Dallas The city of Blacks

The two pins that I chose to focus on in the map are the Dealey Plaza and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. In this map I chose, Dealey Plaza because it is where the lynchings of black Americans took place in the mid 1800's. Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is my second pin because it is the the second largest metro population of African-Americans in Dallas.

Dallas is one of the cities in Texas with the highest population of black people. The city was founded by John Neely Bryan, who settled on the east bank of the Trinity near a natural ford in November 1841. Bryan had picked the best spot for a trading post to serve the population migrating into the region. Dallas is located in Texas which is the second-largest city in the United States in population and land area. It lies in the south-central part of United States bordering with Mexican states, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arkansas.Texas was founded on 29th December 1845. The gulf coast map is the first historical document related to Texas, which was created by a Spanish explorer in 1519. It was a Spain territory up to 1821 when Mexicans possessed it. It remained as an independent country, the Republic of Texas from 1836 till 1845 when it joined the United States (Anderson, 2019). Texas is the second-largest city in the United States in population and land area. It lies in the south-central part of United States bordering with Mexican states, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arkansas.

Early Industrial or Agricultural Emphases

The industrial revolution in the city was one of the contributors to the transition of the manufacturing processes in the United States and Europe. It entailed moving from hand production to the use of machines, chemicals, steam power, and mechanization of the factory system. Flour and lumbering and grist milling were the first permanent industries to be established in Dallas during the early development period. Agriculture is also a massive industry in Dallas, which plays a significant role in the economy of the state. The other dominant industries in Dallas entail oil and petroleum, tourism, and entertainment.

Processes of Phases of Development

Dallas City is known for its petrochemical landscapes, and there is unprecedented growth following the residential boom. The economic and political change occurred in Dallas in the mid-20th century. It started transforming from a rural and agricultural state into an urban and industrialized state whose population grew due to huge levels of migrations. It experienced economic growth in the 1970s and the early 1980s, whereby its economy diversified, making it not to overly on the petroleum industry.

Significant Legislative Shifts

The constitution in Dallas got adopted in 1876, which provided the separation of powers. However, the city has unique provisions in the bill of rights compared to the federal counterpart. It has a system limiting the power of governors, whereby the public elects the executive officers compared to the other states. Its constitutions define the responsibilities of the county government, which are the agents of the country. Currently, the voters in Dallas enjoy the fiscal conservatism achieved in the 20th century, but they also have socially conservative values.

Major Debates and/or Contemporary Issues

The current major debates in Dallas are of property tax, school funding, criminal justice reform, marijuana, abortions, equal pay, student athletes and social right issues. All these issues are needed to be addressed. School safety is another major debate taking place in the city after 10 people were gunned down at Santa Fe High School in May, school district officials reevaluated safety measures and state leaders devised policies to prevent another tragedy from happening.

City Planning Efforts

Dallas must focus on improving the designs and how the streets are built in a bid to have an updated outlook. Moreover, the city is focusing on the Transportation Element. The Dallas Complete Streets Vision is to build streets that are safe and comfortable for all users – young and old, pedestrians and wheel chair users, motorists and bicyclists, bus and train riders alike. The city planning has been mandated to the The Planning & Urban Design Department. The Planning & Urban Design Department develops comprehensive plans, policies, and programs through effective community engagement. Our goal is to advance livability, economic vibrancy, sustainability, and equity within Dallas. 

Bibliography

Kubeer, A. A. (2019). Blue lives vs. black lives: one act that changed the perceptions of the Dallas Police Department officers. UMI thesis.

The paper opens with Shoghi Effendi's Advent of Divine Justice, 1938. “Let the Whites make supreme efforts to abandon their inherent and subconscious sense of superiority, to correct their tendency towards revealing a patronizing attitude towards the members of the other race. Let the Negroes, through a corresponding effort on their part, show by every means in their power the warmth of their response, their readiness to forget the past, and their ability to wipe out every trace of suspicion that may still linger in their hearts and minds.” The quality relationship between the police officers and the community is discussed to be essential in the community. It analyzes an instance in Dallas on 7th July 2016 when the police offices were affected due to the shootings of four of their officers. The "officers opened fire on the suspect, a Black male, and were able to keep protest participants safe. Explosives killed the shooter after a standoff with DPD officers. The investigation of the shooting included interviewing over 300 witnesses and reviewing 170 hours of body camera footage. This event may have had an adverse effect on how officers view Black citizens in Dallas, Texas (TX), due to the nature of the protest." The study examines how the police officers in Dallas judge their citizens, including racial relations, as well as the criticism faced by the police department in the city. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Blue Lives Matter movements arose from the perceived negative interactions between the police and the minorities. It found out that both actions had string agendas towards the disadvantage of the minorities in the region. The article will help explore how the perceptions of police officers in Dallas. It will support the assumption of the impacts of the blacks' movements, including the actions taken against the blacks who kill police officers. It will also be critical in understanding why and how officers view the community members they serve, which is vital to maintaining a strong foundation for that respective relationship.

