Pythian Temple, Dallas

Designed by William Sidney Pittman, the first African American architect in Dallas, the Grand Temple of the State Grand Lodge of the Knights of Pythias was completed in 1916. It was declared a Historic Landmark in 1989.


According to an article from the December 20, 2007 Dallas Observer: 

"It was, in the early 1900s, the hub of Dallas' then-thriving middle-class black community -- a social see-and-be-seen and a business center, among its many purposes. The Fisk Jubilee Singers, George Washington Carver and Marcus Garvey were featured guests as well. 'This building was the black professional building, says author and historian Alan Govenar. 'It was a meeting ground of the best minds of the day.' Adds Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price. 'It's a signal of an era where African-Americans in this city understood that they could in fact produce something within the confines of whatever constraints were out there'."

Allen Chapel AME

Pittman graduated from the Tuskegee Institute mechanical drawing program and the architecture program at Drexel University in Philadelphia, and then returned to Tuskegee to head the architecture department. While there, he married Booker T. Washington's daughter Portia. The couple moved to Washington DC where Pittman established a successful practice, and in 1913 moved to Dallas. He designed structures throughout the state, including the Colored Carnegie Library in Houston, the city's first library for African Americans. 

Joshua Chapel AME

Pittman did not work as an architect after 1928. Supporting himself as a carpenter, he published a controversial weekly newspaper, The Brotherhood Eyes. 

Other buildings Pittman designed which are still standing are Allen Chapel AME in Fort Worth, Joshua Chapel AME in Waxahachie, Wesley Chapel AME in Houston, and St. James AME in Dallas, now used as a office building. He and other African American architects were the subject of a symposium earlier this year by the Dallas Architecture Forum

Ernie Banks

"Let's play two!"

So, there are two posts today, in honor of Dallas native Ernie Banks, who spent his entire major league career with the Chicago Cubs and was known for his enthusiasm and upbeat personality.

Banks, the first African American player for the Cubs in 1953, was twice named National League MVP and inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. He retired in 1971 with 512 career home runs, including 277 at shortstop -- a record eventually broken by Cal Ripken Jr.

Banks currently lives in the Los Angeles area. He has established the "Live Above and Beyond" Foundation, whose purpose is to "eliminate prejudice, support programs that enhance neighborhoods, and relieve discrimination among various ages groups and races."

Below are excerpts from a 2006 interview about segregation and cultural changes in baseball.

Juanita Craft

Civil rights advocate Juanita Craft helped form 182 NAACP branches during her 11 years as Texas State Field Organizer. She also served the Dallas NAACP as membership chair and youth leader, and was given the organization's Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award for 50 years of service. She led efforts to integrate the University of North Texas, University of Texas Law School, the Texas State Fair, and the Dallas Independent School District. She was the first African American woman in Dallas county to vote, and served later as Democratic Precinct Chair. She also served two terms on the Dallas City Council.

Mrs. Craft was born February 9, 1902 in Round Rock near Austin. She attended Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College (now Prairie View A&M University) and later received a teaching certificate from Samuel Huston College (now Huston-Tillotson College). Her home (left) is now part of Dallas' Wheatley Place Historical District. A recreation center, post office, and park have been named in her honor.

Paul Quinn College

Founded in 1872 by the African Methodist Episcopal Church and named after the fourth AME bishop, Paul Quinn College is the oldest historically black liberal arts college in Texas. Originally in Austin, it relocated to Waco in 1877 and then to its current home in Dallas in 1990.

Last year, PQC's unused football field was turned into a community farm in partnership with Pepsico's Food For Good initiative. The college was named HBCU of the Year for 2011 by the Center for HBCU Media Advocacy Inc., and Michael J Sorrell was among the nominees for President of the Year.