I guess it depends on your perspective and cosmos. At the end of the day, it is about color and status, and you are right. White people have yet to figure out that we’re going where ever they go. Even if the environment will mean our children will be super minorities and feel out of place while trying to be accepted but will never really be. My hope is that we people of Afrikan descent can one day leave the psychology of Willie Lynch in the dust (like Ghana left the US in the World Cup). One day our property will appreciate without the need of being in a predominantly white neighborhood which continues to be one of the reasons we sing “I wanna be where you are” Jackson 5 circa 1970s.
June 27th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
Being a native of Southern Dallas, I’m bias of living in the area. I have lived north in Allen before I moved back to the south. I found that the only thing I enjoyed about living “way up there” was I was 10 minutes from my job…until I got laid off. Once that convenience left me I found myself traveling south to go to church, go to my parents house, go to different events. So from my standpoint, they can keep that area of the city for themselves.
One thing that I dislike about living in South Oak Cliff is that as soon as a suburb, rather north or further south, becomes a hot spot businesses move out. I live in the area of Red Bird Mall (Southwest Center for you new cats) and I can remember when the mall was as popular as The Parks is now, when 3 movie theaters were in the same vicinity and all were packed, when we could enjoy eating out and having more choices than chicken and chinese food buffet. I live for the day for us to move back to this area and fill some of these vacant buildings with our own businesses and recycling the millions we end up spending else where in the city. I’m new to this blogging stuff so forgive me if I’m rambling.
July 17th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
When I first moved to the Dallas area, I lived on the north side. I was only in the 7th grade at the time, so I had no say so in the matter. Whenever we would meet people who were from Dallas (or had been here longer than us), their comment when we told them that we lived in Richardson was “You’ll live out there with the white folks”. There was a large black population in the area of town that we lived but the northern area was perceived as white. After I moved out on my own, I still lived in the northern area because that was what I knew. I had very little reason to venture south.
It wasn’t until I started attending church in Oak Cliff that I began coming to the south side on a regular basis. Now that I have moved south, I have reversed my travel and visitation to the north. Other than work, I have very little reason to come north.
But what I really wanted to comment on has to do with our black dollars. The anonymous comment below had a very interesting point about our business. In the main article you stated that there are more blacks in southern Dallas than in all of Atlanta. We already know that business look to De Soto, Cedar Hill and Duncanville to open new locations. Why have we as blacks not taken advantage of this OPPORTUNITY? Since we know our community is void of these services, why haven’t we taken it upon ourselves to bring or create them? The first person, business or establishment to bring something that we really need to southern Dallas is going to fill a void and make a lot of money themselves.
July 17th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
Two 18, I couldn’t have said it better myself. We as African-Americans are the only group of people in the world who don’t understand that there is strengh in numbers. Nowhere is this more evident than in the area of the Black Dollar. It’s not (just)about living with white folks, although that it’s a psychological issues in and of itself. It is about what we can achieve as a group, like everyone else does. Our best and our brightest are so spread out, that it is hard to have their support except on Sunday’s. This is something that black folks must solve before we can be uplifted on a collective scale. No one has presented an arguement as to how we as a people are better served by moving “way out.” But I would argue that too few are concerned about the collective.