Author: Sujata Dand
Follow-up: Dallas ISD’s pandemic plan to connect students didn’t work, new cheaper plan is now in effect
Dallas ISD abandons private wireless network to focus on effective ways to provide internet access at home for students who don't have it.
Does revitalizing a neighborhood start with community health?
Bonton Farms adds a wellness center to the community as an answer to revitalizing the South Dallas neighborhood, which will open in 2025.
Follow-up: Direct Express Card unreliable solution for “unbanked” neighbors
Residents continue to maneuver through the Social Security system to access their funds, but still can't find solutions.
Vista Bank is opening a branch in South Dallas as other banks attempt to increase “community banking”
After nearly three decades since a bank branch opened, Vista Bank will enter South Dallas to help lift financial barriers for businesses.
In harm’s way: Social security benefits elude South Dallas residents with blocked debit cards
South Dallas residents face hurdles in accessing social security benefits and struggle through a lengthy process with uncertain results.
Demand for protesting property values goes up as families fight to stay in their homes
Property tax consultant Toby Toler worked with more than 100 people over DCAD’s four-week protest period in April and May. He feels like the majority of the people he helped in Southern Dallas were able to successfully challenge their property values and lower their taxes.
H-E-B’s Joe V’s is coming to Dallas. We went to Houston to see what all the fuss is about.
H-E-B’s press release announced the new stores would be Joe V’s Smart Shop, which offers “a price-conscious shopping experience.” Both will be located in southern Dallas; the first store opening next summer at the corner of West Wheatland Road and Highway 67, and a second store opening in 2025 at the corner of Buckner and Samuell boulevards.
Mural reveals Fair Park’s role in Juneteenth’s history
“Fair Park has a lot of historical significance,” Moore says as he describes the panoramic painting in the courtyard of the South Dallas Cultural Center. He chose to paint a chronological display of Fair Park’s role in promoting the understanding and awareness of Juneteenth.
Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Museum reopens, honoring Dallas’ first Black woman elected to school board
The Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Museum recently reopened on Wendelkin Street in South Dallas. Honoring the legacy of Mrs. Kathlyn Joy Gilliam, the museum showcases the civil rights leader’s life story featuring original furnishings, photos, and artifacts in the home she lived in for 35 years.
West Dallas’ oldest Black-owned grocery store thrives while others fizzle out in food desert
Gipson Grocery store converted into a one-stop shop with many services aimed to strengthen its community members.
Did Dallas ISD’s sale of the segregated Fred Douglass School seal Gilbert-Emory’s fate?
It wasn’t until Emmanuel Glover and Sarah Ashitey moved into Gilbert-emory that they learned their new house was in a historical African-American settlement.
South Dallas real estate company works to keep the community in community development
Ferrell Fellows' business model is simple: She buys off-market properties in South Dallas in need of serious repairs then renovates these homes, preserving character and history. They become residences for first-time homebuyers, long-term rentals for people not ready to take that leap, and shared housing for people she comes across in her community work, everyone from single parents to immigrants to prostitutes. Fellows believes everyone deserves a dignified way to live.
A new public safety project in Mill City may be a solution to the city’s 311 problem
A task force on safe communities is spending $150,000 to help clean up nearly 600 vacant lots in Mill City, with the goal of cutting crime along with the grass in the neighborhood.
When the pandemic forced mental health care to go virtual, it revealed an antidote to stigmas in Latino communities
"We were meeting them in their homes, and we started seeing more people because they knew they wouldn’t have to come in," says Brother Bill's Helping Hand clinic director Ivan Esquivel, on the upsurge in mental health visits.
Groceries in a SNAP: Amazon provides free delivery to EBT customers
Already, 65,000 people in DFW are enrolled in Amazon’s SNAP delivery program, but the company found that people who live in “food deserts” weren’t using the service, so launched a new outreach program Jan. 1.
Cornerstone Baptist’s profitable nonprofit grocery store ‘creates dignity’ in South Dallas
Southpoint is proving to be a miracle in this sparsely populated South Dallas neighborhood between Al Lipscomb and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards. Access to healthy, affordable food has been among the top concerns for residents here.
Is the City of Dallas going to save the Save-U-More grocery store in southern Dallas?
Highland Hills fresh foods grocery store, Save-U-More, struggles to stay open and widen the food desert gaps happening in South Dallas.
Dallas ISD rolls out free at-home internet access for students
Dallas ISD invested in 40,000 hotspots last school year for families without reliable internet at home, but this year DISD plans to spend $18 million on at-home wired connections for its students.
What’s keeping Dallas from having a food truck scene like Austin’s
MLK Food Park organizers say City of Dallas rules around food trucks encourage the kinds of fried delicacies that Dallasites can find en masse at the State Fair of Texas but discourage healthy options. That’s why they created a mobile food task force to examine Dallas’ food policies for special events.
New grocery store reflects Cornerstone church’s belief that ‘South Dallas deserves beautiful things’
A new neighborhood grocery store in South Dallas is part of Cornerstone Baptist Church's overall vision for a healthy community.
Coming soon: A Dolphin Heights community gardener in residence
At 80, Anna Hill still tends the Dolphin Heights Community Garden next door to her home. A new 450-square-foot cottage on the garden site will give Hill much needed help, and give the gardener in residence an affordable house.
Cornerstone Baptist Church is opening a grocery store to address food insecurity in South Dallas
In an effort to address food insecurity in the community, Cornerstone Baptist Church is opening Southpoint Community Market, a neighborhood grocery store that will sell fresh and affordable food.
Non-profit grocery store Jubilee Market in Waco fills a gap for affordable, nutritious food
Jubilee Market in Waco has attracted the attention of city leaders from across Texas looking for innovative ways to provide affordable and nutritious foods in low-income neighborhoods. However, Jubilee may be a unicorn, because it relies on a leader who lives in the neighborhood, a strong base of supporters and a financial safety net.
‘No interruption’: Wireless network gives South Dallas students reliable internet access at home
Dallas ISD built a large cell tower on Lincoln High School’s campus to extend the existing WiFi signal to homes within a two-mile radius of the school so students and their families could access the internet for free.
3 free WiFi options for Dallas ISD families
Dallas ISD officials have a three-phase plan to give families free WiFi that could minimize the city’s digital divide.
South Dallas leaders press DART for curb-to-curb transportation service
A community survey showed that 45 percent of the people in the South Dallas zip codes of 75210 and 75215 don't have cars. Community leaders want to bring DART's GoLink service to the neighborhood.
Could internet access in Dallas shift from a luxury to a utility?
South Dallas’ Lincoln High School could place an antenna on its roof and transmit broadband signals to household receivers. A student could then type a code into her laptop and sign on to the network from home.
As schools prep for virtual learning, 1/3 of Dallas families lack internet access
Co-published by our media partner, KERA. Listen to the radio version on KERA’s website. Jamaala Karim walks into the Paul Dunbar Learning Center cafeteria. It’s filled with staff hired to help distribute technology to students’ families. “Having to go from single mom to teacher, it’s like, uhhhhhh,” she sighs heavily. Karim picks up two clear backpacks. […]