The Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs will host four community meetings to discuss plans for renovations and improvements at the Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House.
In 2018, the home experienced a catastrophic flood. Work this year involved mold abatement, asbestos removal and proper archival storage of the home's historic features and contents.
The house, located at 2618 Warren Avenue in South Dallas, is one of only three house museums in the nation honoring major female figures in the modern civil rights movement. According to Visit Dallas, Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr. visited Craft's home to discuss the future of the Civil Rights Movement.
According to officials, the vision for the Craft House is to "restore it as a historic house museum and to include programming on-site and via outreach that inspire visitors and audiences to continue the work for civil rights and community uplift."
The meeting schedule is listed below:
Saturday, Aug. 17, 3-4:30 p.m., South Dallas Cultural Center, 3400 S. Fitzhugh Avenue
Saturday, Sept. 7, 3-4:30 p.m., African-American Museum, 3536 Grand Avenue
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Tuesday, Sept. 10, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Craft Recreation Center, 4500 Spring Avenue
Saturday, Sept. 14, 3-4:30 p.m., South Dallas Cultural Center, 3400 S. Fitzhugh Avenue
According to the National Parks Service, Craft organized 182 NAACP branches and dozens of youth councils. After the Brown v. Board of Education decision, she helped lead efforts to desegregate Dallas ISD schools, the University of Texas School of Law, North Texas State University (now University of North Texas) and the State Fair of Texas.
She became the first African American woman to vote in Dallas County in a public election, and in 1969, received Dallas' highest civic honor -- the Linz Award -- for her participation in the Civil Rights Movement and efforts toward equality. Craft also later served two terms on the Dallas City Council from 1975-79.
There is also a park, recreation center and post office named for her in Dallas.
