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Running on recycled parts. Mike was an avid runner, but his severe liver disease kept him away from his beloved races. The specialists at The Liver Institute at Methodist Dallas Medical Center diagnosed him with two chronic inflammatory diseases. Mike needed a liver transplant. Luckily, he was in the right place to get one. Today, Mike is proudly back in the race, “running on recycled parts” in honor of the organ donor who gave him a second chance at life.
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Texas law prohibits hospitals from practicing medicine. The physicians on the Methodist Health System medical staff including those referenced in this advertisement are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of The Liver Institute at Methodist Dallas, the Transplant Institute at Methodist Dallas, Methodist Health System, or any of its affiliated hospitals. Methodist Health System complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.
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OAK CLIFF ADVOCATE VOL.16 NO.5
PROFILE 8 Arthello Beck Jr. and Jennifer Monet Cowley DINING 14 Frida’s Tacolandia No. 2 FEATURES 18 Preserving a landmark church 20 Kevin W. Sloan Park 22 Eyecon Studios 28 Antong Lucky COLUMNS 25 Worship
Art supplies in the studio of Jennifer Monet Cowley. Read more on page 8. Photography by Yuvie Styles.
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A mural on the Food Mar t on Singleton and Herber t. Photography by Jessica Tur ner
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p ro f i l e
Jennifer Monet Cowley in her studio. Cowley designed a sculpture that will be dedicated to Arthello Beck Jr. at Twin Falls Park this summer.
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p ro f i l e
“Scooter” by Arthello Beck Jr., 1979.
CHASING THE LIGHT Celebrating the ordinary scenes of Arthello Beck Jr. › Story by RACHEL STONE | Photography by YUVIE STYLES
C
lassroom posters and textbooks didn’t depict Black people when Arthello Beck Jr. was growing up in Dallas. His children’s schoolbooks didn’t show Black kids either. That’s why the self-taught artist from Oak Cliff began painting Black families in ordinary situations in the 1970s. “We didn’t have portrayals of ourselves unless it was negative,” Beck’s widow, Mae Beck, said at a recent gallery talk. An exhibit called HUMANIZATION: The Artistic Eye of Arthello Beck Jr. at the African American Museum of Dallas recently showcased 35 paintings, including many of those “ordinary” pictures, along with rural baptism scenes, one abstract work from 1960 that’s in the museum’s permanent collection, a richly symbolic self-portrait titled “Lost Identity”
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and paintings of the bald cypress trees at Caddo Lake, which he produced at the end of his life. Artist Jennifer Monet Cowley curated the exhibit, and she designed a sculpture in Beck’s honor that is expected to be dedicated at Twin Falls Park this summer. The sculpture is based on a photograph Cowley took of her friend, the Dallas-based artist Riley Holloway, with his wife, Kelsie, and their kids, Riley and Bailey. It is of a mom and dad sitting back-to-back. “It’s like, ‘I got your back,’” Cowley says. The father is reading a book with his son, who’s in his lap holding a beach ball. The mother is doing the hair of her daughter, who is doing her doll’s hair. Behind them is a marsh tree, symbolizing the ones that fascinated Beck. Cowley visited Caddo Lake twice last year.
“I wanted to see what Arthello saw and what was drawing him to that lake,” she says. “And when I got there, I immediately saw it. I saw the magic that lake has.” Beck’s best friend, Carl Sidle, says they used to “chase the light” through the Texas Hill Country, East Texas and all the way to Louisiana and Mississippi, from morning until dusk, with Sidle taking photos as part of Beck’s process. The classes Beck took at Lincoln High School were his only formal art education. He was otherwise self-taught at the central Dallas Public Library. “I used to spend hours in the library, but I never read a book,” he once said. “I may have missed a lot, but I only read the pictures.” Mae Beck first saw her future husband at Lincoln High School, when she was a freshman and he was a senior, already known as an artist. She never spoke to him then. They connected years later, on the campus that is now Paul Quinn College. In the 1960s, he was painting scenes related to the civil rights movement, “and he felt the pain of the struggle,” Mae Beck says. She told him to start painting happy things, and that’s how they came upon the idea to depict ordinary life. He was criticized for “painting Black,” she says. Some of his most famous paintings are religious, depicting Jesus and other biblical figures as Black, part of the liberation theology that influenced him. “He wanted a gallery when I met him,” Mae Beck says. She also wanted a gallery early in their marriage as her husband filled their apartment with paintings and often invited people over to see them. “It wasn’t where I could feel
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The last photo of Arthello Beck Jr., taken at Caddo Lake by Carl Sidle. Opposite page: Beck’s “Large Cypress Tree, Caddo Lake,” 2004.
