Copyright by Jodi Skipper 2010
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Copyright by Jodi Skipper 2010 The Dissertation Committee for Jodi Skipper certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: “IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD”: CITY PLANNING, ARCHAEOLOGY, AND CULTURAL HERITAGE POLITICS AT ST. PAUL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, DALLAS, TEXAS Committee: __________________________ Maria Franklin, Supervisor _________________________ Edmund T. Gordon __________________________ Pauline T. Strong __________________________ Shirley E. Thompson __________________________ Samuel M. Wilson “IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD”: CITY PLANNING, ARCHAEOLOGY, AND CULTURAL HERITAGE POLITICS AT ST. PAUL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, DALLAS, TEXAS by Jodi Skipper, B.A; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2010 Dedication I dedicate this document to my grandmothers, Lena and Lillian, and to my Aunt Mel, who did not live to see me complete this work, but guided me through it. Acknowledgements I would first like to give a special thanks to all of the members of St. Paul United Methodist Church, past and present; especially Leah Parker, Melvin Ingram, and Pastor Elzie Odom, Jr., for their unwavering support and for providing me a sense of home away from home. I am grateful for your trust. I am most grateful to my family (mama, daddy, and Tricia) and to my hosts of extended family, neighbors, and friends for your continued love and support and for never questioning the work that I felt I needed to do. I am thankful to my committee Maria Franklin, Edmund Gordon, Pauline Strong, and Samuel Wilson for agreeing to work with me and for your inspiration as teachers; a special thanks to Shirley Thompson for giving your much needed time on such short notice. To my advisor, Maria Franklin, I thank you for your honesty, support, and trust in my work. I am grateful to my many friends and cohort who helped me to create this work and continued to have faith in what I produced. These include Lidia Marte, who guided me through the exhibition process as no one else could have; Mohan Ambikaipaker for being a much needed dissertation buddy; Briana Mohan for loaning her husband, Mohan, and for her continued support and cheers; Kamala Visweswaran for being an interested and thought-provoking dissertation writing group faciliator, and to all of my friends in the v writing group (Mohan Ambikaipaker, Halide Veligou, Mathangi Krishnamurthy. Diya Mehra, Vivian Newdick, Hisyar Oszoy, S. Mubbashir Rizvi, Ruken Segul) for encouraging me to write. Thanks to Celeste Henery and Twanna Hines for reading and, more importantly, for listening. vi “IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD”: CITY PLANNING, ARCHAEOLOGY, AND CULTURAL HERITAGE POLITICS AT ST. PAUL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, DALLAS, TEXAS Jodi Skipper, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2010 Supervisor: Maria Franklin What happens to a historically African American church when its local African American community no longer exists? Can attempts to emphasize its historic heritage help it to survive? In this dissertation, I consider the racial politics of urban gentrification and the ways in which one historic Black church community utilizes cultural heritage politics as a survival strategy and resistance to city planning in the city of Dallas, Texas. vii This case study is part of a much broader phenomenon dating to the post-WWII era whereby U.S. local, state, and federal government officials “redeveloped” urban neighborhoods as part of urban renewal plans. Some of these government actions resulted in drastic changes to neighborhood landscapes, displacing entire “minority” communities. Affected by similar circumstances, the St. Paul Church community chose to remain in its original neighborhood and restore its historic building, rather than bend to the will of Dallas city planners. In particular, I examine two church heritage projects; a public archaeology project in which a shotgun house site was excavated on the church property and a public history project which resulted in an interpretive history exhibition on the church. I examine how this church community became involved in these two projects and whether these approaches are practical to the historic preservation of this church community. Basic contributions of this work include: 1) filling gaps in public archaeology research by examining a public archaeology project, beyond the excavation, and critiquing its viability in jeopardized urban contexts, 2) analyzing strategies of political mobilization around heritage politics; 3) determining which Black communities are more likely to engage in and benefit from this type of political mobilization; and 4) problematizing what constitutes giving the power to a community to negotiate its past in the present. viii This dissertation project finds that although African-American and other minority groups are often politically and economically disadvantaged when challenging eminent domain abuse, these communities are not powerless. The St. Paul community’s utilization of heritage politics as a means to avert eminent domain abuse is one case in point. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………..xvi CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 Church Background ………………………………………………………………4 Archaeology at St. Paul……………………………………………………………5 The Post-Excavation Project………………………………………………………9 Theoretical Approaches………………………………………………………….15 Chapter Synopsis………………………………………………………………...23 Closing Remarks…………………………………………………………………26 CHAPTER II: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ST. PAUL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ………………………………………………………………………………..27 Introduction………………………………………………………………………27 Methodism and the Black Church………………………………………………..29 St. Paul’s Early Years (1865-1890)……………………………………………...34 The Early Church and a Black Sacred Cosmos………………………………….43 Building a New Sanctuary (1891 - 1947)………………………………………..47 The I.B. Loud Years (1948 - 1980)………………………………………………62 St. Paul in the Arts District (1981 – 2007)……………………………………….66 CHAPTER III: SEGREGATED LANDSCAPES, CULTURAL HERITAGE POLITICS, AND SILENCES: ST. PAUL AND DALLAS CITY PLANNING………………..……74 x The City without a History……………………………………………………...78 Segregated Landscapes…………………………………………………………..81 In the Neighborhood…………………………………………………….97 Cultural Heritage Politics………………………………………………………...82 St. Paul as a Dallas City Landmark…………………..………..…….....100 Freedman’s Cemetery Preservation…………………………………….100 Freedman’s Cemetery Memorial...……………………………………..103 Archaeology…………………………………………………………………….104 The Political Environment……………………………………………...106 Booker T. and the Moorland YMCA Building…………………………111 Silences…………………………………………………………………………113 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...120 CHAPTER IV: ENGAGING COMMUNITIES THROUGH ARCHAEOLOGY……125 Introduction to African Diaspora Archaeology………………………………...128 Public Archaeology in the U.S……………………………………………….....130 African Diaspora Archaeology and Community Engagement………....136 The Late Archaeologist…………………………………………………151 Fourth Ward Freedman’s Town…………………………………….....152 Preventive Public Archaeology…………………………………………………160 African Diaspora Public Archaeology Today…………………………………..163 xi Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...164 CHAPTER V: BEYOND THE DIG: ENGAGING THE ST. PAUL CHURCH COMMUNITY…………………………………………………………………...…….166 The First Meeting………………………………………………………………168 Homecoming……………………………………………………………………169 Preparations……………………………………………………………………..174 Rapport and Representations…………………………………………………...180 Defying Boundaries…………………………………………………………….182 To Accept and Embrace………………………………………………………...189 Meetings…………………………………………………………….…………..191 The Building……………………………………………………………………203 Job Opportunities……………………………………………………………….205 CHAPTER VI: MAKING HERITAGE VISIBLE: AN ACCOUNT OF THE EXHIBTION FROM FREEDMAN’S TOWN TO THE ARTS DISTRICT: CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF ST. PAUL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH……………………………………………………………………………...210 Conception………………………………………………………………..…...212 Exhibit Planning…………………………………………………….....212 The Big Idea………………………………………….………..216 Reception Planning…………………………………………………….222 xii The Gallery……………………………………………………….…….224 Implementation ………………………………………………………………...227 Part I: History…………………………………………………….…….230 Section I: “Early Methodism and Enslaved Africans” Poster.....234 Section II: “St. Paul’s Beginnings” Poster………………..……234 Section III: “Building Sanctuaries (1875 - 1947)” Poster.….….236 Section IV: “The I.B. Loud Years (1948 - 1981)” Poster…...….241 Part II: Archaeology………………………………………….………...246 “A Community on Juliette Street” Poster………………..……..247 “Archaeology on Juliette Street” Poster…………………..……249 The Shotgun House………………………….…………………253 Part III: “St. Paul in the Arts District (1981-2007)”……….…………...255 Postscript - The Exhibit Opening Events…………………………………….…260 Proceeding Events………………………………………………………………265 CHAPTER VII: AN EVALUATION OF FROM FREEDMAN’S TOWN TO THE DALLAS ARTS DISTRICT: CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF ST. PAUL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH AS AN EXHBITION AS A CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT TOOL……………………………………………………….............268 Evaluations of Visibility……………………………………………………......269 The Exhibit Opening……………………………………………….…...270 xiii Insights……………………………………………………..…………..278 Lone Star Adventures…………………………….….………...280 Other Representations……………………….…….……………282 Exhibit Audience Reception & Feedback: Aims and Results………………….285 Written Feedback………………………………………………………285 Verbal Feedback…………………………………….………………….291