An error made by the City of Dallas nearly three decades ago has finally been corrected, bringing a renewed focus on the legacy of a beloved figure in the community’s history.
It was a historic day in June 1995 when then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush came to Dallas to rename a four-mile stretch of South Central Expressway in honor of a charismatic and influential civic leader, Dr. S.M. Wright. It was the first time a state highway would be named after a black American.
Yet somehow, amid all the pomp and ceremony and crowds and speeches of the day, nobody at City Hall thought to make the renaming of the roadway “official” in the City record. That error only came to light 29 years later, amid the reconstruction of the area roadways this past spring.
The renaming of the street was actually spearheaded at the state level with a bill authored by Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas). It was passed in both chambers of the statehouse and signed by the governor in 1995, following Wright’s death from cancer in 1994. Yet, whatever needed to be done at the local level to complete the name change process was overlooked.
So, when road construction crews put up new street signs in May along the stretch of freeway between Al Lipscomb Way and Budd Street, the Dallas Geospatial Information System (GIS) indicated the signs should read South Central Expressway, despite the fact that this particular portion of roadway had been marked as S.M. Wright Freeway for nearly three decades.
Dr. Wright’s roots ran deep in the South Dallas community, where his family had lived since the 1920s. He was the pastor of People’s Missionary Baptist Church from 1957 until his death from cancer in 1994 at the relatively young age of 67.
Beginning in 1964, he also served as the president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, an organization formed in 1925 to bring faith leaders together to advocate for positive changes in their communities. He was an active member of the NAACP and played a prominent role in helping to desegregate the Dallas ISD school system in the 1970s.
His son and namesake, S.M. Wright II, described his father as “highly astute” to the problems facing Dallas at a time when race relations in the city were at a crossroads.
“What Martin Luther King was doing on a national level, my dad was doing locally in Dallas, working with the business community and leaders of that day, to help to deal with the racial tensions and racial issues,” Wright II recalled.
“Everybody came to him because he knew how to solve a problem; he knew just what to say. Every time you came to him and sat in his office, you [would] leave him feeling renewed … and you knew you could conquer the world after talking to Dr. Wright,” Wright II continued. “He was the go-to person for the business community, for persons leading major corporations, to pastors, to even individual members of the neighborhood.”
“He had the ability of communication. Even though he was powerful, he was very approachable. … Everybody just loved him. That’s why so many people that he touched, to this day, who are still alive, they can’t forget him. There’s just no way you can forget Dr. Wright,” he added.
In a tribute speech at the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, the late Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) described Wright’s influence:
“In Dallas, and throughout the State of Texas, Dr. S. M. Wright was sought out for his leadership and council by political leaders and elected officials, both Democrats and Republicans. His support of their efforts was always critical. An endorsement by Dr. Wright was tantamount to success.”
Wright II said that as a child, he was fascinated by how his father worked. He watched him minister to crowds of thousands yet still show personal interest in the individual members of the community. He witnessed a steady stream of political, religious, social, and civil rights leaders coming to the house or his dad’s office or stopping by for dinner, not fully realizing at the time how famous and influential these guests were until he recognized them later on TV.
He recalled that his father had a great business ethic and was known for always carrying an appointment book and pen — which he kept wrapped up in rubber bands — to keep his schedule organized.
But Wright did so much more for others that his family never knew about, things that only came to light after the street sign debacle last May.
“I began getting calls from people I didn’t even know, from pastors and individuals in the community, saying ‘Your Daddy helped pay my mortgage. … Your dad helped pay my rent on my apartment, your dad helped keep my car from getting repoed,'” Wright II said.
“I was hearing all these testimonies from people I didn’t even know, and they would say,’ I have to be at City Hall; I have to come because your Dad did something for me in my life.’ … I heard 50 to 60 testimonies, some from persons I had not heard from in 30 years, who said, ‘No, I owe it to his memory to be here.’ To hear those stories has been amazing.”
Wright II described what happened next as a reunion of sorts.
“People I haven’t seen in years, it was a reunion. Friends flying in from everywhere; it was an experience. Even though the situation was unnecessary, but through this unnecessary situation, it brought a reunion, and a focus on what my dad has done for so many [people] here in Dallas. So it’s been amazing,” Wright II said.
Local citizens began flooding City Hall with calls about the signage issue, which is how City leaders first became aware of the problem. In response, council members called a special meeting on August 14 to address the error made 29 years earlier.
The day before the meeting, a luncheon was held in South Dallas to honor Dr. Wright’s years of leadership and to swap personal stories and remembrances of the charismatic figure.
The next day, the council chambers were filled with Wright’s supporters who demanded that his name be restored to the street signs. For some longtime residents in the South Dallas area, the new signage was perceived as an insult to the community and Wright’s legacy.
Gwendolyn Sneed, who said she spoke on behalf of the People’s Missionary Baptist Church, urged council members to “hear and acknowledge the concerns of the community” and to act swiftly to “rectify and resolve this perceived slap in the face of our community by restoring the removed S.M. Wright street signs in our community.”
“Rev. Wright was our leader,” said David Wilson, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church. “As we’ve come today in peace, we come simply asking that you extend to us, in the words of Aretha Franklin, ‘respect.’”
After the public comments portion of the meeting, the Dallas City Council voted unanimously to “officially” name the stretch of roadway S.M. Wright Freeway. Council Member Adam Bazaldua, who represents District 7 where the signage error occurred, assured attendees at the meeting that this time, the City would follow through.
“I just want to say, ‘Thank you’ to the speakers who have come out for Rev. Wright’s street name and legacy,” Bazaldua said. “I’ve had conversations and meetings to this point, but I want you to know your concerns have not fallen on deaf ears. Actions are already in motion, and this council will be committed to taking the necessary steps to essentially check some boxes.”
A TxDOT spokesperson told The Dallas Express that it has put in the order for the corrected signage, which may take a few weeks to arrive, and the department would follow up to ensure that the street name is corrected in the City’s GIS.
In the years since Wright’s death, his legacy has had an almost continuous presence in Dallas through the work of the S.M. Wright Foundation, which his family instituted in 1998. The non-profit organization provides “support and stability to underprivileged children and less fortunate families through hunger relief, economic empowerment, and assistance in the areas of education, health, and social service,” according to the Foundation’s website.
Some of the Foundation’s most well-known events include the Thanksgiving Feast and the Christmas in the Park Celebration, both of which serve thousands of attendees each year. The organization also runs a food center, a clothing and resource center, a beds for kids program, a furniture bank, a community support program, and a business and investment seminar series.