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comfortable after work,” she says. “Two or three people at a time would come in to look at his art.” Around 1969, they rented a green shotgun house on First Avenue near Fair Park, which became a gathering place for artists, poets and musicians. The gallery moved to Ledbetter and then Saner at Ramsey before they purchased the two-story building on South Beckley that is still the Arthello Beck Jr. Studio. The gallery was open 5-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, because Beck worked a fulltime job, and he was there all day on Saturdays and half days on Sundays. Mae Beck opened a child care center out of their adjacent home in 1978. Many of her husband’s “ordinary-life” paintings are based on photographs he took of children enrolled there. “He was a gentle giant” is a common thing people say about Arthello Beck Jr. Beck was 6-foot-4 and an engaging conversationalist who knew everyone in the neighborhood, his friends say. He died at age 63 in 2004. ABOUT THE SCULPTURE Jennifer Monet Cowley is also from Oak Cliff, and she got to know Beck in the ’90s, when she was an assistant to the artist Frank Frazier, after graduating from the University of Texas at Dallas. The idea that Arthello and Mae had each other’s backs inspired her. “Quality Time” is among her favorite of Beck’s paintings. It shows a father reading to his kids while a mother helps her son with homework. The scene reminds her of her own family, she says. And it was painted in 1996, the year the oldest of her three kids was conceived. Cowley, 54, was curator of the African American Museum for several years, and she’s also curated shows at 500x Gallery. Her own art consists of abstract paintings and textile pieces, and she’s represented exclusively by Daisha Board Gallery, on
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Sylvan near West Commerce. She also paints on clothing, and one of her pieces went down the runway at New York Fashion Week in February 2021 for Dallas-based designer Venny Etienne. The idea for the sculpture at Twin Falls Park came to her in a dream. “It woke me up out of my sleep,” she says. She and her husband had just moved to Richardson, and everything was still in boxes, so she sketched the idea onto the back of an envelope. That became the basis for the conceptual drawing that the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture ultimately approved. She says she’s happy to be part of making Arthello Beck Jr.’s name better known in Dallas. “He was a genuinely nice guy,” she says. “He was a tall, soft-spoken man. Just like his best friend, Carl. He’s quiet, but when he has something to say, you’d better listen, because he truly has something profound to say.”
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ESS E N C E O F M E X I CO Fun is on the menu at Frida’s Tacolandia Story by RACHEL STONE | Photography by KATHY TRAN
GA B R I E L A M AYA L E A R N E D HOW TO COOK after he and his husband, Charlie Gonzalez, opened their restaurant, Frida’s Tacolandia, in 2018. “I love Frida Kahlo,” Amaya says. “I wanted to do the decorating, and he wanted to do the cooking.” Gonzalez wasn’t a chef either, but growing up, he worked in his family’s restaurant in Mexico. All the restaurant’s food is based on their recipes. “I just wanted to open a business,” Gonzalez says. It was rough going at first in their original location, which is still open, on Polk at Kiest. Businesses at that intersection have had problems with
crime, although Amaya says that’s improving. But it’s still off the beaten path for foodies in our neighborhood. Friends and family helped them spread the word via social media, and their venture had enough success that they opened a second location, Frida’s Tacolandia No. 2, on Singleton Boulevard in January. The No. 1 seller is birria tacos, “ the best in Dallas,” they say. The tacos come three to an order for $11, served with consommé on earthenware dishes from Mexico. Costilla en salsa verde, pork ribs in spicy green sauce, cost $12 and are also among the restaurant’s most popular dishes. They’re served with
handmade corn or flour tortillas. A 2-pound burrito comes filled with your choice of meat and grilled veggies. It costs $13 and is enough for two people. Thick tortilla chips come with spicy, addictive green salsa. “The food is very authentic Mexican,” Amaya says. “A lot of older couples come in, and they’ll say, ‘This tastes just like my hometown.’” Amaya and Gonzalez both cook now, since they have to be able to fill in for any job in the restaurants. But Amaya’s gifts are in hospitality. He loves talking to people, and he is the interior designer, drawing inspiration from his hometown of
Left, birria tacos. Above, a gordita. MAY 2022
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Above, costillas en salsa verde, pork ribs in green sauce, are served with handmade tortillas.
Durango and the timelessness of Frida Kahlo. Copies of her paintings hang over the tables, which are sheathed in oilcloth purchased in Mexico. In one corner of the Singleton location is a rocking chair with a crocheted pillow that Amaya’s mother made. It’s a reminder of the owners’ roots and the women who raised them. “You’d be surprised how many people take pictures there,” Amaya says. The Singleton location hosts a drag show every other Friday, featuring Catharaita Cavalli y Sus Diamantes. Both locations serve breakfast every day. Various egg
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dishes or chilaquiles cost $8. A small breakfast burrito costs $2, and a stack of three pancakes is $6. The owners are working to get a liquor license as well as outside seating at the Singleton location, and they expect to have both sometime this summer. “We appreciate people for their support,” Amaya says. “Our customers were so eager for us to open a second spot.” Amaya grew up in Oak Cliff, graduated from Kimball High School and worked at a bank for 12 years. Gonzalez grew up in Pleasant Grove. They met about eight years ago and have been married for two years. They both have entrepreneurial spirit, but Amaya credits his husband for the restaurant’s culinary success.
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“This wouldn’t be possible without his sazón,” he says. Frida’s Tacolandia 1150 W. Kiest Blvd. 469.458.3656 Hours: 9:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday Frida’s Tacolandia No. 2 839 Singleton Blvd. 469.372.5023 Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-
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THE UPSIDE As Oak Cliff changes before our eyes, this beacon stays put Story by RACHEL STONE Photography by ALICIA QUINTANS
BAD NEWS FOR OLD BUILDINGS just keeps coming in our neighborhood. Nine-story apartments now rise out of the gound where the old El Fenix and Polar Bear ice cream used to be on Colorado and Zang boulevards. A whole block of quaint apartment buildings on 8th Street will be demolished soon to make way for four-story apartment buildings in the Bishop Arts District. A fire damaged the Dallas historic landmark Oak Cliff United Methodist Church, on South Marsalis at East Jef-
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ferson, in January, further endangering a property that’s already been found to be under “demolition by neglect” in violation of City of Dallas code. The battle to preserve old buildings in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood sees few victories. But one of the winners is Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church, originally known as Oak Cliff Assembly of God, on Morrell Avenue. A partnership that includes husband-and-wife real estate pros A.J. and Michaella Ramler purchased the 101-year-old church in March.
