Author: Keri Mitchell
Who gets to name the West Dallas STEM School?
West Dallas' only school of choice might be renamed after Oak Cliff legacy names without the community's input.
South Dallas will elect a new trustee this May
Dallas ISD School Board President Justin Henry announced this week he will not seek reelection as the District 9 trustee, and a four-way race to replace him is underway.
Another West Dallas school shuffle will reopen Thomas Edison campus as West Dallas Junior High
The West Dallas Junior High School will fulfill the community's wishes to reclaim its history but will DISD considering all of their input.
With $325 million invested into a Trinity River park, West Dallas residents want investment in people
West Dallas residents and leaders want the Trinity Park Conservancy to take action to ensure the park will benefit neighbors.
Activist Ernest McMillan retraces Dallas’ Civil Rights movement in his memoir, ‘Standing’
This excerpt from Ernest McMillan’s book, “Standing: One Man’s Odyssey through the Turbulent ’60s" is a glimpse into the work of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, in South Dallas.
West Dallas Investments just sold most of its land to a Nebraska-based investor
A Dallas Morning News story by real estate editor Steve Brown notes that the purchase by Nebraska-based investor Goldenrod Cos. is "one of the largest such property transactions in years located so close to downtown" and "signals future development."
Dallas Free Press seeks a civic producer for its Documenters network
Dallas Free Press is seeking a journalist or writer/researcher with a passion for local government, policy and power in Dallas to support our team as our Civic Producer.
Dallas Free Press seeks a program manager for its local Documenters network
Dallas Free Press is seeking a Program Manager to lead our local arm of the award-winning Documenters program, which trains and pays residents to produce information in the public interest.
Three ways you can get involved in the new Dallas Documenters Network
In early 2023. Dallas Free Press will be the 10th newsroom in America to host the Documenters Network, which recruits, trains and, most importantly, pays residents for their time spent attending meetings, taking notes to contribute to the public record, and sharing back to their communities.
Dallas Free Press seeks a journalism pathway coordinator to work with high school students
Dallas Free Press is looking for a journalism pathway coordinator to work with students in South Dallas and West Dallas on writing, storytelling, civic engagement, media literacy and critical thinking skills that would benefit them no matter what career they choose.
‘I’ve never seen any dirt go up 1400% in five years’
The land value of dozens of 7,000-square-foot parcels in Los Altos — just north of Singleton, up and down Borger, Crossman and Winnetka — all jumped from $65,000 to $168,000 this year. Several efforts are being made to educate West Dallas neighbors on how to protest property tax appraisals before the May 16 deadline.
Froswa’ Booker-Drew resigns her post as ‘the great connecter’ between the State Fair of Texas and South Dallas-Fair Park neighbors
A bombshell dropped on South Dallas this week when Froswa’ Booker-Drew announced that her last day at the State Fair of Texas would be next Friday, April 15.
Diane Ragsdale: A lifetime of community organizing in South Dallas
The Hon. Diane Ragsdale, who will turn 70 this year, has spent her entire life in South Dallas. Her story has been shaped by the neighborhood and, likewise, she has shaped her neighborhood in significant ways. She’s still fighting some of the same issues that led her to run for Council, and as a registered nurse, she approaches the systems as she would her patients — a belief in preventative medicine that will treat the underlying causes, not just the symptoms.
West Dallas 400-foot tower: How it started and how it’s going
For more than two years, West Dallas Investments has been trying to win favor from La Bajada neighbors, its board, the West Dallas community, and the City Plan Commission. They've run into opposition from almost every direction, but despite this, the developers have appealed their case to City Council, where it is on the agenda this Wednesday, Dec. 8.
Dallas Free Press is hiring a development manager
Dallas Free Press is seeking an adept communicator who is highly organized to build strong relationships with potential major donors, funders and corporate sponsors.
