Neighborhood Stories - West Dallas

[bc]'s Neighborhood Stories is a research and documentation project that celebrates community identity, history, and culture by showcasing neighborhood histories. This initiative amplifies neighborhood voices by working directly with residents to document neighborhood narratives and provide a platform to share these stories. Products of the initiative include films, exhibits, and publications that trace the interrelated social, economic, political, and physical histories within a neighborhood.

Return to see all Neighborhood Stories Projects.

[bc] Contributors:

Lizzie MacWillie

Hafsa Ambreen

Valeria Landeros

Kevin Clapp

UPDATES

West Dallas Community History Exhibit

August 29, 2019

This month marks the end of our work with the residents of West Dallas for the Dallas Neighborhood Stories Project. We embarked on this project with the understanding that the current narrative of Dallas and the archives available sorely lack information about the robust history of West Dallas and how it has grown and changed since it was annexed into the City of Dallas in 1954. Our goal with this project, and in partnering with the Dallas Public Library, was to ensure that history can be accessible to a larger audience and preserved for future generations. 

Over the past few months, we have had the pleasure of working with community members from all over West Dallas to record their personal histories of the area. We began with one full day of archiving at the Dallas West Branch Library back in April, which led to multiple follow-up events and one and one meetings with community members. We learned early on that this project was just a piece of a process that will take years, even generations of West Dallasites to truly give justice to the neighborhood’s history.

The items we have scanned included everything from birth and marriage certificates to an old photo of the Continental Bridge. Along with scanning, we filmed oral interviews about life in West Dallas, in one instance going as far back as the 1930s. As we prepare to celebrate all that we have archived in the past few months about West Dallas we encourage anyone interested in furthering this work to visit the Dallas Public Library’s 7th floor or email genealogy@dallaslibrary.org to continue archiving and scanning! 

  • West Dallas Community History Exhibit, Sept 19th 5:00 pm -7:00 pm - Join us for the opening of the West Dallas Community History Exhibit on September 19th at 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm at the Dallas West Branch Library. The exhibit will be up for the public at the Library through the end of November. 

  • Red Bird Community History Harvest, Sept 8th 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm - Our first archival event for the Red Bird Neighborhood will be held on September 8th, 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm at the Polk-Wisdom Branch Library. [bc] encourages any individuals and organizations who are interested in participating in this effort to reach out to Hafsa Ambreen or call 214-252-2900.


This project has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Dallas Neighborhood Stories Event Update

May 7, 2019

Last weekend we kicked off our Dallas Neighborhood Stories series to collect and archive community histories in partnership with the Dallas Public Library. Held at the Dallas West Branch Library, the history harvest was an effort to digitize photos, documents, and other personal artifacts as well as collect and oral histories about West Dallas.

Folks from around the community came with their personal artifacts for preservation and several residents also opted to share their oral histories in a film interview. We loved seeing old letters, photographs, yearbooks, and other keepsakes from the area being preserved for future generations. Memorabilia from Oak Cliff’s 1940s women’s bowling league were among the treasures. These objects and first-person narratives are so valuable in preserving the history of this rapidly-changing neighborhood. These items will be available for public access through the Dallas Public Library.

Thanks to everyone who participated -- residents, volunteers, and staff alike. We are looking forward to adding to the work we began last weekend and working with residents of West Dallas to archive their histories.  

  • If you are looking to contribute artifacts to be scanned by the library please contact the Dallas Public Library by calling (214) 670-1433 or email genealogy@dallaslibrary.org for more information on how you can scan your documents or contribute your history to the public archives.

  • If you are interested in sharing an oral history to be filmed please contact Lizzie MacWillie by calling 214-252-2900 or lizzie@bcworkshop.org to set-up an appointment to record your story.


This project has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Community History Harvest at the Dallas West Branch Library

March 12, 2019

Residents of West Dallas are invited to join us on Saturday, April 27th at the Dallas West Branch Library from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm for a community history harvest. This will be the first event in our collaboration with the Dallas Public Library to further the digitization and oral history aspects of the Neighborhood Stories program.

Folks from across the area are invited to share photos, documents, and oral histories about their community, to be recorded and digitized for the Dallas Public Library’s public collection. Participants will also receive digital copies of their photos and documents, preserving these important artifacts for future generations to learn from.

In consideration of time, we ask that residents bring up to five artifacts to be digitized. Examples of items to bring include:

  • Family or school photos

  • Yearbooks

  • Menus from local restaurants

  • Property surveys or maps

  • Church programs

We are looking forward to learning from and with the residents of West Dallas’s neighborhoods about the local history and how their communities experienced change during the Civil Rights period and beyond. The topics to be explored include the role of city planning, development, and school desegregation with the ultimate goal of understanding how historic inequities have shaped the communities we see today. The collective neighborhood history gathered from the archival event, interviews with community members, and our research about the area will culminate in an exhibition at the Dallas West Branch Library.

[bc] encourages any individuals and organizations who are interested in participating in this effort to reach out to Lizzie MacWillie, Associate Director, who will lead the project. Stay tuned for future updates on the details of this digitization event.

This project has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.