Ristroph, A. (2017). The Constitution of Police Violence. UCLA L. Rev., 64, 1182.

The police force is always under scrutiny in America due to several killings of black people conducted by police officers. Mainly, the murders are assumed to be authorized while the constitution doctrine states the opposite. The federal courts in the United States had always endorsed broad police authority to seize since the 1960s when police officers stopped, arrested, and used force. The paper analyzes the amendment of the seizure authority in the United States. The author found out that there has been less attention paid to the compliance and resistance concepts. Throughout the constitutions, there is a demand for compliance and condemnation for resistance. The police are required to use violence during resistance, while compliance is distributed along the racial lines. The author proposes that "Instead of condemning all resistance, the constitutional doctrine could and should protect certain forms of non-violent resistance both in police encounters and in later court proceedings. Embracing resistance could help constrain police authority and mitigate racial disparities in criminal justice, and surprisingly enough, it may yet reduce violence". She also suggests that the recent police violence incidents should not view as unfortunate or historical anomalies but as wrongdoing acts. The article will help discuss the distribution of police violence in Dallas. It will help understand the racial burdens and the impacts of resistance and compliance among the African Americans in Dallas. It will be central in analyzing the rights of non-compliance and resistance for blacks living in Dallas.

Thompson, C. L. (2019). "If There Is Common Rough Work to Be Done, Call on Me:" Tracing the Legacy of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper in the Black Lives Matter Era. Journal of Pan African Studies, 12(9), 93-110.

Thompson explores the connection between Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's work and that of contemporary Black women activists on the front lines of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The author found that since Harper's death, the economic, political, and social have been driven by the resistance of the African American women and the democratic system in the nation. Throughout the essay, she argues that "common rough work" of defending and preserving the lives of Black women and men, reconstructing Black womanhood, and laboring to bring about a just and equitable society can be linked to the contemporary resistance against the annihilation of Black lives that is at the core of the Black Lives Matter Movement." However, Harper's legacy continues to dominate the struggle for black women activists to save blacks' lives in Dallas and America. Harper influenced the battle of the black women activists in defending their rights as well as the lives of the Black Americans. The article will help discuss how the African Americans in Dallas expose the contradictions in the democratic government. It also includes how the blacks in Dallas denounce the democratic government's hypocrisy despite not being politically, economically, and physically free. It will address the challenges confronting African Americans in Dallas in the 21st century.

St. Clair; Cayton Drake, Horace R.; Cayton, Horace R. Black Metropolis: A Study of Negro Life in a Northern City (1962)

This article entails an in-depth analysis of the lives of Negroes after getting from the plantations in the south to the northern urban areas. The author discusses how they were denied equal opportunities as other people. Most of the Negroes were born in the south and came to the city as adults after World War II. The migration was a result of manpower needed during the war and for commercial purposes, such as seeking better wages. The Negroes had different experiences in Metropolis, but they embraced it as their new home and continued to invade the region. They preferred Metropolis as it was better than the south due to freedom and equality. However, they were denied the right to compete with white people for political and economic power. Clair et al. 1962 discuss the color line in Metropolis, including whether they accepted segregation and subordination. This article will help compare the economic and political power of African Americans in Dallas to those of the black people in the Metropolis. It will help in gauging the freedom and equality of African Americans in Dallas. It will also help compare the place for blacks in society.

Jessica Gordon Nembhard, Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice, The Pennsylvania State University Press

The article entails an analysis of Black co-ops, a report by Jessica Gordon. She acknowledges W.E.B Dubois, a black scholar, as one of the African Americans. They viewed cooperative economics as a source of racial, economic inequality while searching for solutions to bring economic development in rural and urban areas. It entails a monograph put by Dubois and the efforts put by the African Americans to better their society. The author quotes that "Often white landlords, insurance agents, banks, and even the federal government created barriers to thwart the success of these businesses by raising the rent, refusing a line of credit, withdrawing an insurance policy, or even accusing the company of fraud." The Africans had to find a way of bettering themselves. Dubois's monograph entailed a comprehensive study of the activities put by African Americans. For instance, they pooled money to end enslavement, forming their communities and leadership. Du Bois explains that Blacks have combined resources through churches, mutual aid societies, fraternal organizations, and jointly owned businesses. Du Bois (1907) documented hundreds of mutual aid societies and cooperative projects through religious and benevolence institutions, beneficial and insurance corporations, secret societies, schools, and financial institutions. The article will help explain how African Americans in Dallas live. It will help in understanding the cooperative activity among African Americans, including the opposition they face. It is also central to understanding the roots of the African American movement.