A South Dallas artist residency aims to ‘capture the now before the future’
John Spriggins, manager of the South Dallas Cultural Center, launched the Juanita J. Craft House Artist in Residency to provide artists with studio space to create work that “capture[s] the immediacy of the moment where historical neighborhoods are rapidly changing due to socio-economic shifts."
Community-centered journalist needed at Dallas Free Press
Dallas Free Press is looking for a full-time journalist to listen to the residents of South Dallas and West Dallas, two of the city’s historically redlined neighborhoods, to ensure their stories are told and their voices are heard. The role focuses first and foremost on community journalism and prioritizes the civic issues emerging from these […]
Dallas Free Press launches a journalism pathway, seeks a coordinator
Dallas Free Press has launched a journalism pathway from Dallas high schools to Dallas newsrooms, starting with efforts to educate high school students. We are looking for a part-time journalism pathway coordinator to work with students in South Dallas and West Dallas.
New Dallas Media Collaborative seeks its first project manager
The Dallas Media Collaborative is searching for a part-time Project Manager to coordinate and lead its efforts toward a connected, city-wide solutions journalism network.
Goal of neighborhood-led West Dallas plan is ‘teeth,’ accountability
A neighborhood-led plan "will be used to shape the future of West Dallas for the next 10 to 20 years,” and act to "slow down the fast-paced gentrification that is running a risk of literally changing the thread of our community and wiping away the history," says James Armstrong III.
Vaccine hesitancy, not availability, now South Dallas’ largest barrier
Now that anyone who wants a vaccine can get one, the challenge is overcoming barriers such as internet access needed to register for the vaccine and transportation needed to get to appointments, plus the even more daunting barrier of trust.
Pinkston seniors return to campus to prep for graduation
Two in five Dallas ISD seniors are in danger of not graduating, so alumni rolled out the red carpet when Pinkston seniors returned Monday.
After the storm: Resources for South Dallas neighbors
Dallas Free Press has compiled a list of resources for South Dallas residents in the aftermath of the winter storm.
After the storm: Resources for West Dallas neighbors
Dallas Free Press has compiled a list of resources for West Dallas residents in the aftermath of February's winter storm.
How some South Dallas families are navigating the pandemic
For many families in South Dallas, COVID has forced them to choose between sending their kids to school and facing financial and health risks, or keeping them home and dealing with isolation and learning loss.
Nearly five high schools worth of Dallas ISD students are MIA
Dallas ISD high school, middle school, and elementary students have missed days of school. Authorities presented a plan to address this.
‘Transformational’ news on South Dallas’ historic Forest Theater coming in February
“I’ve never seen the marquee light up before,” noted Elizabeth Wattley in a September 2019 podcast about CitySquare’s restoration of the historic Forest Theater. As a child, the theater was an icon Wattley knew well, and even though the Forest was unoccupied in much of Wattley’s remembrance, she still recognized it as “a landmark and a […]
Hours before decision, 139 La Bajada neighbors ask for opposition to West Dallas office tower
For more than a year, Trinity Groves developers West Dallas Investments have worked to gather support from La Bajada neighbors on a zoning change that would allow them to build a 400-foot, 28- to 32-story office tower at the base of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, adjacent to the historic West Dallas residential neighborhood. At […]
Dallas: We need your input on news consumption and local media coverage
This Dallas Free Press survey will inform our community journalism efforts in South Dallas and West Dallas, and help our launching-soon local media collaborative determine its focus topic.
Does the fate of West Dallas rest on a 400-foot tower next to La Bajada?
On Thursday, the City Plan Commission will consider West Dallas Investments’ request to allow a 400-foot tower on the north side of Singleton, adjacent to La Bajada, with the hope of attracting a Fortune 500 company like Amazon, Google, AT&T or Toyota.
Free home repairs plus a tax freeze available to hundreds in West Dallas
The $2 million set aside solely for seven census tracts in the 75212 zip code comes from funds City Manager T.C. Broadnax pulled together from former city bond packages.