The Ramlers also saved the Struck House, a West Dallas farmhouse built in 1890, when David Weekley Homes had plans to redevelop the site, which is behind the Belmont Hotel. They bought the house and renovated it, and they now live there with their two kids. The Struck House won a Preservation Dallas award, which will be presented to the Ramlers this month. The award is dedicated to all their neighbors who have wished well for the house over the years, Michaella Ramler says.
Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church needs a lot of work and has water damage in the sanctuary, but a full restoration is planned.
“I hear it all the time. ‘I’ve been walking by here for 20 years, and I’ve been waiting for someone to fix it up,’” she says. “That’s why it’s so great that the house won the award. We didn’t win the award. It’s for the house.” She’d never seen or heard of the Struck House until after it made news when the Dallas Landmark Commission nominated it for landmark designation, waylaying the developer’s plans. The church on Morrell Avenue has been her longtime daydream, however. The partners closed on the purchase just as Michaella was stepping down from her six-year role at Proxy Properties, the management company she owns
with her husband, in pursuit of her own enterprise. But she was instrumental in the purchase. They intend to fully renovate the building, including restoration of the badly damaged sanctuary and the original bell, says Emily Cortez, one of the partners. It could be used as a space for performances, weddings and offices, she says. “It’s important to us that it’s for the community,” she says. The church contains more recorded history than any of the buyers imagined. A City of Dallas Landmark nomination from 20 years ago told them the basics. But since announcing their purchase, the team found a well-researched 432-page history of the church and its congregations. That came from Jerry Alcorn, whose father, Carl Alcorn, was pastor of the church when the the belltower, which looks like a lighthouse, was built and dedicated in 1942. When the Ramlers found out the church was for sale, their friend and partner Ryan Behring invited them to service. The Zion Missionary Baptist Church congregation, lead by Pastor Jimmy L. Gates and Janet Gates, meets in the church’s administrative side. “He already had a relationship with them,” Michaella says. They attended two services and wound up sealing the deal, offering the congregation a “free leaseback” to continue meeting in the building at their discretion. The building needs a lot of work, but it has “good bones,” the partners say. And it has irreplaceable architectural details, such as giraffe stonework and stainedglass windows. It is already a City of Dallas historic landmark, and it’s a neighborhood landmark as well. “Part of my hope for the church is that it can be preserved for the community in whatever way it can be,” Michaella says. MAY 2022
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H E A RT I N T H E PA R K
Landscape architect Kevin W. Sloan’s legacy to live in the greenspace designed Story and by RACHEL STONE
RECENT GRAMMY AWARD winner Jon Batiste left The Kessler stage in October 2018, only to reappear in the second-floor gallery playing a melodica. Batiste wound up leading the whole audience onto the West Davis sidewalk for a finale under the marquee. Kevin Sloan was in the audience that night, and he thought it was just about the coolest thing. He had a video of the performance on his phone. “He showed it to everyone who came into the office for weeks after that,” co-worker Matt Stubbs says. Sloan, whose studio is in The Kessler building, remembered that he happened to own a melodica, “and he would bust that out,” Subbs says. Sloan, a landscape architect who opened his namesake practice in Oak Cliff in 2004,
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died of glioblastoma, brain cancer, at age 63 in October 2021. A new park replacing the Jefferson/12th Connector in the Winnetka Heights area will bear his name, Kevin W. Sloan Park. Sloan and his wife, Diane, moved to Winnetka Heights in 1994. His most famous project was Vitruvian Park in Addison, which opened in 2010. “He was the best natural land planner I’ve ever seen,” says Diane, his wife of 35 years. “He would look at the land and let the land tell him where to go.” She met him in Dallas in 1984, and in 1988 they moved to Syracuse, New Jersey, where he went to grad school, and had a fellowship in Florence, Italy. He started teaching as an assistant professor, and they wound up staying in Syracuse for six years, before returning to Dallas.
Kevin Sloan was also a talented speaker and storyteller, his wife says. More than anything else, he was a teacher, she says. Not just in school or work settings, but in life. “It didn’t matter who,” she says. “If there was something in his enormous brain that he wanted you to know, he would teach you whether you wanted to be taught or not.” Did you know the actor Kevin Bacon’s dad was a famous city planner and architect? Edmund Bacon’s Design of Cities is among the books Kevin Sloan taught as a professor of architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington. When the Bacon Brothers, a band consisting of Kevin Bacon and his brother, Michael Bacon, performed at The Kessler, Kevin Sloan got to tell them what their father’s work meant to him.
“They sat up there for about two hours talking about all kinds of things … architecture, music,” says Jeffrey Liles, the theater’s artistic director. For the record, anyone who knew Kevin Sloan is one degree of separation from Kevin Bacon.
