Elm Thicket/Northpark Offers a Lesson in Persistence and Patience

Elm Thicket/Northpark has drawn the short straw for decades. Residents have historically been pushed out of their neighborhood, then pushed some more.

“Our neighborhood used to be twice the size it is now,” Mimi Perez said.

Perez and her family have lived in the neighborhood, on the same street, in the same home, for almost 30 years. This past Saturday was especially poignant for her.

As neighbors gathered to celebrate the unveiling of a state historical marker, cementing the neighborhood’s place in history, Perez remembered those who could not celebrate.

“Looking at the marker, remembering the neighbors I knew, who knew my daughter when she was little but who didn’t live to see this moment, was sad,” she said. “This was long overdue, but it’s here now, so future generations will see it.”

And that is indeed significant.

History of Elm Thicket

In the 1800s Elm Thicket was farmland, worked by enslaved people. It was settled as a Freedman’s Town and grew into a self-sustaining and close-knit neighborhood. In 1929, the city pushed the neighborhood by annexing Elm Thicket, delaying basic services and access to transportation. A 1934 newspaper article reported the neighborhood “may get city water service if the cost is not too great.” The Federal Housing Administration gave yet another push with redlining. The residents, however, continued to build their neighborhood and, in 1950, opened Hilliard Golf Course, one of the first for African Americans in the South.

Four years later, the expansion of Love Field pushed Elm Thicket once again. The golf course, businesses, and over 300 homes were destroyed. The first black millionaire in Dallas, Eltee O. Dave, lost his business, Dave’s Bar-B-Q. The Elm Thicket Newsletter offers the following story that lends insight into what residents have endured.

By the 1940s, Mr. Dave had expanded his business to include several rent houses, a motel, a service station, and a wood yard where residents bought wood to cook with. Mr. Dave was the largest landowner in the area.

Unfortunately, the expansion of Love Field in the 1950s and the relocation of Lemmon Avenue to the east cut right through Dave’s Bar-B-Q. At that time, roughly half of Elm Thicket was lost in the Love Field expansion. 

ETNP News

Elm Thicket Stands Up to Developers

Being pushed never stopped the residents, however. Recently, residents once again had to stand up and defend their architecture, lifestyle, and even their name. Developers eyeing the neighborhood for gentrification started making up names. 

“Elm Thicket is a hotbed,” neighborhood president and legacy resident Jonathan Maples said.” “Because it’s nestled between SMU and Love Field and 15 minutes from anywhere, the tax base is rich for the City of Dallas.”  

Residents spent five years on the City Plan Commission docket, waiting their turn to voice concerns over the destruction of their neighborhood’s history and character. In October 2022, the Dallas City Council unanimously approved a plan to change development standards for new home construction. You’d think that finally, the Elm Thicket/Northpark neighbors could rest easy. That’s not the case.

Elm Thicket /Northpark is Being Pushed Again, And They Are Pushing Back

According to several neighbors, the Board of Adjustment is apparently not reading what was approved for the builders.

“They don’t ask permission, they ask forgiveness,” Maples said. “More than 80  percent of the time, the Board of Adjustment sides with the builders. So, five years of being on the docket to wait our turn and then have what was agreed on overturned by the Board of Adjustment means something is broken here. We are being colonized to be displaced for a second time. Many communities have been displaced once, but where has an attempt been made to be displaced twice except here? Where do we go? You just don’t give up. You continue to fight for what is important  and continue to tell your history and your story.”

That story will never be erased now.

“The state historical marker cements our place in history,” Maples said. “Generations to come will know this neighborhood was here, African Americans lived here, freedmen lived here.  It truly means it won’t be forgotten. Elm Thicket is our village. We were looked at as less than, and we thrived. The next step is to protect our neighborhood and not be pushed again. At the end of the day, it’s not just Elm Thicket/Northpark that can be affected. It should concern every neighborhood. “

We should also recognize that no matter how hard they are pushed, the Elm Thicket/Northpark neighborhood has given us an example to live by. Stand firm and fight for your story, your culture, and your way of life. Be persistent and have patience.