[Clipping: Negro Home Projects Does Dallas Proud] Part: 1 of 2
1 clipping ; 55 x 11 cm.View a full description of this clipping.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Sunday, March 1, 1953
Close to Home
Negro Home Project
Does Dallas Proud
R y Dennis Hoover
The Times Herald Staff Writer
"The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is to be
indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity,"
it has been said.
But sometimes it takes an explosion to rouse us
from indifference. There were 11 explosions in rapid-fire
order, the first on Feb. 18, 1950, when a
South Dallas home splintered amid smoke
and fire.
With each successive blast in South Dallas,
more of the city's thinking men realized that a
race riot lay ahead unless something was done.
From 1940 to 1950, Dallas had gained 8,000
new Negro families. But in that decade of swift
growth only 1,000 view Negro dwelling units had
been provided.
The result?
Some families doubled up. Two and three
Hoover families, maybe 10 persons, ate and slept in one
house with two bedrooms. Others with higher
incomes found homes to buy in South Dallas. Often they paid
double the "white" value for the homes.
But high price tags didn't fend off dynamite. Each nocturnal
bombing scratched a festering sore of resentment and hatred in
what had become a tense "fringearea" of the city.
What Dallas men and women
did about the situation, how they
averted catastrophe, will be to
their everlasting credit.
A racial committee at the
Chamber of Commerce deliberat-
ed long and grimly in the midst
of the big trouble. Jerome K.
Crossman, corporation executive,
humanitarian and civic leader,
was designated to ask the crim-
inal district judges to impanel a
special grand jury to investigate
the bombings. The grand jury
was ordered and in due course
it returned several criminal in-
dictments.
"We had no hope of being able
to corral all the bombers and
arsonists," Crossman said. "But,
as we had expected, the grand
jury had a terrific psychological
effect."
The revolt was stemmed for
the time being. But the bomb-
ings were only symptoms of a
deep problem.
In today's issue of The Times
Herald you read details of a
proposed new 700-home develop-
ment for Negro families, spon-
sored by the Dallas Citizens'
Interracial Association. Cross-
man is president of this body,
which was formed in August of
1950 and took as its major task
bettering the Negro housing
problem.
With its first and vital project
nearing fruition, Crossman says
there are other Negro subdivi-
sions to come. He is justifiably
proud of the "Main Street" or-
ganization which has successful-
ly tackled a difficult problem in
human relations.
It is likely that no civic ven-
ture in Dallas has had more pow-
erful leadership and backing
than has this one to provide ade-
quate and decent homes for Ne-
groes whose incomes are too
high to permit them access to
public housing.
Other association officers in-
clude John E. Mitchell, Jr., R.
L. Thornton, Sr., Louis Tobian,
Ben H. Wooten and M. J. Nor-
rell.
Add these directors: Fred F.
Florence, J. L. Latimer, Nathan
Adams, Waller C. Boedeker, S.
J. Hay, John T. Higginbotham,
Sam W. Hudson, Jr., Stanley
Marcus, John W. Rice and R. D.
Suddarth.
Then add men like Carr Col-
lins, Sr., and H. Leslie Hill who
did yeoman committee work; and
an enthusiastic advisory council
of 174 leading citizens from
every business and profession.
Finally, add the city and coun-
ty governments, the D a 11 a s
Chamber of Commerce, Citizens
Council, Real Estate Board,
Home Builders Association, Ne-
gro Chamber of Commerce,
Greater Dallas Planning Council,
construction trade unions, banks
and mortgage firms.
All these individuals and or-
ganizations have co-operated to
bring about the housing project.
But there's someone else in
this picture of a city that is do-
ing itself proud. He is Karl
Hoblitzelle, the theaterman and
philanthropist. Crossman styles
Hoblitzelle "one of God's own
noblemen," but he is not the first
to do so.
"I came to Karl one morningnot for money, but for advice,"
Crossman said. "The association
had an option on the 173 acres
of land we needed for the houses,
and we had to act.
"Mr. Hoblitzelle quickly volun-
teered: 'Go ahead with your
project. I'll see you have the
money'."
That made it easy. The asso-
ciation acquired the site. It con-
tracted with the city to extend
water and sewer lines. Members
will put up the $425,000 required
for this work. The homes them-
selves, of first quality, will be
financed through normal invest-
ment channels.
The development wo't cost the
city one cent.
sEventually, Mr. Hoblitzelle and
the association members will get
back their money, without inter-
est, as the homes are paid off in
$45 to $50 installments. But
there's no denying these men will
have staked their fellow citizens
in their time of need.
Can decent housing be weighed
by dollars and cents? Sure it
can, for crime and disease spawn
in slums. Neither respect geo-
graphical boundaries. And' po-
lice and hospitals cost money.
Can decent housing be related
to humanitarianism? "It's a
matter of fairness and equity,"
answers Crossman, his eyes in-
tense behind rimless glasses in
his skyscraper suite. "No Dallas
citizen should live in swamps or
filth."
Who can disagree?
Suffragette
Had Own Idea
About Prayer
By Peter Edson.
NEA Washington Correspondent
Washington, March 1.-At a
recent meeting of the Democratic
leaders with Gov. Adlai Steven-
son, there was a lot of talk about
r e o r ganizing
the National
C o m mitt ee
h e adquarters,
integrating the
I work of the
women's divi-
sion, wh ic h
had been run
somewhat sep-
arately, with
regular party
Edson work. In other
words, were
women people, and should they
be treated just like men voters?
Finally Gov. Stevenson was
called upon for his ideas and he
opened with # story about Miss
Pankhurst, the British suffra-
gette leader in the early days of
the woman's rights fight.
Miss Pankhurst was arrested
and thrown into jail so many
times she got used to it. After
one of her disturbances, she was
locked up with a younger suffra-
gette who had never been behind
bars before. Quite disturbed by
the experience, the young woman
was sobbing bitterly over her dis-
grace. Miss Pankhurst tried to
administer comfort without much
success, but finally said:
"Just you pray to God, and She
will comfort you."THE DAILY TIMES HERALD
Times, Established 1876
DALLAS, TEXAS
Consolidated January 1, 1888Herald, Established 1886
EDWIN J. KIEST,
Publisher, 1896-1941TOM C. GOOCH,
Publisher, 1941-1952OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
JOHN W. RUNYON, PresidentD. A. GREENWELL
Executive Vice-President,
Treasurer
C. V. UPTON
First Vice-President, Secretary
JAMES F. CHAMBERS, JR.
Vice-President, General Manager
CLYDE W. REMBERT
President, KRLDALLEN MERRIAM
Editor-in-Chief
B. C. JEFFERSON
Editor, Chief Editorial Writer
ALBERT N. JACKSON
Assistant to the President
CLYDE A. TABER
General SuperintendentTHE DAILY TIMES HERALD BUILDING, Herald Square, Dallas 2, Texas. Entered
as second-class matter at the postoffice at Dallas, Texas, under the act of
March 3, 1879.
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE-The Branham Company, Chicago,
New York, Detroit, St. Louis, Charlotte, 'Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles.
Memphis and Dallas.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES-Dallas and Dallas County: By Carrier or Mail. Daily and
Sunday, 35c per week, $1.50 per month. Outside of Dallas County: By Mail,
Daily and Sunday, $1.70 per month, $20.40 per year. (All mail subscriptions are
strictly cash in advance.)
Upcoming Parts
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This clipping can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this part or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current part of this Clipping.
Hoover, Dennis. [Clipping: Negro Home Projects Does Dallas Proud], clipping, March 1, 1953; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1835870/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.