JEFFERSON/12TH CONNECTOR When real estate agent Diane Sherman first moved to Oak Cliff in 1977, she and her husband began working with their neighbors on preservation efforts in Winnetka Heights. They helped the neighborhood gain historic district status in 1981. Removing the Jefferson/12th Connector was among the first causes that the group now known as Heritage Oak Cliff had. It wasn’t until after Scott Griggs was elected to Dallas City Council in 2010 that neighbors saw their chance to get it done. The intersection of two high-speed roadways, coupled with the angle of the connector, foments traffic accidents and near-misses. The City of Dallas removed either 19 or 21 old houses, calculations vary, along South Winnetka and South Clinton sometime in the 1960s, to create the road, as part of its thoroughfare plan. It was meant to move traffic quickly through Oak Cliff from the suburbs to Downtown. “The city’s priorities have changed, and thank goodness,” Sherman says. “They’re no longer blasting through established neighborhoods to make vehicular traffic greater.” The $1.6-million project to remove the connector was funded in a 2017 bond issue. It could break ground as soon as August and will take about two years to complete. Neighbors formed a task force to decide how to use the land, and some wanted to open it up to home builders, Sherman says. But green space won out in the end. Then they had to decide how to use it. Sherman knew of Kevin Sloan starting in 1982, when he designed the landscape for the law office of her husband, Daniel “Corky” Sherman. Sloan hadn’t been involved with the neighborhood association, “but I knew he was immensely talented,” Sherman says. “I got brave and said, ‘Will you help us?’”
KEVIN W. SLOAN PARK “When you get a chance, take it,” was a leading philosophy of Kevin Sloan’s life. There are always reasons to say “no” to travel, for example. Who is going to feed the cats? “You just say, ‘yes,’ and then you figure how to do it,” Diane Sloan says. The fellowship in Florence led to lifelong friends, overseas teaching opportunities and world travel. The Sloans went to Japan, and they loved England, Ireland and Scotland. Sloan couldn’t pass up the chance to design a new park in his own neighborhood, and he took on the project with his unique genius. When neighbors met at Turner House to decide what they wanted for a park, Sloan worked up a system of electronic clickers that counted people’s votes in reaction to his presen- Kevin and Diane Sloan. tation. “That gave them the data to make Leonardo da Vinci, who spends his decisions,” Stubbs says. weekends a couple of blocks away at The ultimate plan will create four the Sloans’ house. sections, which are categorized as a “From the beginning, Kevin and I park, a tree grove, a formal green and were just cushioned with the most an oval garden, all braided together incredible support,” Diane Sloan says. with plants. “I think he felt very much loved, with “They’re unique landscapes that are calls and letters and visits.” all connected,” Stubbs says. “We had Stubbs became managing principal no idea it would one day be named of Kevin Sloan Studio when his boss after Kevin.” could no longer come to work. Diane The city is paying to remove the roadSloan had to stop working then too, but way, but the park itself is unfunded. she remains a co-owner of the studio. “We definitely intend to carry on his Sloan’s friends and family have raised work and his legacy,” Stubbs says. $8,000 so far to pay for it. That, above all, is the lasting impresFriends and colleagues also raised sion Kevin Sloan left on the world, his money to pay for the bed and medical equipment necessary for his end-of-life wife says. care at home. “He made wonderful spaces that hopefully will be around for 100 years, Stubbs visited the Sloans at least but his students and colleagues are the twice a week in the nearly two years ones who are going to carry his work Kevin Sloan was dying of cancer, forward,” she says. because of their office cat, Leo, aka MAY 2022
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SCENE 2
Eyecon Studios on restoring murals at iconic 5 Mockingbird apartments › Interview by TINA-TIEN NGUYEN | Portrait by EMIL LIPPE
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rtist Jeff Garrison was on a job site when he received a call from neighborhood architect Paul Chapell. “He called us, driving by it, in a panic. We were at the studio; we had no idea what was going on. He was just on the phone telling us: ‘They’re painting over your murals!’ I was like: ‘Come on.’ I just laughed and didn’t initially believe it.” But Chapell was correct: The seven gigantic, iconic murals Garrison and Chris Arnold had painted on the exterior of the 5 Mockingbird apartment complex were being painted over by a construction crew. The colorful murals adorning the building, which is between Mockingbird Station and Kroger on the north side of Mockingbird Lane, were disappearing behind a solid wall of beige paint. Arnold and Garrison recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of their company, Eyecon Studios. Five years have passed since the original murals disappeared, and five months have passed since the artists completed the creation of a smaller version of what was lost. The new murals aren’t replicas of the previous ones, but they carry the same essence and theme of art deco, or what the artists like to call now, “contemporary deco.” The art is meant to represent Dallas culture, diversity and history, Garrison and Arnold say. DO YOU RECALL HOW YOU INITIALLY FELT WHEN YOU REALIZED THE MURALS WERE DISAPPEARING? ARNOLD: Chapell took this very personally, as he was the one who was responsible for this apartment being branded with paintings. At the time, I was thinking that if someone were to tell someone to come to 5 Mockingbird, people would have to be giving out the actual street address since nobody would know where to go. It was no longer going to be a landmark in Dallas. We were kind of the city’s navigational aides. GARRISON: We were just feeling the lines of grief at that point, where at first it’s disbelief, and then there was anger, disgust, sadness. ARNOLD: Yeah, basically the seven stages of death. GARRISON: It basically came down to the final stage of acceptance. There was nothing we could do about it. It wasn’t our property anymore. THERE WAS A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PUT OUT TO RESTORE THE MURALS. HOW DID YOU GUYS HEAR ABOUT IT? ARNOLD: The first time we did the original murals, which was a decade ago, the architects just tapped us directly since they wanted to work with us. Two ownerships later, the new owners didn’t exactly know who we were. SPI Advisory LLC , the new oweners, knew
