My respect for the Dallas Morning News has grown. Maybe it's a slow news month when we can't seem to talk about anything other than oil prices and a Presidential election, but I hope DMN continues their look at south Dallas.
Check out DMN's Bridging Dallas' North-South gap. The videos are especially good.
I love Dallas, and it's always been a concern of mine that while most fixate on the city as a place of big hair and big money, we neglect the other half, a half with style and heart all its own. I worry about gentrification. Politicians and land-developers allow these areas to fall into ruin, then they grab these square acres on the cheap, build expensive condos and force out their original owners. Many occupants have rented their place for years and years; if they owned it, they'd be sitting on something valuable. It's a ruthless system that drives out people. Mortgage discrimination, red-lining, school district gerrymandering, public opinion distorted by the local media, it all plays a part. If you want to see my take, I wrote a one-pager about this exact subject in "Mine All Mine," illustrated by Samax. (South Dallas also plays an important role in the upcoming "Vice and Virtue" storyline for Karma Incorporated.)
As a reminder, I'm an advisory member of La Reunion, which hopes to establish an artist residency in south Dallas. This is another way to support south Dallas growth without distorting and ruining its character.
