After the rise of Fair Park and its expansion in the 1960s, it desperately needed more space to accommodate the large numbers it attracted. The surrounding area of Fair Park was in severe decline, with large population decreases and only 28% of residents owning property. The majority of the landscape was abandoned homes, vacant lots, and slumlord rental properties. In addition to the dwindling population, the number of available houses was also decreasing by 50% despite a growing number of housing in the rest of Dallas (“A Great Park for a Great City,” 2017, p. 8).
Because of the slum areas around Fair Park, driven by the expansion of Fair Park and seizure of private lands, the white visitors felt uncomfortable visiting the Park and seeing the widespread inequality. For a park that did not allowed black people in until 1961, it was troubling to see how close they were to the predominantly minority and low-income community (Simek, 2017, par. 3).
This lead to the 1966 report by the State Fair corporation, called “Redevelopment Program for the State Fair of Texas.” Based on an economic study and interviews of white Dallas residents, the corporation concluded that buying the land surrounding the park and turning it into a parking lot with a large fence would solve the problems. It was an out-of-sight, out-of-mind situation that has remained to this day (“A Great Park for a Great City,” 2017, p. 9).
The quote below was pulled from the report, and highlights the mindset that dominated the era and has had such a lasting impact on the South Dallas community.
“The solution for all of these conflicts, at least in terms of Fair Park’s location, is simple. All that is required is to eliminate the problem from sight. If the poor Negroes in their shacks cannot be seen, all the guilt feeling revealed above will disappear, or at least be removed from primary consideration.”
Redevelopment Program for the State Fair of Texas (“A Great Park for a Great City,” 2017, p. 9).
In response to this report, the city of Dallas adopted the parking lot and fence plan, seizing homes from the Fair Park community with eminent domain. For many residents in low-income areas, owning homes is synonymous with their legacy because it is something they can pass on to their children. When their homes are seized and they are displaced, their legacy is gone and there is no power to rebuild due to issues getting loans with redlining. The cycle of poverty in Dallas is impossible to escape (“A Great Park for a Great City,” 2017, p. 10).
When looking at Fair Park today, you see a park that is occupied for three weeks of the year for the State Fair and the OU-UT football game. There are over 9,200 parking spots at Fair Park and they are only used during the State Fair. For the Fair Park residents, Fair Park is the place they were never wanted, as seen by the large fence dividing them from the rest of Dallas residents and the high prices of admission that they could never afford. Their homes and livelihoods were taken for a declining Park that is not operational after the State Fair and never included them in the festivities (Simek, 2019).
If you would like to skip ahead on the timeline to topics related to Fair Park, click on the topic below:
The African American Museum’s opens at Fair Park in the same site where the Hall of Negro Life stood during the Texas Centennial:
Sources:
A Great Park for a Great City. (2017, July 31). The Foundation for Community Empowerment. https://fcedallas.org/a-great-park-for-a-great-city/
On Fair Park land once stolen by Dallas City Hall, hope that a park could finally heal old wounds. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.dallasnews.com/news/commentary/2020/02/25/on-fair-park-land-once-stolen-by-dallas-city-hall-hope-that-a-park-could-finally-heal-old-wounds/
Simek, P. (2019, September 26). The Long, Troubled, and Often Bizarre History of the State Fair of Texas. D Magazine. http://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2019/09/the-long-troubled-and-often-bizarre-history-of-the-state-fair-of-texas/
Simek, P. (2017, August 3). A Scathing Look at Fair Park’s History and Why Dallas Needs to Finally Fix the Park—D Magazine. Frontburner. https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2017/08/a-scathing-look-at-fair-parks-history-and-why-dallas-needs-to-finally-fix-the-park/