a little bit about the original art, and they knew that they wanted the art back. So they just put out a request for qualifications out to the masses; it was just open to anybody. Another artist friend of ours saw an article in the Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate about the requests for artists. He called us and said, “Are you guys involved in this?” And we had no idea about it. So I had to call the new owners’ office and introduce ourselves and request the information that they were sending to artists. We told them that we would like to throw our hat in the ring and have a shot, but they weren’t guaranteeing us the job. They were just saying sure, we could just apply like everybody else. GARRISON: Yeah, they also had some other plans for some other areas they had talked about at one point, and they were trying to figure out if it was going to be the same artist group, or if they were going to bring in a bunch of different artists and somehow try to tie it all together. ARNOLD: Which is really admirable of them, because they weren’t bound to do any of that work. They didn’t have to put any of the artwork back, and their point of view was basically they were giving a gift back to the city that was taken away from the community. DESCRIBE THE STEPS OF HOW THE CURRENT MURALS WERE PAINTED OVER THE BEIGE COLORING. WAS IT EASY? GARRISON: You know, the deal we had with the ownership is that they were going to send somebody out to come power wash the surfaces so that the paint would properly adhere to it. So Chris came out to make sure that they had done their job, and he noticed that there’s this blue spot way up high. So he took a picture of it, and when he came back, we realized it looked like one of the colors from the original murals. Chris went back up there with a ladder and some duct tape to see if the new paint would properly adhere, and so he did the test … and it just peeled it right off to the original mural. ARNOLD: So we went back to the current ownership, and said we weren’t going to spend the time doing it, and it wasn’t worth it since the new paint wasn’t going to stick. So they had to completely strip the whole front face of the building. They were really the heroes of this entire story, because they didn’t have to put art back on the building. WHAT ARE THE THEMES AND MESSAGES IN THIS NEW MURAL? GARRISON: We wanted it to be bold, to where you could actually see if you didn’t have time to slow down to discover all of the details. We wanted to make sure that the murals represented things that are important to the city as a whole, to the demographic of Lakewood MAY 2022
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The “contemporary deco” murals at 5 Mockingbird were painted by artists at Eyecon Studios. Photography by Jessica Turner.
and East Dallas as well. ARNOLD: If you take a closer look at the bottle cap, you will see numerals 10, 2 and 4, which is meant to represent “Dr Pepper time.” Only veteran Dallasites would remember that. Artists through the centuries, they truly are the lens of the community. As artists, that’s our role. All the information gets synthesized through their eyes and put there, because these images reflect what’s going on right now. That is what these murals represent to us.
and as artists, our job is to reflect that. So in an effort to have some culture and mix it up, we wanted to have an African-American woman and an ambiguous-looking male figure. The most important thing from a design standpoint was that they wanted this to be in art deco nature with a modern flair. But to me, art deco is all about strength and stylized design, and that’s exactly what these two figures are. For the female figure, I wanted her to look powerful. I wanted someone to look at that and think strength, power and beauty before Black or white.
HOW ARE THE MURALS DIFFERENT THIS TIME AROUND COMPARED TO THE ORIGINAL MURALS A DECADE AGO? ARNOLD: This time around, we only had two areas and murals to work on, so our scope was a bit more limited. Cultural diversity is really important in the community
WHAT’S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MALE FIGURE? GARRISON: The male is cut with this dramatic blue. He’s got this dark hair, and we wanted him to be slightly ambiguous. He could be white, Hispanic or multi-ethnic. On the original murals, we had more of a chance to add
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African-American and white figures on there, different races and different people. But in this case, there was only space for two murals and figures we could work with. WHY IS IT THAT THERE’S ONLY SPACE FOR TWO MURALS THIS TIME AROUND? GARRISON: It’s just mostly budgeting, costrelated. WHAT MAKES THE NEW MURALS ICONIC? ARNOLD: The fact that it’s art deco in nature and that is important to me because I am a Dallas native. I grew up going to the Dr Pepper plant, and I thought it was a very beautiful building. So the fact that they kept some art deco spirit in this property is a big thing. Secondly, it’s considered a Dallas landmark and a gift back to the community. It’s also nice to hear from people coming up to us and identifying the mural in some way that was personal to them. Everyone always has a story that starts out with, “Hey, when I was a kid,” and they basically take ownership of the mural, and that’s very rewarding to us. GARRISON: Yeah, that’s one of the more enjoyable aspects to this type of art is that it’s not in a gallery space, it’s not in a private residence, it’s not in some high-rise office building, it’s available to the public and everyone. Even if people weren’t living at 5 Mockingbird, they felt like it was so personal to them. When you’re up on these metal lifts painting and someone takes time to stop, slow down and take a break from looking at their phone and finally give us a thumbs-up, it made us feel so good to know that people were appreciating the murals that we were restoring again. There’s also a lot of traffic on Mockingbird, so I’m sure it was a good show for everyone to see the process unfold and play out. WHAT DO YOU HOPE FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS NEW MURAL? ARNOLD: I want them to slow down, smile, ask questions and reflect. GARRISON: And if they get a chance in their busy schedules, to pull in and look for some of the hidden objects in the art. DO YOU THINK THIS MURAL WILL LAST FOR AWHILE? ARNOLD: It’s possible. That’s the goal!
