2022 February Oak Cliff Advocate

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feb 22 contents

OAK CLIFF ADVOCATE VOL.16 NO.2

PROFILE 6 Viola Delgado’s reassuring public art DINING 16 El Mero Mero Elotero’s special ingredient FEATURES 20 Love stories from our neighborhood 26 Pan African Connection’s new children’s book COLUMNS 28 Worship: Unpacking the Colleyville incident 29 Book talk: Love through many lenses Viola Delgado’s tile mosaic at the Dallas County Government Building in Oak Cliff features the Trinity River’s Caddo name, Arkikosa. Photography by Jessica Turner.

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Viola Delgado’s art adds encouragement to public spaces › Story by RACHEL STONE | Photography by JESSICA TURNER

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xcept for those skipping to the courthouse with a marriage license, the new Dallas County Government Building in Oak Cliff can be an unpleasant place to go. It’s where evictions are filed and truants are punished, for example. But a little comfort is provided visually. The building is filled with natural light and comprises a gallery of Latino art, inside and out, curated by Jorje Baldor, the Dallas Housing Authority board chairman who owns Mercado369. “Right now, things are just so hard for everybody,” artist Viola Delgado says. “If we can have art like this that reminds people of a happier time, why not?” Delgado has three muralsize paintings on canvas in the building, featuring vibrantly colored landscapes and women wearing shawls. The paintings were supposed to be a tryptic, titled Purple Mountain Majesties, although they’re not all placed together. “The women are the ancestors that support us and go before us and come after us,” Delgado says. “Those women just want to go everywhere,” because they keep popping up in her work, through inspiration or by request from commissions. Delgado, who has lived in Vickery Meadow since 1998, has kept busy over the past 15 years or so creating public art for DFW International Airport and DART. Her piece at DFW’s Terminal D, gates 8-10, is a tile mosaic inlaid to the floor depicting eight blue hands and eight infinity symbols. “There’s something very mystical about that,” she says. “They didn’t put it at gate 8 intentionally. It was supposed to be gates 1-3 originally.” The piece honors her father, who died before it was completed.

“He and my mom planned to travel when he retired, and then my mother got Parkinson’s, so I did all that in his honor so that he’ll always be at the airport going somewhere,” she says. That commission also jetted her into public art. Her mosaics at DART stations include six deeply colorful mosaics at Lake June Station, installed about 10 years ago. All of those have to do with agriculture. The builder independently commissioned her to tile the station’s columns as well. Baldor asked Delgado to create a tile mosaic depicting the Trinity River at the Oak Cliff government building. Oak Cliff-based artist and West Dallas native Angela Faz suggested putting the river’s Caddo name, Arkikosa, in the piece. All of Delgado’s mosaics start with paintings, and the rest is produced industrially in Cuernavaca, Mexico. A studio there makes Byzantine glass tiles using old techniques, but its computers match the colors and work out the math — how many tiles of each color are needed and where each one of thousands should be set. The result is tiles in vibrant colors that exude Delgado’s Latino culture. When Delgado, who’s 68, started in the late 1980s, there were few spaces available to Latino artists, unlike now, she says. “People would get tired of being invited to Cinco de Mayo and things like that,” she says. “But it didn’t matter to me, because I figured exposure of any kind was better, and I started selling small pieces through that.” Delgado grew up in Sinton, Texas, and her family moved to Plano when she was in high school. She graduated from Dallas Baptist

University and worked for Dallas ISD’s migrant education program for about seven years. She later took art classes at El Centro, now Dallas College, and then enrolled in the Art League School in Alexandria, Virginia, where she lived with a friend, and learned printmaking. An allergy to chemicals forced her to pivot to painting. She moved to an apartment off Matilda Street around 1987, and her nextdoor neighbor was artist Filberto Chapa, who died in 2019. “A lot of writers and artists used to live all through there at that time,” she says. “We were very poor. Sometimes Filberto would pay the electric bill and I would pay the water bill, and we would just share.” They ran extension cords between the two buildings and carried water in jugs back and forth. “We did what it took to continue doing what we loved to do,” she says. “Now my career is taking off, but it took a lot.” Public art commissions can take 2-5 years from start to finish. “To be a public artist, you really have to have a lot of patience,” she says. “I listen to what they say and put visuals to their words. That’s the easiest part to do. If you just listen, they tell you what they want.” Delgado is not represented by a gallery, but she can be contacted directly through her website, violadelgado.com.

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LEVELING THE FIELD HOW A SMALL, LOCAL CONSULTING GROUP IS HELPING DALLAS GET ITS EQUITY AGENDA IN ORDER

Story by CHRISTINA HUGHES BABB | Photography by CORRIE AUNE HAROLD HOGUE AND LAUREN COPPEDGE have much in common. They both began their careers as public school educators, witnessed the inner workings of Dallas ISD and have seen, up close, social inequities and opportunities for change. What’s more, both have a record of acting on those realizations and improving the worlds they occupy. Their differences, however, make them an especially effective team. He lives in southern Oak Cliff. She lives in Preston Hollow. Last December the City of Dallas’ office of equity and inclusion announced a collaboration with their small, albeit established, social impact consulting firm, Cospero, to create our city’s first racial equity plan. Hogue lightheartedly complains about delayed recycling pickups in his neighborhood. Coppedge

smiles when the room jokes that sanitation services in her Sparkman Estates subdivision, located in a pricier part of the city, are probably on time, every time. And while that is a quip, an assumption, the Resilient Dallas study — a touchstone document in creating Dallas’ racial equity agenda — shows that white Dallasites earn more money and live in more affluent neighborhoods with better services and amenities than their Black or Hispanic counterparts. Achieving racial equity in the City would mean that race or ethnicity no longer predicts economic or educational opportunity, access to housing and quality infrastructure, health services or levels of legal justice, the consultants say. “That we’re telling two stories, or a story from different angles, makes our partnership work. You need the heart and the head — and the different lived realities —

