Freedman Town's legacy lives on in Dallas' Uptown: Preserving History
DALLAS – Taking the pulse of progress, what is now Dallas' trendy Uptown neighborhood was once a thriving community built by former slaves, known as Freedman Town. Now, descendants are working to ensure their stories are not lost.
"Katie Johnson Warren was my paternal grandmother," explains Kathleen Sanders. "She was an enterprising woman who lived here when it was Freedman Town. She purchased this property in 1916."
More than a century later, Warren's two-story home at the corner of Thomas and Allen is prime real estate in the bustling neighborhood now known as Uptown. The family has no plans to sell, but Sanders is eager to share her grandmother's story.
"There was segregation. There were so many limitations in mainstream society," explains Sanders. "But in Freedman Town, people felt comfortable. People felt like they could live."
For the past year, Sanders has worked with historians to satisfy her curiosity and preserve the stories of her own and other families who built the thriving community. She recalls tidbits that older relatives once shared.
"She talked about coming into the house as a little girl, probably in the early '30s, and passing by the parlor here, filled or brimming, as she said, brimming with white people waiting to see Katie for counsel because she was a clairvoyant."
So, was Warren clairvoyant or just savvy?
"That is the $64 question," responds Sanders with a wry smile. "And we explore that in the documentary."
With support from the Summer Lee Foundation, the documentary includes academic voices sharing painful truths. W. Marvin Dulaney, Ph.D., Deputy Director and COO of the African American Museum Dallas, shares in the documentary, "There's all this violence that takes place where former slave masters are beating up, killing, trying to re-establish slavery. Freedman Towns were where African Americans were safe to live without violence from whites."
The documentary debuts at 1 p.m. Saturday at the African American Museum in Fair Park. The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to dickersonciviccenter.org.
When asked why she wants the public to come, Sanders replied, "Inspiration."
And perhaps, she adds, encouragement to explore your own family's stories.
"Sometimes we have to encourage our elders to share because struggle and suffering is not always what people want to talk about," says Sanders. "The hard times. But those hard times are monumental in terms of how they have prepared us for this moment."