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WORSHIP
By ERIC FOLKERTH
T h e a n swe r, my f r i e n d
WORSHIP
S p i r i t ca n n o t b e co n t ro l l e d , i t j u st i s
BAPTIST CLIFF TEMPLE BAPTIST CHURCH / 125 Sunset Ave. / 214.942.8601
“F
or who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2: 11) It’s been an awfully windy spring in Oak Cliff. I’m sure you have noticed this. For Christians, late spring and early summer lead us into a season we call “Pentecost.” Pentecost is celebrated as a moment God’s Holy Spirit comes mightily upon Jesus’ disciples, and they become the primary leaders of his movement. As such, it’s a season when we think a lot about God’s ineffable Spirit and how it moves among us. One of the most fascinating linguistic truths of the Bible is that the word for “spirit” and the word for “wind” are the same. This is true for the Hebrew word (Hebrew Scriptures) and the Greek word (New Testament). And to be clear, in both languages, it’s not sort of like the same word. It’s exactly the same. Is there any better metaphor for spirit than this? God’s spirit is a like a wind blowing among us. Sometimes, we encounter seasons of life when the wind feels distant and faint. At other times, like our spring weather this year, it blows strongly and powerfully. The truth we must acknowledge is, we do not control it. Just like the wind, spirit is a bit of a mystery. We cannot make spirit happen, and we cannot keep it from happening. Just like the wind, spirit blows in and through all people. Spirit is beyond our understanding and comprehension. Spirit enlivens all things. I believe that spirit is the driving force behind all creativity … art, music, science, technology. Spirit moves in and through all things. One of the worst things modern Christians do is pretend they have some exclusive ownership over God’s spirit. This tends to reduce God to something small and sectarian, rather than the broad and expansive spirit moving in and through all living things.
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I tend to think it’s why so many folks are turned off by the idea of religious insinuations. It’s because we religious folks have foolishly pretended we control God’s spirit. As the Gospel of John says: “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). I went to my first live concert in two years last month. A friend and I saw Shawn Colvin at The Kessler. It was so good to see live music again, and to hear this amazing “desert island” musician of my life. There is such a beautiful presence of spirit in live music and art. It’s also in science, and of course, we hope and pray it’s in our worship services too. But we don’t control any of it. As any good musician will tell you, music flows through them, not from them. This is true for all of us, whatever our calling and vocation. As ancient wisdom puts it, “Bidden or unbidden, God is present.” I cannot truly know the depths of your heart, and you cannot truly know the depths of mine. There is a mysterious spirit present in each that is beyond our logical comprehension. We Christians would do well to remember this. Far too often, we get preachy about other people, pretending we understand their lives, their pains, their sufferings, their histories. (Non-religious folks do this too, of course.) Spirit is ineffable. It moves where it will. And rather than pretend to control it, perhaps our calling as people of faith is to listen for it, to respond to it, and to trust in it in all of our days. ERIC FOLKERTH is Senior Pastor at Kessler Park United Methodist Church. The Worship section is underwritten by Advocate Publishing and neighborhood businesses and churches listed. Call 214.560.4212 or email sales@advocatemag. com for advertising information
Serving Oak Cliff since 1898 / CliffTemple.org / English and Spanish 9 am Contemporary Worship / 10 am Sunday School / 11 am Traditional GRACE TEMPLE BAPTIST Come to a Place of Grace!
Sunday Worship: English Service 9:30am / Spanish Service 11:00am 831 W. Tenth St. / 214.948.7587 / gracetempledallas.org
C AT H O L I C ST. CECILIA CATHOLIC PARISH / StCeciliaDallas.org / 1809 W Davis St. / Saturday - Bilingual Mass 5PM; Sunday – English Masses 7:30AM & 11AM; Spanish Masses 9AM & 1PM
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST EAST DALLAS CHRISTIAN CHURCH / 629 N. Peak Street / 214.824.8185
Sunday School 9:30 am / Worship 8:30 am - Chapel 10:50 am - Sanctuary / Rev. Deborah Morgan-Stokes / edcc.org
E P I S C O PA L CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH / ChristChurchDallas.org Sunday School: 11:15am /Mass: 9am & 10am English, 12:30pm Español Wednesday Mass: 6pm English, 8pm Español / 534 W. Tenth Street
METHODIST TYLER STREET CHURCH / Join us @tylerstreet.church /
927 W.10th St. / 214-946-8106 / Study of God’s Word Contemporary / Anderson Hall Sat 5 pm / Traditional & Worship Sunday 10 am Tylerstreet.com KESSLER PARK UMC / 1215 Turner Ave./ 214.942.0098 I kpumc.org
10:30am Sunday School/11:00 Worship /All are welcome regardless or race, creed, culture, gender or sexual identity.
N O N - D E N O M I N AT I O N A L KESSLER COMMUNITY CHURCH / 2100 Leander Dr. at Hampton Rd.