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every day,” Hogue says. Whether Coppedge or Hogue is the heart or the head varies from day to day, they say. Hogue started as a teacher and later moved up to Dallas ISD’s central offices. He coached youth football in the Fair Park area after school. That’s where “the light bulb went off,” he says. He saw the disconnect between the administrators’ efforts and the needs of the parents and students he engaged with on the field. “Most of those working at DISD were well-intentioned — I was inside and never felt malicious intent — but they were dealing with systems, structures and barriers that keep them from delivering on the mission for families.” He wanted to package all the things he was learning, try to repair things at an institutional level. He joined nonprofit boards and entered a fellowship program at a nonprofit called Leadership

ISD, which focuses on racial equity in public schools. That’s where he met Coppedge. As a teacher in St. Louis, she saw lower-income families deprived of quality classroom experiences. Attempts to do better for her students were thwarted by administrative policies. The same realizations, frustrations and ideologies that motivated Hogue drove her to the nonprofit sector. Hogue was the first of the two to strike out on his own, quitting his job right after his wedding day and giving himself 90 days to start earning a living as a consultant. “It was a common entrepreneurial story,” he says. He sold his car, continued hustling, and proved himself working with United Way, Fair Park and other well-established local organizations. He recruited Coppedge in part because she excelled at design and marketing. Cospero, with a staff of fewer than 10 employees, had a number of projects in its portfolio prior to submitting its racial-equityplan bid. To name a few, they led United Way’s Grow South Grow Strong initiative, worked alongside Teach.org to devise recruitment strategies for Texas Woman's University and they facilitated a joint program venture between Leadership ISD and The Concilio, which empowers Lantinx families with students in public schools. The racial equity plan, slated to be presented to Dallas City Council in summer 2022, will help the city prioritize and establish measurable short- and long-term goals and accountability metrics. REP development relies heavily on input from residents. To that end, Cospero has launched in-person and virtual engagement strategies. At the center of that is the WeareoneDallas.org, a website that explains the effort and allows Dallas residents to weigh in. There is no shortage of ideas and input, but people don’t trust that things will actually happen, Hogue says. Many feel this way, even some

city council members. During a recent subcommittee meeting, in response to an audit on the housing department’s comprehensive housing plan, District 1 representative Chad West (while pointing to the plan’s reported lack of racial equity goals) said, “Numerous strategic plans have been created by housing task forces and consultants over the years, but when staff and council are left to their own devices to implement them, little has occurred and goals were not met.” It is one of the things that keeps coming up, Hogue says. “What we are doing actually has not been done before, involving every one of the City’s 40-plus departments. We've read through dozens of plans, and we want the racial equity plan to be a driver of all those other plans, the ones that directly impact race.” Coppedge describes the effort as creating a table of contents, making previous work more accessible and implementable. “It’s going to be the one place that people can go to see how disparities are being addressed,” Coppedge says. For the public, press or City staff, that means the racial equity plan will be in one place, and “it can inform those (existing) plans to just be more impactful,” Coppedge says. Interdepartmental cooperation is unique to the creation of this racial equity plan, says City of Dallas equity officer Dr. Lindsey Wilson. It’s different from anything that has been done in the past. It is more accurate to describe the REP as a “strategic framework” than to look at it as a new plan, Wilson says. “And the beauty of it being collective is that it gives us the opportunity to look at plans that are either in place or have been created and ask, ‘Where does the equity show up here?’” The REP is not a from-scratch, brand new document, but rather “an embedding of work that departments have already committed to,” Wilson says. She believes every department at City Hall has a part to play when it

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comes to achieving racial equity. “In spite of how either internal-facing or community facing our departments are,” Wilson says, “everyone literally has a critical role to make this happen.” The Cospero consultants are meeting one by one with those City departments. In fact, Hogue says, he’s meeting with the sanitation department this week, which is “so funny” considering the flyer he just received about the delayed recycling pickup in his Red Bird neighborhood. “It’s too much,” he says laughing. “But it shows how real it is for us. The thing that excites me is that we're working internally to shift external practices that actually impact the day to day lives of all residents.” Weigh in on Dallas’ racial equity plan at weareonedallas.org FEBRUARY 2022

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PORCELAIN PRESS KING

DYSON STYLES GIVES CLIENTS THE CELEBRITY TREATMENT AT THIS SWISS AVENUE SALON Interview by RAVEN JORDAN | Photography by JESSICA TURNER

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or hair so smooth and glossy, it looks like porcelain, talk to Dyson Styles. Walk into his eponymous salon at the corner of Cantegral and Swiss Avenue, and it could be mistaken for a bar or selfie spot if not for the shampoo sinks and salon chairs on either side of the space. Giant paintings adorn the wall, the work of local artist Paris Love who has a studio nestled inside Styles’ salon. The salon is split into three sections. At the entrance is the main part, complete with shampoo sinks, salon chairs and ring lights. In the back — for clients seeking a more personalized and intimate experience — covered by a curtain, is a private room decorated with tan leather seating. Styles does clients’ hair personally, without assistant stylists and with all organic products. “I do it myself because I think the clients really like the whole one-on-one,” he says. “I press all day long, so I have perfected that. They want the experience.” Styles, 49, who dons a clean-shaven head, has spent the past 20 years turning Black women’s natural curls into silky, straight hair. A menu of services includes the signature porcelain press start-

