Mapping Dallas’ Infrastructure Inequity
BY LINDA K. JOHNSON, Ph.D. - MAY 9, 2022
Courtesy SMU / Barbara Minsker
Too often people assume adults without an education simply weren’t motivated to finish school. All too often, they were not given the support they needed, from institutions, systems, and even their own families. Without this support, they struggle to make the best of their relationships and lives, and many hide their challenges for fear of shame. Adults who have a second chance to learn in a supportive and encouraging environment can face the world with the knowledge and resources to achieve success in the workforce and give the best of themselves to their communities.
This recent D Magazine story highlights local inequitable access to online assets. Luckily for the residents most affected, Aspire began in-person classes at Frazier House earlier this year.
“Segregation in Dallas and under-investment in the southern section of Dallas have deep historical roots,” wrote J.H. Cullum Clark, director of the George W. Bush Institute – SMU Economic Growth Initiative. “Dallas was the first city in Texas to impose explicit housing segregation by race, in 1916. Decades of redlining, policies to promote northward development, “urban renewal” initiatives, and construction of highways and other infrastructure running through the middle of historically Black and Hispanic neighborhoods have left a lasting imprint on the economic geography of southern Dallas.”