“Your Hometown Church Near the Heart of the City.” 10:30 am Contemporary Service / kesslercommunitychurch.com TRINITY CHURCH OAK CLIFF / Love God. Love Others. Make Disciples. Sundays 10:00 am / Worship & children’s Sunday School 1139 Turner Ave. / trinitychurchoakcliff.org
PRESBYTERIAN PARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH/ 4124 Oak Lawn Ave Sunday Worship 9:00 & 11:00 A.M. To all this church opens wide her doors - pcpc.org
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STRAIGHT & NARROW
Former gang member and prison reformist Antong Lucky writes memoir Story by RAVEN JORDAN | Photo courtesy of ANTONG LUCKY
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THROUGH THE 1980S AND ’90S, the Frazier Courts housing project in Dallas was a hotbed for trouble. It’s also where Antong Lucky, a gang-leader-turned-reformactivist, grew up. Lucky says he became a gang leader in middle school. Though he wanted to be a good kid, staying on the straight and narrow wasn’t part of survival in the projects. A rival gang threatened his life twice but ended up shooting and injuring a nearby child instead. These events led him and a few friends to start the Dallas 415 Bloods gang to combat the Crips’ attacks. Their knowledge of gangs was based on the 1988 Dennis Hopper-directed movie Colors and the band NWA, he says. “We just knew the enemy of the Crips was the Bloods from watching the movie,” he says. “So we just said ‘we’re gonna be Bloods, in the roughest, toughest gang in the city,’ and we did, from 1993 to 1995. I don’t glamorize it, but it did happen.” Now, 20 years after his release from prison, Lucky has written a memoir, A Redemptive Path Forward: Incarceration Activism, available this month, which also happens to be the anniversary of his first sentencing 25 years ago. He signed a deal with Penguin Random House for the project. The book details his experiences growing up in South Dallas, what happened to him while he was in prison, and his life afterward as an activist. Beating up other kids and fights with rivals from other gangs became normal. Then one day, the police raided his neighborhood, and many of his friends wound up in prison. That’s when Lucky transitioned to drug dealing, mainly selling fake crack cocaine and then real crack cocaine, according to his memoir. He justified drug dealing as providing for himself and his family. Initiation of new gang members involved standing against five members in a fight without falling. Lucky was the only one who could stop or start the initiation, since he was the leader. He says he would stop the fight depending on the amount of blood coming from the new recruit’s face. Once he was convicted and sent to prison, a fellow inmate named Willie Ray Fleming became Lucky’s mentor. Fleming was 35, and Lucky was 19 at the time. Fleming told Lucky that he noticed other inmates doing whatever he asked of them and paying “homage” to him. “If you can lead these dudes to do wrong, you’ve got the same ability to lead them to do right,” Fleming told him. “I had never heard those words before,” Lucky says. His mentor gave Lucky books to read, and he began using his knowledge to teach other inmates. He began to view prison as a learning experience. “I just began to educate myself. And I made prison be college,” he says. “I started teaching in prison. I became the sought-out inmate because I was really calling on men to be accountable and responsible.” It took about three years to write the book, and the
process had a cathartic element to it, al l owing him to revisit his past and fears from a different perspective. He worried about how those closest to him would interpret his retelling of events. “I have come to realize that they may see the stuff totally differently than the way that I was describing it,” he says. Alongside the late Bishop Omar Jahwar, an Oak Cliff native, Lucky says he’s helped build several nonprofits aimed at reforming atrisk youth, those coming out of prison and former gangsters in disadvantaged communities throughout Dallas. The nonprofits i n c l u d e Ur b a n Specialists, Original Gangsters United and the Heal America Movement. After Jahwar dide last year from COVID complications, Lucky took over as president of Urban Specialists. “Redemptive activism,” a term Lucky hopes will become more common, is part of his mission to challenge the justice system with love, courage and truth. “So whether you are Republican or Democrat, if you’ve really embraced redemptive activism, you can have real conversations with people and find real solutions.”
I was inclined to write about this in hopes that my pain, my struggle, everything that I went through, the lessons that I learned could be medicine for somebody else.
A Redemptive Path Forward: Incarceration Activism will be available May 17 on Amazon. Lucky is planning a book signing and chat May 28 from 6-8:30 p.m.; a location has yet to be announced.
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HOUSE PAINTING
ONE CALL WEEKEND SERVICES Contractor & Handyman. Remodels, Renovations . Paint, Plumbing, Drywall, Electrical.469-658-9163
Let Us Tackle Your To-Do List!
ELECTRICAL SERVICES
❚ Drywall ❚ Doors ❚ Senior Safety
❚ Carpentry ❚ Small & Odd Jobs ❚ And More!
ANNA’S ELECTRIC Your Oak Cliff Electrician Since 1978. tecl25513. 214-943-4890 ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com 50 Yrs. Electrical Exp. Insd. 214-328-1333
Firewood/Cooking Wood
WE REFINISH!
• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks • Cultured Marble • Kitchen Countertops
Locally Full service trimming & harvested planting of native trees. wood! 214.946.7138
LEGAL SERVICES
214-631-8719
www.allsurfacerefinishing.com
A WILL? THERE IS A WAY! Estate/Probate matters.maryglennattorney.com 214-802-6768
PEST CONTROL
NEED A FENCING & DECK PRO?
Look here for local professionals.
MCDANIEL PEST CONTROL Prices Start at $85 + Tax For General Treatment. Average Home-Interior/Exterior & Attached Garage. Quotes For Other Services. 214-328-2847. Lakewood Resident
CLASSIFIED, BUT FAR FROM SECRET.
NATURE KING PEST MANAGEMENT INC. Squirrels, Racoons, Skunks, Snakes, Possums, etc. Pest & Termite. Neighborhood Resident 30+ Yrs.exp. 214-827-0090
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AceHandymanServices.com ❚ 972.308.6035
"Keeping Children & Pets in Mind"
©2020 Ace Handyman Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Locally owned and independently operated Franchise. Licensed & insured.
Termite Specialist - Mosquito Mister Systems Licensed · Insured · Residential · Commercial · Organic
214-350-3595 • Abetterearth.crw@gmail.com
TH ELECTRIC Reasonable Rates. Licensed & Insured. Ted. E257 214-808-3658
abetterearth.com
EMPLOYMENT
PLUMBING
J U N E D E A D L I N E M AY 3
WANTED: BOOKEEPER Experienced in Quick books for general construction and home flipping. Send resume or call Ricky:(512) 554-6084 R.Moises.Garza@gmail.com
TO ADVERTISE CALL 214.560.4203
AC PLUMBING Repairs, Fixtures, Senior Discounts. Gary Campbell. 214-321-5943 ANCHOR PLUMBING Your trusted Oak Cliff plumber for 30+ years. 214-946-1638.
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WHERE C AN I FIND L OC AL ...? PLUMBING
PLUMBING ISSUES? We’re the Experts!