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ing at $95, which can last one to two hours depending on hair length. The one-step smoothing system, a low pH, chemical-free amino acid smoothing treatment that “keeps hair smooth and manageable during warmer months,” costs $200. Clients also have options for demiand semi-permanent hair color and healthy hair treatments at $50 each that range from protein and honey to hydration and a boost protein system. “I love to see when (a client) comes in with a big afro,” Styles says. “And to see it go from kinky to straight.” It started with a collection plate passed around at church. Dreams of becoming a school principal were turned into becoming a hairstylist when Styles saw the large monetary offering his roommate dropped on the plate. That’s when he decided to make hair his forte. From there, he got the training and license needed to press and style full-time. In 2001, Styles began his hair career in Atlanta at the salon and spa Nseya, where he had his own chair. It was during his time in Atlanta, just a normal winter day in December, that he was personally approached by Beyoncé to style her hair for the 2009 January cover of Elle magazine. Beyoncé had seen the work he did on another woman while both were getting their nails done and wanted something similar done with her hair. That same weekend in December 2008, Beyoncé booked an appointment with Styles and flew out to Nseya. “Elle decided to use my hairstyle in the magazine, so that’s how that happened,” he says. “I never thought in a million years I would be working with her, and she’s like, ‘Oh, I liked what you did,’ and we went from there.” A framed autograph from the superstar sits in a corner of the salon, but the experience was as if he was

just with another client. Despite her status, he says she wasn’t a diva. “She and I were singing back and forth with each other, having fun,” he says. “I really did not realize, I mean to me, she was not a celebrity. She was just someone whose hair I did.” Styles can regularly be caught singing and dancing in his salon around clients, which says something about his enthusiasm at work. “To be honest, all my clients are celebrities,” he says. Overwhelmed with Atlanta’s saturated salon scene, he made his return to Dallas five years ago and lives in Oak Cliff. Not far from Deep Ellum, Styles’ salon sits next to a historic red brick cathedral. There’s just something about the vibe that sets it apart from Atlanta. “Dallas is home, and there’s really more opportunities in Dallas,” he says. “I like the vibe, the old and the new. I love how they’re revising old neighborhoods.”

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“One day I was pressing someone’s hair,” he says. “And they were like, this looks like porcelain. And the whole king thing, social media did that.” As Styles became more popular on social media, particularly Instagram, his followers dubbed him the “porcelain press king.” His Atlanta clients are more than willing to fly to Dallas for appointments. So are his clients from Las Vegas, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami and other cities across the country to experience the work of the porcelain press king. A day with 12 to 14 hours spent delivering presses to clients, at this point, comes naturally and no longer feels like work. ‘They called me ‘the king,’ ‘the goat,’ so I’m all of that now.” Dyson Styles is located at 2700 Swiss Ave. Services are by appointment at dysonstyles.com.

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A CA RT W I T H H E A RT El Mero Mero Elotero brings Mexican street food to a corner near you Story by RACHEL STONE | Photography by KATHY TRAN

RAFAEL PEÑA wanted a food cart as good as the ones he knew visiting his parents’ hometowns in Mexico, but he never could find one that totally satisfied him. Last summer, he and his wife, Amanda, opened their own, El Mero Mero Elotero, which operates regularly at locations in Oak Cliff. Elotes and beef hot dogs are always on the menu, along with aguas frescas ($3.50), served with locally made chamoy rim dip, in flavors such as cucumber-lime, pineapple or strawberry. Amanda

makes them herself from fresh fruit, and she always brings at least one homemade dessert, such as cake or candy. Sometimes they have hamburgers. On nights when it’s not too busy, Rafael also stirs up hibachi fried rice piled with steak, chicken and veggies ($15). Order elotes ($4.50) with crunched-up Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, cheese puffs or Takis on top, or just the standard way, with butter, crema and queso fresco. El Mero Mero Elotero cuts it off the cob to order. “We use nothing but fresh

corn. We don’t use frozen corn or canned corn or nothing precooked,” he says. Loaded hot dogs ($8) come with bacon, grilled onions and bell peppers, queso fresco, pico de gallo and ketchup. Rafael is a talkative guy who remembers his regulars’ names. The 25-year-old grew up in Oak Cliff and graduated from Molina High School. He worked at Mariscos 2000 on Forest Lane. After he met Amanda, he started at the restaurant her father owns, El Taxqueño, on Zang at Suffolk. Later he was FEBRUARY 2022

Above: Rafael and Amanda Peña serve satisfied customers in a Gilpin Avenue lot five nights a week. Opposite page: Hibachi fried rice piled with grilled veggies, chicken and steak.

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hired at U-Haul and worked his way up to manager. “It taught me a lot about business, profit and loss,” he says. “I had to hire my own people and train them.” But he wasn’t satisfied with just having a job. Rafael’s older brother, Noe Román Peña, was killed in 2016. He says they used to dream of having their own businesses, and that’s always motivated him to reach for more. Amanda’s dad already had the elotes cart and trailer, and they added a professional portable blacktop grill. They’re open five nights a week, and the rest of their time is spent shopping and prepping. Finding fresh corn in the wintertime is expensive and can be next to impossible, which surprised them at first. They both have plenty of food-service experience, and they’re learning everything else as they go. They sell out by 10 or 11 most nights. The Peñas live in Cockrell Hill with four cats and a bird, and they plan to continue saving until they can invest in their own restaurant. Rafael says he’s “not a chef,” but he experiments and learns new things from YouTube or friends, and he especially enjoys Korean food. For things to taste good, he says, “You need love.” El Mero Mero Elotero, 420 N. Gilpin Ave. Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 5-10:30 p.m. (but they’re sometimes open as early as 1:30 p.m. on Sundays)

FEBRUARY 2022

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truly, madly, deeply FRIENDSHIP TO ROMANCES, HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS, SECOND CHANCES — THESE ARE WHAT MAKE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD HOME. HERE ARE OUR LOVE STORIES. 20

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FEBRUARY 2022

ydney Allen was on the playground at Rosemont Elementary in second grade when she met Bobby Allen. Sydney grew up on Colorado Boulevard, and Bobby grew up on the corner of Salmon Drive and Tyler

Street.

Both graduated from Texas A&M University in 1990. They stayed friends when they moved back to Dallas. The old country-andwestern dance club near NorthPark Center was a favorite spot. It wasn’t until 1994 that Bobby convinced Sydney they should go out. “My roommate at the time said, ‘You know, you really should consider dating him. He just looks at you in a very different kind of way’,” Sydney says. “And I said, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve known him all my life. I don’t know if it would ruin a friendship.’”

he had talked to his best friend and said he really “couldn’t afford to get married, but he couldn’t afford not to.” “You know, I think at that moment I was pretty confident that he was the one for me,” Sydney says. In April, Sydney and Bobby stopped at Rosemont Elementary. Bobby had a little sack lunch with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, orange slices and small cartons of milk, just like their lunches in second grade. They had a picnic right there at the playground. Bobby gave her a ring and said, “This is where we had met. And you know, this is where I want to be with you for the rest of my life.” “It was kind of a magical moment,” she says. Their wedding included 500 guests at a ceremony at First United Methodist Church Downtown.