It’s 2020 but banks’ redlining practices still stifle southern Dallas
This WFAA airs from reporter David Schechter reveals how banks are still redlining southern Dallas neighborhoods.
Reporter sought for Dallas Free Press, Dallas Morning News ‘food apartheid’ project
The Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Free Press, in partnership with the national Solutions Journalism Network, are looking for a reporter to spend the next five months reporting on "food apartheid" in Dallas.
New dashboard tracks costs, construction for South Dallas school bond projects
The Nov. 3 presidential election is attracting record numbers of early voters in Dallas to the polls, but there are local decisions to be made, too, including five Dallas ISD bond propositions totaling $3.7 billion.
What Dallas ISD parents are (and aren’t) being told about MAP tests
Co-published with our media partner, Advocate magazines On Sept. 1, seven days before Dallas ISD students began remote learning, the district announced that students would need to return to their schools in person for three hours during the month of September to take the MAP test. Why did Dallas ISD ask my children to take a […]
How to claim property when you don’t hold the title
When South Dallas residents don’t hold the title to the property they own, it can cause all kinds of problems. Without a title, the property can’t be sold and isn’t eligible for government-funded home repairs or homestead exemptions that give a property tax discount. It’s a financial problem, definitely. It’s also a legal problem, says […]
New racial equity leader appointed to guide Dallas ISD efforts
Co-published by our media partner, the Dallas Weekly Two years into its existence, Dallas ISD’s racial equity office has a new leader, Sharon Quinn. She replaces Leslie Williams, whom Supt. Michael Hinojosa appointed to lead the office in 2018 when it was created. Quinn moved to back to Texas from South Carolina in 2017 to […]
West Dallas 1 videos simplify back-to-school safety plans
Dallas ISD’s 41-page Reentry Playbook for Parents is thorough, but West Dallas 1, a grassroots coalition that focuses on education, environment and housing issues in our neighborhood, didn’t want West Dallas families to miss the information they consider most crucial about back-to-school safety measures. They “created informative videos to highlight some of the most notable […]
‘Stay vigilant’: Local leaders urge caution, protection as businesses reopen
Co-published by our media partner, The Dallas Weekly When Dr. Ahmad Garrett-Price leaves his home in West Dallas, he always takes his self-made “care package” with him. It’s a recyclable grocery bag holding key items to protect himself and others from the novel coronavirus: a mask, disposable gloves, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipers and disinfectant spray. […]
Johnson says minority communities will get ‘their fair share’ of coronavirus relief funds
Co-published by our media partner, The Dallas Weekly Mayor Eric Johnson and District 3 Councilman Casey Thomas spent Friday morning on group phone calls with Dallas clergy and small minority-owned business owners, making sure they knew about grants and loans available to them and their communities. The federal government gave the City of Dallas $5 […]
How to defer a rent payment under Dallas’ new eviction ordinance
Co-published by our media partner, The Dallas Weekly In the state of Texas, if a tenant is late paying rent, the landlord has a legal right to evict. “There’s no protection in Texas law for that,” says Sandy Rollins, executive director of the Dallas-based Texas Tenants’ Union. “It’s a default on the contract when you don’t […]
Reentry groups respond to pandemic’s early release of prisoners
During a typical month, Dennis Gant may welcome one or two new residents to the former South Dallas apartment building that now operates as a dormitory for men who just left prison and are trying to get on their feet. In the last three weeks, however, six new residents have been released to the care of Trinity Restoration Ministries.
South Dallas nonprofits join forces to address COVID-19 diaper shortages
Dallas County had declared a state of emergency two weeks prior as cases of the novel coronavirus rose. Williams reached out to Carter, whose nonprofit Carter’s House provides children’s clothing and baby items to families from its headquarters at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center. The two women had teamed up previously to host pop-up baby boutiques for single parents, and they decided to face the pandemic head-on in another joint effort.
