The new “All Black Lives Matter” crosswalk in South Dallas has been completed.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the city project is a partnership between nonprofit Abounding Prosperity and the City of Dallas in an effort to promote unity. The official unveiling is scheduled for January 17, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and the holiday in his honor, at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Malcolm X Blvd at 12:30 p.m.
The event will be hosted by Abounding Prosperity CEO Kirk Myers and District 7 Dallas City Councilman Adam Bazaldua. Other council members and special guests are expected to attend.
Last year the crosswalk was a part of the 2022-2023 Economic Development policy that passed.
The organizers of the crosswalk hope that minority businesses will be drawn and empowered by installation.
“While these crosswalks will serve as a visible reminder that All Black Lives Matter, it is our hope that this will be a catalyst for Black businesses and entrepreneurs to bring their services to these neighborhoods to accelerate community revitalization efforts,” said Myers.
Last month, Councilman Bazaldua tweeted about the new city project, writing, “I’m so excited and proud of our City Council for unanimously approving the “All Black Lives Matter” crosswalks in South Dallas. Together, we are taking a united stance that #BlackLivesMatter.”
While many believe the “Black Lives Matter” slogan encourages acknowledgment of a demographic that often feels overlooked and underserved, others, like Pastor Corey Brooks, pastor of New Beginnings Church and founder of Project HOOD, see it as a brand that uses the Black community as a pawn.
Pastor Brooks quoted Shelby Steele during his Rooftop Revelations, who said Black Lives Matter sells a brand of innocence to white people.
“There’s a brand that makes white people feel guilty or makes them feel like they have to support something so they [aren’t seen as] racist. That’s not my brand…I don’t believe all white people are racist, guilty or that every system in America is racist.”
Darwin Jiles Jr., former Ethic Vice Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, supports the use of “Black Lives Matter,” but wants the organization behind the name held accountable.
“The establishment needs to be held accountable…We demand justice and accountability from people who have used our struggle and our pain to profit, gain and politcize. They’re not helping our issues,” he declared.
The “Black Lives Matter,” movement indeed came under fire last year after Black Lives Matter co-founder, Patrisse Cullors, was accused of using donated funds to buy multiple properties in Los Angeles and Atlanta.
“A slogan is good but where are the results? What crisis issues have you helped solve?” Jiles continued.
The new South Dallas crosswalks in part serve as a symbol of where the intersection of the movement and the phrase currently stands.
The crosswalks forms a square at the intersections of Al Lipscomb Way and South Ervay Way, Al Lipscomb Way and South Harwood, Al Lipscomb Way and Malcolm X Blvd, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Colonial Ave., and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Jackson Blvd.
In a statement to The Dallas Express last month, Myers said, “The hope is that the Black residents in this community who have been shown by society through systemic inequities that persist in many intersections of life, that their life has value in and out of the margins. For those not aware or who don’t acknowledge these inequities, the hope is they find moments of introspection and reflection for the lives of others that may not look or live like them.”
Note: This article was updated on January 14, at 10:50 a.m. to include additional information.