Their friendship turned into romance seamlessly — she doesn’t quite remember the first official date, just that they started being more than friends in October.

“It was like a neighborhood reunion. Most of the time, you know, the bride knows certain people, and the groom knows other people,” Sydney says. “But we have so many people in common.”

In December, they were having dinner at El Chico on Beckley and Davis. Bobby told her

—by Jehadu Abshiro

FEBRUARY 2022

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It was 1976. Kirby Warnock was an editor for Stoney Burns’ music magazine Buddy. He was rubbing elbows with the Vaughan brothers. He was shooting pictures of Jerry Hall, who was dating Mick Jagger at the time. He was doing drugs. And he had a rock-n-roll marriage with Jennifer. Warnock met Brian Moore-Jones, and they decided to start a video production company. They took out an $8,000 bank loan in 1982. Instead of buying the equipment, Moore-Jones spent the money on cocaine, fatally shot a man who tried to collect the owed money and headed to prison for 35 years. Moore-Jones’ wife Sarah divorced him. Then, Warnock’s wife filed for divorce — his three-year marriage ended. It was time for church. A Baylor University alumnus, Warnock went to First Baptist Church Oak Cliff’s single adult Sunday school class, the first time he stepped in a church in 20 years. And there was Diann. “There was just something about her — she’s attractive, there was a kindness about her that just made her almost glow,” Warnock says. Their first date was at Cajun-inspired Andrew’s, located in the building that now houses Breadwinners. Warnock knew she was “the one” shortly after that. “I thought: This is a different kind of woman than I’ve ever met before,” he says. “And I think I just want to be with her for the rest of my life, you know, and we didn’t date a real long time.” They eloped March 12, 1987, in Crested Butte, Colorado. He’d left Buddy magazine by then. He got a day-job writing business proposals. Diann and Kirby raised their three children. “She’s made my whole life better. She just made me a better person,” Warnock says. “That’s my little story of my love letter to her.” —by Jehadu Abshiro

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FEBRUARY 2022

hile growing up in Dallas I had no way of knowing that I would be embarking on a lifelong search for my cosmic twin, who was born the year before me near Los Angeles, in 1947. In hindsight, I liken the feeling to having a vital limb, an arm or a leg, missing. You can feel the existence of the missing limb but when you look down, you only see an empty sleeve. When I was 14, my parents sent me to a summer camp near Palm Springs, California. I traveled to the camp with two girlfriend/ sisters. After camp, the three of us spent time with relatives in and around the Los Angeles area. That’s when I could feel his presence the most. Wherever we went, I continued looking behind me for any approaching stranger; I knew he was there … somewhere. During that torturous summer, I had a feeling the person was a “him.” Never finding the “person” was a source of pain for me and depression I would not get over for years. But life must be lived anyway, so I continued my life and school studies. It's an interesting fact that when I returned to Dallas, I didn’t feel his presence nearly as strongly as I did in California. After attending a college near Dallas, I decided to move to California during my junior year, after I met an attractive man at a friend’s wedding. I married the guy. It didn’t work out and we were divorced within a few years. I was left with a young son to raise and

started attending one of the local universities to finish my education and obtain a degree. That's when I met a blueeyed transplant from Wisconsin. His name was Eric. We soon married, and he called me his soulmate, which we were not. Eric was a voracious reader and “schooled” me on such subjects such as reincarnation and soulmate culture. I didn’t pay much attention to it but always politely listened anyway. About a year before we were married, Eric asked if we could go to a local nude beach. I was not so much into going to a nude beach and never would have gone without Eric’s urging. After we arrived, Eric dropped his shorts and went directly to the water, so I was left alone to spread my beach blanket and remove my shorts and halter top, which I did reluctantly. Soon after, I heard a voice from behind me say, “Hi.” I turned to my left. He then said, “I’m Daniel.” The year was 1973, and I was face-toface with the man I would know and love for the rest of our lives. He saw me arrive and approached me, even though I was accompanied by another man. He told me he was married but his wife was not at the beach that day. They had moved from Virginia, where he’d been discharged from the Navy, and they were looking for new friends. He was easy-going, friendly, with a valid explanation for everything. The next day Eric, my 3-year-old child and I were at Dan’s apartment to meet him and his wife, Cassie. At the time, all I knew is that I would feel more balanced and grounded whenever I was in Daniel’s presence. We went on couples’ vacations, attended parties and generally hung out together until Eric and I were divorced in 1980-81. I remained friends with Dan and Cassie after my divorce. I told Dan that I was his friend and could not properly connect with his wife. He said nothing, but I knew he understood. Both Dan and I had similar personalities; we were both quiet and reserved. When I became a high-fashion couture model, Daniel took outdoor location photos of me for my model’s portfolio — he had been an amateur photographer since he was

