Our Stories Volume 7

Our Stories: Black Families in Early Dallas enlarges upon two publications by the late Dr. Mamie McKnight’s organization, Black Dallas Remembered—First African American Families of Dallas (1987) and African American Families and Settlements of Dallas (1990). Our Stories is the history of Black citizens of Dallas going about their lives in freedom, as described by the late Eva Partee McMillan: “The ex-slaves purchased land, built homes, raised their children, erected their educational and religious facilities, educated their children, and profited from their labor.” Our Stories brings together memoirs from many of Dallas’s earliest Black families, as handed down over the generations to their twentieth-century descendants. The period covered begins in the 1850s and goes through the 1930s. Included are detailed descriptions of more than thirty early Dallas communities formed by free African Americans, along with the histories of fifty-seven early Black families, and brief biographies of many of the early leaders of these Black communities. The stories reveal hardships endured and struggles overcome, but the storytellers focus on the triumphs over adversity and the successes achieved against the odds. The histories include the founding of churches, schools, newspapers, hospitals, grocery stores, businesses, and other institutions established to nourish and enrich the lives of the earliest Black families in Dallas.

"The paucity of resources on early African Americans in Dallas makes Our Stories a valuable tool for research."--Merline Pitre, author of In Struggle against Jim Crow: Lulu B. White and the NAACP, 1900-1957 "Our Stories appears to be alone in literature on Dallas, Texas. It should be attractive to many readers in Dallas and across Texas as well as readers, including historians, who are interested in African American urbanization."--Alwyn Barr, author of Black Texans "By republishing descriptions of historic Black neighborhoods, family histories, and several fascinating oral histories--all long out of print and difficult to find--Our Stories: Black Families in Early Dallas makes a significant contribution to local historiography. This book will be invaluable to anyone researching Dallas history or just seeking a better understanding of the contributions of Black citizens to the development of the city."--Michael V. Hazel, Ph.D., author of Dallas: A History of Big D "Our Stories is a cause for celebration! This welcome volume makes important African American oral histories available to a new generation. A source of pride for the community, this rich and rewarding compendium should also stimulate further research in Black history."--Russell L. Martin III, Director, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University

GEORGE KEATON JR. retired from Dallas Independent School District after thirty-one years as a teacher and counselor. In 2015 he founded and continues to lead Remembering Black Dallas, dedicated to preserving and sharing the experiences of the African American families of Dallas County. JUDITH GARRETT SEGURA is the author of BELO: From Newspapers to New Media, a history of DallasNews Corporation, Texas's oldest business institution, which dates from 1842.