83R18733 JGH-D
By: Giddings H.R. No. 1336
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The proud heritage of a Dallas institution is being
honored on April 12, 2013, with the dedication of the Moorland YMCA
Building on Flora Street as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark; and
WHEREAS, In the late 1920s, the Young Men's Christian
Association of Dallas began an effort to create a YMCA in the
African American neighborhood of North Dallas; despite the economic
hardship of the Great Depression, local residents raised $75,000,
and another $25,000 was contributed by the Rosenwald Fund, which
helped build YMCAs for African American communities across the
American South; and
WHEREAS, Named for Dr. Reverend Jesse Edward Moorland, a
national official of the YMCA, the new facility was designed in the
Italian Renaissance Revival style and opened in 1930; it offered
programs in education and recreation for local youth and made its
gymnasium available for use by nearby schools; a number of
prominent athletes received their earliest training there, among
them welterweight boxing champion Curtis Cokes, professional
football player Jimmy "Iron Claw" Hill, and Chicago Cubs shortstop
Ernie Banks; and
WHEREAS, This handsome, redbrick building became a hub for
the social, cultural, and political life of the African American
community in Dallas as one of the few places where African Americans
could congregate outside of church; it served as an important
meeting venue for civil rights activists and members of the NAACP,
and it provided hospitality for African American visitors who had
difficulty finding a hotel room in the segregated city; famous
overnight guests included boxer Muhammad Ali and Supreme Court
Justice Thurgood Marshall; and
WHEREAS, Eventually the needs of area YMCA members outgrew
the building, and the facility on Flora Street was closed in 1970
and replaced with a location in Oak Cliff; the Moorland YMCA
Building continues to serve the community today as the home of the
Dallas Black Dance Theatre, which purchased the property in 1999;
and
WHEREAS, For more than 80 years, the Moorland YMCA Building
on Flora Street has played a meaningful role in the lives of African
Americans in Dallas, and the preservation of this notable structure
for future generations is truly deserving of recognition; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the dedication of the Moorland YMCA
Building as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and commend all
those responsible for this noteworthy occasion.