15. Even though I felt close to Dan, we never disrespected his wife or my then-husband, Eric. Dan and I went on many excursions together, yet his wife never acted jealous of our relationship. He once asked me for an affair, but I would require more from him than sex, so I turned him down. Our closeness continued. It was now 1985. Daniel moved his wife and child to Ankara, Turkey, for overseas employment. He would keep in touch with me over the years until he and his wife came to visit me in Denver, where I’d moved in 1988 with my third husband, Mel. After the Denver visit, I would not see Daniel for 30 years, but he insisted on constant communication between the two of us, now by email and overseas phone calls. He worked all over the world, but would send emails and photographs of his exotic times away from the states, while always imploring me to visit wherever he landed. I would say “no“ because he usually worked in troubled areas of the globe. I asked why he didn’t ever work in France. In the fall of 2006, Daniel called to tell me that Cassie had passed away. I extended sincere condolences but didn’t mention our getting together because I’d been married for many years by then. We continued our communication, however, until my own husband, Mel, passed away in 2020. Daniel somehow used our great silent telepathy with one another and called to inquire as to what was going on. When I told him, he said to visit. He was now retired and living in a suburb of Los Angeles. Now we were talking several times a week and making exciting plans for travel and fun times as though we were teens. When we were both vaccinated against COVID, I traveled to Los Angeles. We spent a blissful — and the most intense loving time of our lives — for a week. And then the love of my life passed away from a massive stroke. I was with him when he transitioned and was very grateful, not only for our brief and wonderful time together, but for his peaceful transition. I believe Daniel and I shared a soul and were cosmically drawn together. We were in fact, cosmic twins or twin flames — not soulmates, as that designation cannot fully describe us. Our relationship never changed during the 48 years that I knew him; we never quarreled or became angry with one another, not once. Our love only grew in depth and complexity. Even though we both had other relationships in our lives, our relationship together was the one that truly mattered to both of us. I will grieve and love him for the rest of my life. But just as we are all imbued with stardust from the universe, my connection with Daniel can never be lost. I am sure I will see him again. Daniel was 74 when he passed away. I was 73. He was white, and I am Black. During the 48 years of our “conversational love affair,” we never discussed that fact once.

— As told by Alex Preston FEBRUARY 2022

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y late husband, Herb Summers, and I met on Valentine's Day in 1977 at Theater Three in Dallas. The play we saw was This Living Hand about the life of John Keats. We knew immediately that we would spend our lives together. Herb's ex-wife had asked for a divorce the day before. He had recently had knee surgery and asked to trade seats with me since I was sitting on the aisle and he could stretch out his leg. He later told

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FEBRUARY 2022

me he really just wanted to sit next to me since he thought I was prettier than my friend. Herb and I shared an interest in ar t, music, history, literature and sports. We were married Dec. 23, 1977. He told me every day that he loved and appreciated me. Herb died on Nov. 19, 2017. This is always a difficult day for me because I miss him so much. He always gave me beautiful valentines because this was such a special day to him. His greatest delight in our marriage was our two sons, Trevor and Christopher. How lucky I am to have been loved by this wonderful man.

—As told by Shirley Summers

ernita grew up in Wichita Falls. In the 1940s, pilots were being trained at nearby Sheppard Air Force Base. On Sundays, Fernita’s parents used to invite airmen to their home for lunch after church. Fernita remained a friendly and welcoming person like her parents throughout her life.

at Jefferson and Westmoreland while their son Richard and I were in high school. Then both families moved to Glendale Presbyterian, and Fernita and my family ended up at Oak Cliff Presbyterian when my younger sister was in high school. I am 76, and when the memories start coming they are fun to relive. I have worked with kids and done some of the kinds of things that Fernita did for us. She was a very special person in my life and in my younger sister's life, too. In fact, I would guess that most of us in my church youth group have never forgotten her.

—As told by Shirley Campbell

Merle Swalin was a pilot being trained at Sheppard. He was from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and appeared rather more serious than Fernita. One evening, Fernita and her friends were “cruising” and stopped to talk to two airmen. At first Fernita wasn’t interested, but when Merle asked if they would like to get some ice cream, she said OK, because she didn’t think there was a nearby place to get ice cream. Merle had spotted one already, so the foursome had ice cream that evening. This was in 1942 or 1943. They stayed in touch as Merle moved from base to base for training and finally, was going to be at Billings, Montana, a while. So Fernita took the train to Montana. They got a license and married there. Soon after, Merle was on his way to war. He was a pilot that flew the dangerous “hump” to deliver supplies to Chinese soldiers who were struggling against the Japanese. The hump was an air path from India to China over the Himalayan foothills. It was the Army Air Force’s most dangerous airlift route because of the height of the mountains, the lack of oxygen at that height and because of the supply planes that were often called "The Flying Coffin" — the Curtiss C-46 Commando. More than 1,000 men and 600 planes were lost over the 530-mile stretch of rugged terrain during World War II, and that's a very conservative estimate. It was dubbed the "Skyway to Hell" and the "Aluminum Trail" for the number of planes that didn't make it. If the winds and weather didn’t get you, a Japanese Zero would try. Merle survived the war, they raised their two children in Oak Cliff, and their marriage lasted until his death in 1990. I don't think I ever saw the uniformed picture and that would have been their wedding photo, I think; note that she has a white Bible in her hand. She is my personal example of what an active Christian could be though both of my parents were also active in church. We are all Presbyterians. The Swalins and my family went to Sunset Presbyterian Church FEBRUARY 2022

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Adjwoa Tyehimba’s children’s book made an Amazon top-10 list when it was released Jan. 1.

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FEBRUARY 2022

BL A ANCE Bookstore co-owner publishes first children’s book

djwoa Tyehimba misspelled “detention” in the fifthgrade spelling bee at the Dallas charter school she attended. That cringe-worthy life event inspired the plot of her first children’s book, The Principle of Balance, which was published Jan. 1. Tyehimba, 30, is co-owner of Pan African Connection, the Oak Cliff bookstore founded by her late father, and she also works full time as a freelancer teaching food-safety certification classes all over the region. “I’m a big balance person,” she says. “I’m like, ‘Uh, I need a nap before I can do the next thing’ or ‘I need to study before I go out.’” She initially approached publisher Melanin Origins with an idea for a children’s book about bringing her nieces to the legendary homecoming festivities at her alma mater, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. But co-owner Louie T. McClain II asked her to write for their series meant to advance first-time authors. The MA’AT series promotes the principles of the Egyptian goddess Ma’at: truth, justice, harmony and balance. Tyehimba’s book is about a girl named after the author, Adgy, who’s competing in her school's spelling bee. The pages compose an acrostic of the word she’s spelling, “balance,” starting with “B” for the bike her father taught her to ride. “To be honest, it wasn’t that hard to write,” she says. “They gave me the number of pages and how many sentences could be on each page.”

