Documenter Spotlight: Shani Dixon

Tell me about your background and connections to Dallas.

Shani Dixon: I am a Dallas native, born and raised. I was born and raised in Queen City, one of the Black historic districts in South Dallas, and have been here for many years. The elementary schools I went to were Phyllis Wheatley and Charles Rice, and then I auditioned to go to [W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy] for piano. After that, I applied to go to Skyline [High School]. When I went off to college [at Prairie View A&M University], I stumbled upon the School of Architecture. There was a push to get more ladies involved in architecture, so I took the chance and found out that it was something I actually loved.

Since I graduated, I’ve worked mostly with small companies, and have pivoted to design consulting, offering private citizens or developers tips on how to get through the Certificate of Appropriateness process in historical districts. I’m also on the task force for the Queen City historical district.

What ties you so closely to Queen City, and what motivates you to do preservation work in the neighborhood?

SD: Well, you know, it’s home. My grandmother was there. My godparents. I had great aunts. They were on the street I grew up on. 

I always wondered when I was younger, ‘Why does my area not look like other areas?’ It’s like it was neglected on purpose. If your community was redlined, there wouldn’t be support for growth or keeping up properties. And you have slum lords. Because of where the property is, they don’t value keeping up with their properties. They won’t abide by code, or make sure that the property is safe. They still want their rent, but they don’t want to invest in maintaining the property.

I’ve always loved history, and I volunteered at Preservation Dallas. Then I got involved with the Queen City Neighborhood Association.

We’re trying to protect what is here so it doesn’t become gentrified. A lot of people outside have their own ideas of what this area could be, because they see it in proximity to downtown, the proximity of all the major freeways we have access to, so we’re basically the city center. In proximity to Fair Park, in proximity to downtown. It’s prime real estate, so to speak.

What inspired you to join Dallas Documenters, and what has stood out to you about the City of Dallas while notetaking at public meetings?

SD: In places like West Dallas or South Dallas, when communities do learn about things in the city, it’s either after something has already passed or that window of learning about it doesn’t exist anymore. So being able to learn something on the front end and being proactive versus reactive is important. There were a lot of [resources] I didn’t even know were offered. The major entities or news outlets don’t always feature or show them, and when they do say something about them, it’s something that’s already passed.

At the Landmark Commission meeting, I saw how the inner workings of the [Certificate of Appropriateness] process and how things are presented. By attending the meeting, you learn some things you didn’t know until you are actually in the midst of it.

I also went to a City Plan Commission meeting and saw a person there representing opposition to a proposed development in their community, and they were giving real-life, hands-on experience and frustration, saying that the area is not conducive to the development.

I hope that we can better distribute the information about the meetings on different platforms, so that people who can’t make it to the 9 a.m. or 1 p.m. meetings can access them.

Learn how to become a Documenter here.