Juanita J. Craft: A Celebration of Love & Legacy
To celebrate Juanita J. Craft’s 121st birthday, the Friends of Juanita Craft House & Museum invited the community, artist residency recipients, and the Craft Kids to the South Dallas Cultural Center on Feb. 9. Participants gathered for an evening of celebration and love to honor Juanita and the re-development of the Craft House & Museum. The South Dallas Concert Choir, which began in 1986 as a 15-member workshop choir through the South Dallas Cultural Center, performed a few songs for the attendees. Special remarks were made by Friends of Juanita Craft House’s Board Chair Candace Thompson and Craft Kid Patricia Perez.
The 1300 sq. ft. one-story frame house was the home of Juanita J. Craft, one of DallasΒ΄ most significant civil rights figures and the second African American woman to serve on the Dallas City Council. Programming at the Juanita Craft Civil Rights House is coordinated by the South Dallas Cultural Center of the City of Dallasβ Office of Cultural Affairs.
In 1935, Craft joined the NAACP, and in the years that followed, she started 182 rural NAACP chapters.Craft joined demonstrations against the segregated University of Texas Law School and North Texas State University, each resulting in successful lawsuits in 1950 and 1955. Afterwards, she opened a dropout preparation program in Dallas. Craft also served as a delegate to the White House Conference on Children and Youth, and as a member of the Governorβs Human Relations Committee. In 1975, at the age of 73, she was elected to the Dallas City Council, where she spent two terms working to improve the status of Hispanic and Native Americans.
Click here to learn more about the Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House and Museum