It took her about a month to write the story. The artwork, by Xander A. Nesbitt, took a couple of months, and production and printing took another month or two. “The hardest part is finding someone to help you publish the book,” she says. Tyehimba publicized pre-ordering on her social media channels, and by the time the book dropped, it already had reached the top 10 in Amazon’s book category “children’s African folk tales.” Seeing her own book listed under some of the titles Pan African Connection carries made her feel accomplished. “I started to cry,” she says. “The publisher was blown away because there were so many pre-orders.” Spoiler alert: At the end of the book, Adgy accomplishes what her namesake didn’t. She wins the spelling bee. Now the book is published, Tyehimba says she feels confident in writing her “dream book,” the one about her nieces and homecoming. Tyehimba has a degree in inland fisheries biology, and she’s a frequent traveler. Wherever she goes, she says she always spends her money at small businesses. And the same goes with literary spending. “Support local authors,” she says. “Even if it’s not me. If you know someone who’s writing a book, and you have $15 to spend with a local author, just go ahead and do it.” Find Adjwoa Tyehimba’s The Principle of Balance ($15 hardcover) at Pan African Connection, 4466 S. Marsalis Ave.

Interview by RACHEL STONE | Photography by JESSICA TURNER FEBRUARY 2022

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WORSHIP

By ERIC FOLKERTH

N o n - a n x i o u s l ea d e rs h i p A re ce n t h osta ge - ta k i n g s p o t l i g h ts a n u nwe l co m e rea l i ty

e were deeply troubled by the recent hostage situation at Beth Israel Jewish Center in Colleyville and quite relieved that all hostages escaped safely. Incidents of violence against synagogues and Jewish houses of worship have become far too familiar in modern times. I am grateful for the work of my dear friend Rabbi Andrew Paley. Andrew is the leader of Faith Forward Dallas interfaith clergy group, and he’s also a trained police chaplain. He provided important on-the-ground assistance in Colleyville during this incident. Violence against faith communities must always be condemned in the strongest terms possible. I hope you took notice of Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker’s comments immediately afterward, when he was asked how he dealt with the situation. He responded: “We trained for it.” The troubling reality is that many are training their worship leaders and ushers on how to respond to potential acts of violence and terror. Because in the houses of worship of many faiths, such incidents appear to be on the rise. We have had these conversations at my current church, here in Oak Cliff, for example. And I’ve been in worship services where we had to have plainclothed DPD officers present at times of high threat. Many Dallas faith leaders have concerns about these issues every week. Houses of worship should be where we can let our guard down, leave behind our worries and cares and focus on God and our gathered communities. But perhaps precisely because of this, worship services can be especially vulnerable. Rabbi Cytron-Walker also noted that he was trained in being “a non-anxious presence.” That is a phrase well known to many clergy today. We are trained to understand that our own anxiety can infect others. If parishioners and worshippers read a sense of fear in our faces and our actions, that fear can touch everyone. Words and actions matter, especially by those who lead others, whether they be preachers, politicians or high school principals. Anyone in leadership has a greater responsibility to ensure that their words are not unduly provocative. This is part of why I have the words “Fear Not” tattooed on my forearm. It’s from a line in the Gospel

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FEBRUARY 2022

of Luke in the second chapter, the Christmas story: “The angel said unto them, ‘Fear not…’” It’s a reminder for me to check my own fears and to remember that how I share my fear with others can affect their actions too. I hope that if you are in positions of leadership in your life — in your worship community, your business, your family — that you will prayerfully consider how to maintain a “non-anxious presence.” As I unpack this event, I am troubled by the idea that the resolution was “hopeful” or “a happy ending,” as was the take from some on TV. A safe ending, yes. But, “happy?” A congregation was held hostage and terrorized for hours. The hostage taker was killed, no doubt leaving a grieving family. Fear of copycat antisemitic acts now stays with us. As does a fear among innocent Muslim friends, who are concerned about their safety. Ironically, it is faith itself that can help us deal with all of this. True faith lessens our fears and reminds us not to “otherize” entire populations by race or religion. True faith understands that we must first look inward, to our own hearts, and seek a purity of intention and action there. We must condemn bad actions, but we must also understand just how closely all humans live with each other now. Targeting any individual because of their race or religion runs counter to my faith, and, as I understand it, the faith of all the world’s great religions. Pray for our entire community. Pray for those recovering from this trauma, for religious leaders everywhere who deal with threats, and for all those who seek to reduce fear among God’s children. Finally, at a prayer service Colleyville, Rabbi Cytron-Walker quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in a closing thought: “Without love, there’s no reason to know anyone. For love will in the end connect us to our neighbors, our children and our hearts.” This is the deep wisdom we must all embrace. ERIC FOLKERTH is Senior Pastor at Kessler Park United Methodist Church. The Worship section is underwritten by Advocate Publishing and neighborhood businesses and churches listed. Call 214.560.4212 or email sales@advocatemag. com for advertising information.

BAPTIST CLIFF TEMPLE BAPTIST CHURCH / 125 Sunset

Ave. / 214.942.8601 Serving Oak Cliff since 1898 / CliffTemple.org / English and Spanish 9 am Contemporary Worship / 10 am Sunday School / 11 am Traditional GRACE TEMPLE BAPTIST Come to a Place of

Grace! Sunday Worship: English Service 9:30am / Spanish Service 11:00am 831 W. Tenth St. / 214.948.7587 / gracetempledallas.org

C AT H O L I C ST. CECILIA CATHOLIC PARISH / StCeciliaDallas. org / 1809 W Davis St. / Saturday - Bilingual Mass 5PM; Sunday – English Masses 7:30AM & 11AM; Spanish Masses 9AM & 1PM

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST EAST DALLAS CHRISTIAN CHURCH / 629 N. Peak Street / 214.824.8185 Sunday School 9:30 am / Worship 8:30 am - Chapel 10:50 am - Sanctuary / Rev. Deborah MorganStokes / edcc.org

E P I S C O PA L CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH / ChristChurchDallas.org Sunday School: 11:15am /Mass: 9am & 10am English, 12:30pm Español Wednesday Mass: 6pm English, 8pm Español / 534 W. Tenth Street

METHODIST KESSLER PARK UMC / 1215 Turner Ave./

214.942.0098 I kpumc.org 10:30am Sunday School/11:00 Worship /All are welcome regardless or race, creed, culture, gender or sexual identity.

N O N - D E N O M I N AT I O N A L KESSLER COMMUNITY CHURCH / 2100 Leander

Dr. at Hampton Rd. “Your Hometown Church Near the Heart of the City.” 10:30 am Contemporary Service / kesslercommunitychurch.com TRINITY CHURCH OAK CLIFF / Love God. Love Others. Make Disciples. Sundays 10:00 am / Worship & children’s Sunday School 1139 Turner Ave. / trinitychurchoakcliff.org

PRESBYTERIAN PARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH/ 4124 Oak Lawn Ave Sunday Worship 9:00 & 11:00 A.M. To all this church opens wide her doors - pcpc. org

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

BOOK REPORT

By CLAUDIA VEGA

Every day’s the 14th Ce l e b ra te Va l e n t i n e ’s Day w i t h t h ese rea d s

ou can’ t escape it. T he aisles are lined with nylon balloons, bouquets of flowers, cellophane-wrapped chocolates and plushies of all sizes. Retailers beckon us to share and proclaim our love for each other. I like to think of it as a time to share and connect with people closest to us. Instead of hearts and flowers, let’s celebrate enduring reads, new and old, that explore love from all angles and for all ages. As you reflect on what love is and those you love this month, I invite you to share the love of books. A great book is perfect for cuddling up with little ones before bedtime, sparking a conversation with growing teens, or sharing with the special someone in your life who brings you joy. Books give us the opportunity to connect and grow together.

Love Makes a Family, a brightly illustrated board book, is sure to capture the imagination and hearts of little ones. Author and illustrator Sophie Beer uses vivid colors and shapes to bring to life a day full of love. Love shows up in a walk outside on a rainy day, a helping hand when things don’t go as planned, and getting tucked into bed with a goodnight kiss. This makes a perfect bedtime read. Tweens and early teens will love Planet Middle School. It’s written in short poems that give an authentic voice to the chaotic and crazy feelings of adolescence and first crushes. Award-winning author Nikki Grimes has crafted a delightful, often hilarious, heart-tugging story. A great book to read alongside middle schoolers, it opens the door for meaningful conversations about all the changes that come with those formative years. In young adult reading, Blackout: A Novel is a must read. Six award-winning authors come together to weave a heartfelt, unforgettable set of joyful love stories. A summer heat wave hits New York, leaving the city blanketed in darkness. A new kind of electricity begins to spark as six love stories unfold. Love blossoms, friendship transforms, and new possibilities take flight.

FIND THESE TITLES AT WHOSE BOOKS, YOUR N E I G H B O R H O O D B O O K S T O R E L O C AT E D AT T Y L E R S TAT I O N I N O A K C L I F F O R U S E INDIEBOUND’S BOOKSTORE FINDER TO SHOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD BOOKSTORE SOME LOVE.

I Love You Because I Love You, written by Muon Thi Van, tells the story of how unconditional love shows up in the biggest and smallest ways. The vivid illustrations bring this tender readaloud story to life with breathtaking scenes that represent and celebrate diversity in all its forms.

Pablo Neruda’s Love Poems caused a scandal when they were first published anonymously in the 1950s. Today, they are some of the Nobel Laureate’s most celebrated works. Love Poems pairs the original Spanish poems with a translated version on the opposing page. The perfect gift for the romantic at heart.

Texas author Colleen Hoover’s new book Reminders of Him has romance fans in a flutter, describing it as tear-jerking yet heartwarming. It’s a contemporary emotional romance that tells the story of a mother trying to rebuild her life and reconnect with her daughter after five years in prison, while a relationship with a local bar owner that no one will approve of begins to surface. It’s a page turner that will take you on an emotional ride. FEBRUARY 2022

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HOME REPAIR Small/Big Jobs. Int/Ext. Sheetrock, Windows, Kitchen, Bathroom 33 yrs exp. 214-875-1127

MAYA TREE SERVICE Tree Trim/Remove. Lawn Maintenance. Resd/ Commcl.Insd. CC’s Accptd. mayatreeservice.com 214-924-7058 214-770-2435

RESPONSIBLE TREE CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Firewood/Cooking Wood

Locally Full service trimming & harvested planting of native trees. wood! 214.946.7138

LEGAL SERVICES A WILL? THERE IS A WAY! Estate/Probate matters.maryglennattorney.com 214-802-6768

PEST CONTROL MCDANIEL PEST CONTROL Prices Start at $85 + Tax For General Treatment. Average Home-Interior/Exterior & Attached Garage. Quotes For Other Services. 214-328-2847. Lakewood Resident NATURE KING PEST MANAGEMENT INC. Squirrels, Racoons, Skunks, Snakes, Possums, etc. Pest & Termite. Neighborhood Resident 30+ Yrs.exp. 214-827-0090

HOMETOWN HANDYMAN All phases of construction. No job too small 214-327-4606

D.J MAGNUM FOR YOUR NEXT Company Event, Reunion, Function. We Offer All Styles Of Music From 1920-2020. Wyatt 972-241-3588

ELECTRICAL SERVICES ANNA’S ELECTRIC Your Oak Cliff Electrician Since 1978. tecl25513. 214-943-4890 ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com 50 Yrs. Electrical Exp. Insd. 214-328-1333 TH ELECTRIC Reasonable Rates. Licensed & Insured. Ted. E257 214-808-3658

TO ADVERTISE CALL 214.560.4212

MARCH DEADLINE FEBRUARY 8

"Keeping Children & Pets in Mind"

WE REFINISH!

Termite Specialist - Mosquito Mister Systems • Tubs, Tiles or Sinks • Cultured Marble • Kitchen Countertops

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FEBRUARY 2022

Licensed · Insured · Residential · Commercial · Organic

214-350-3595 • Abetterearth.crw@gmail.com

abetterearth.com

PLUMBING AC PLUMBING Repairs, Fixtures, Senior Discounts. Gary Campbell. 214-321-5943 ANCHOR PLUMBING Your trusted Oak Cliff plumber for 30+ years. 214-946-1638.

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WHERE C AN I FIND L OC AL ...? PLUMBING

REMODELING

PLUMBING ISSUES? We’re the Experts!

30 Years of Excellent Service • Water Heaters • Water Leaks 24/7 On-Call • Sewer Backups • All Plumbing Repairs ASK ABOUT DISCOUNTS!

972-379-4000

staggsplumbing.co

Master Plumber License M-17697

THE PLUMBING MANN LLC Women Owned, Family Operated For all Your Plumbing Needs RMP/Master-14240 Insured. Veterans And Senior discount. 214-327-8349

POOLS CERULEAN POOL SERVICES Family Owned/ Operated. Weekly maintenance, Chemicals, parts & repairs. CeruleanPro.com 214-557-6996

REAL ESTATE ESTATE HOME NEEDS TO BE SOLD? Facing forclosure? IG Heron Homes Call Ricardo Garza @ 469-426-7839 NEAR WRLAKE 2/1 DUPLEX. Hdwds, Appl. Yard Serv. CHA, 1/carport. $1,400+Dep. 469-879-2977

REMODELING A2H GENERAL CONTRACTING,LLC Remodeling, Painting, Drywall/Texture, Plumbing, Electrical,Siding, Bathroom/Kitchen Remodels, Tilling, Flooring, Fencing. 469-658-9163. Free Estimates. A2HGeneralContractingLLC@gmail.com

FENN CONSTRUCTION Kitchens And Baths. Call Us For Your Remodeling Needs. 214-343-4645. dallastileman.com INTEX CONSTRUCTION Specialty in Ext/Int. Bath/ Kitchen/Windows, Steve.33yrs exp. 214-875-1127 O’BRIEN GROUP INC. Remodeling Dallas For Over 24 Years www.ObrienGroupInc.com 214-341-1448 RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.com 214-403-7247 TK REMODELING 972-533-2872 Complete Full Service Repairs, Kitchen & Bath/Remodeling, Restoration. Name It- We Do It. dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

SERVICES FOR YOU

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• Residential/Commercial • Over 30,000 roofs completed • Seven NTRCA “Golden Hammer” Awards • Free Estimates

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www.bertroofing.com

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THE GENERAC PWRCELL, a solar plus battery storage system. SAVE money, reduce your reliance on the grid, prepare for power outages and power your home. Full installation services UPDATE YOUR HOME with beautiful new blinds & shades. Free in-home estimates make it convenient to shop from home.Professional installation. Top quality - Made in the USA. Free consultation: 877212-7578.

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CLASSIFIED, BUT FAR FROM SECRET. Read our classifieds section for valuable services near you.

ACCEPTING NEW STUDENT APPLICATIONS 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR

• Reading/Writing Workshop Model • STEM Lab, Art, Music & Library Time • Spanish, PE and Recess Daily • Leadership & Community Service • Middle School - Mandarin, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program • After School Care & Enrichment Programs

Serving Grades PK-8TH

1215 Turner Ave. | 214.942.2220 | TheKesslerSchool.com

69% of our readers say they want to know more about

private schools.

214.560.4203 OR SALES@ADVOCATEMAG.COM TO ADVERTISE *2019 CVC Audit

FEBRUARY 2022

oakcliff.advocatemag.com

Competitor C

Competitor B

$146M

Competitor A

There’s no subtle qualifier to this statement. It’s fact – backed up by extensive market data and analysis. We pride ourselves on data transparency, and that means that apples should only be compared to apples. When you’re ready to make a move, contact your favorite Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate agent and work with the top producing real estate brand in Oak Cliff.

NORTH OAK CLIFF AREA SOLD VOLUME, 2021

Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate

Many brands claim to be Number 1. We actually are.

UNDER CONTRACT

SOLD, Represented Buyer

SOLD, Represented Seller

1306 Rainbow Drive

353 Mathey Court

1111 N. Winnetka Avenue

4 BEDROOMS | 3.1 BATHS | 4,393 SQ. FT. | $985,000

3 BEDROOMS | 3.1 BATHS | 2,007 SQ. FT. | $649,000

3 BEDROOMS | 2 BATHS | 2,416 SQ. FT. | $550,000

Susan Melnick

Patty Brooks

Ged Dipprey & Linda Ward

214.460.5565 susanmelnick@daveperrymiller.com

972.880.0713 pattybrooks@daveperrymiller.com

214.924.3112 | ged@daveperrymiller.com 214.986.4368 | lindaward@daveperrymiller.com

1430montreal.daveperrymiller.com

1038kings2.daveperrymiller.com

2130elmwood.daveperrymiller.com

1430 S. Montreal Avenue

1038 Kings Highway #2

2130 Elmwood Boulevard

3 BEDROOMS | 2 BATHS | 1,846 SQ. FT. | $455,000

2 BEDROOMS | 1.2 BATHS | 1,574 SQ. FT. | $409,900

2 BEDROOMS | 1 BATH | POOL | 1,118 SQ. FT. | $329,900

Rob Elmore

Joshua Vernon

Sherman & Sherman Real Estate Team

214.770.8885 robelmore@daveperrymiller.com

214.226.2287 joshuavernon@daveperrymiller.com

469.767.1823 shermanteam@daveperrymiller.com

An Ebby Halliday Company

Price and availability subject to change. Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. Claim based on sold volume, 75211, 75208, 75224, 75233, 1/1/21 through 12/31/21. Includes Ebby Halliday Companies.

2022 February Oak Cliff Advocate

Articles inside

Worship Unpacking the Colleyville incident

Pan African

El Mero Mero

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