30 Years of Excellent Service • Water Heaters • Water Leaks 24/7 On-Call • Sewer Backups • All Plumbing Repairs ASK ABOUT DISCOUNTS!
972-379-4000
staggsplumbing.co
Master Plumber License M-17697
REMODELING FENN CONSTRUCTION Kitchens And Baths. Call Us For Your Remodeling Needs. 214-343-4645. dallastileman.com INTEX CONSTRUCTION Specialty in Ext/Int. Bath/ Kitchen/Windows, Steve.33yrs exp. 214-875-1127 O’BRIEN GROUP INC. Remodeling Dallas For Over 24 Years www.ObrienGroupInc.com 214-341-1448 RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.com 214-403-7247
POOLS
CERULEAN POOL SERVICES Family Owned/ TK REMODELING 972-533-2872 Operated. Weekly maintenance, Chemicals, parts & Complete Full Service Repairs, Kitchen repairs. CeruleanPro.com 214-557-6996 & Bath/Remodeling, Restoration. Name It- We Do It. REAL ESTATE dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com ESTATE HOME NEEDS TO BE SOLD? Facing forclosure? IG Heron Homes ROOFING & GUTTERS Call Ricardo Garza @ 469-426-7839 NEAR WRLAKE 2/1 DUPLEX. Hdwds, Appl. Yard Serv. CHA, 1/carport. $1,400+Dep. 469-879-2977
REMODELING A2H GENERAL CONTRACTING,LLC Remodeling, Painting, Drywall/Texture, Plumbing, Electrical,Siding, Bathroom/Kitchen Remodels, Tilling, Flooring, Fencing. 469-658-9163. Free Estimates. A2HGeneralContractingLLC@gmail.com
SERVICES FOR YOU
SERVICES FOR YOU
ALOE CARE HEALTH medical alert system. Most advanced medical alert product on the market. Voiceactivated! No wi-fi needed! Special offer w/code CARE20 for $20 off Mobile Companion. 1 -855-521-5138 ATTENTION ACTIVE DUTY & MILITARY VETERANS.Begin a new career & earn a Degree at CTI! Online Computer & Medical training available for Veterans & Families.To learn more, call 888-449-1713 AT&T INTERNET. Starting at $40/month w/12-mo agmt. 1 TB of data/mo. Ask how to bundle & SAVE! Geo & svc restrictions apply.1-888-796-8850 BATH & SHOWER UPDATES in as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 855-761-1725
ELIMINATE GUTTER CLEANING FOREVER! LeafFilter, the most advanced debris-blocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 15% off Entire Purchase. 10% Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1-855-402-0373 GENERAC Prepare for power outages today with a GENERAC home standby generator $0 Down + Low Monthly Pmt. Request a free Quote. Call before the next power outage: 1-844-334 -8353 HUGHESNET Finally, super-fast internet no matter where you live.25 Mbps just $59.99/mo! Unlimited Data is Here. Stream Video. Bundle TV & Internet. Free Installation. Call 866-499 -0141 LOOKING FOR ASSISTED LIVING, memory care, or independent living? A Place for Mom simplifies the process of finding senior living at no cost to your family. Call 1-833-386-1995 today!
BERT ROOFING INC.
DENTAL INSURANCE-Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Covers 350 procedures. Real insurance -not a discount plan. Get your free dental info kit! 1-888-623-3036 www.dental50plus.com/58 #6258
• Residential/Commercial • Over 30,000 roofs completed • Seven NTRCA “Golden Hammer” Awards • Free Estimates
DIRECTV NOW - No Satellite. $40/mo 65 Channels. Stream news, live events, sports & on demand titles. No contract/commitment. 1-866-825-6523
THE GENERAC PWRCELL, a solar plus battery storage system. SAVE money, reduce your reliance on the grid, prepare for power outages and power your home. Full installation services
DISH TV $64.99 For 190 Channels + $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply.Promo Expires 7/21/21.1-833-872-2545
UPDATE YOUR HOME with beautiful new blinds & shades. Free in-home estimates make it convenient to shop from home.Professional installation. Top quality - Made in the USA. Free consultation: 877212-7578.
Family owned and operated for over 40 years
www.bertroofing.com
214.321.9341
NEED A PLUMBER?
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DONATE YOUR CARS TO VETERANS TODAY. Help and Support our Veterans. Fast - FREE pick up. 100% tax deductible. Call 1-800 -245-0398
PAYING TOP CASH for men's sportwatches! Rolex, Breitling, Omega, Patek Philippe, Heuer, Daytona, GMT, Submariner and Speedmaster. Call 833-603-3236
TUTORING/ LESSONS GARTH ORR Private math & physics tutoring that works! Grade 8-12. garthorr.com
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The best of Oak Cliff real estate is at daveperrymiller.com
PENDING
SOLD, Represented Buyer
UNDER CONTRACT
SOLD, Represented Seller
2016 Timbergrove Cir
308 N. Montclair Ave
1678 Kings Hwy
214 N. Edgefield Ave
3 BEDS | 3 BATHS | 2,720 SQ. FT. | $950,000
5 BEDS | 3.1 BATHS | 2,952 SQ. FT. | $849,900
4 BEDS | 3 BATHS | 2,003 SQ. FT. | $660,000
3 BEDS | 2.2 BATHS | 2,212 SQ. FT. | $650,000
Susan Melnick
Linda Ward & Ged Dipprey
Charlotte Thompson
Emily Ruth Cannon
214.460.5565 susanmelnick@dpmre.com
214.225.4663 gooddeedgroup@dpmre.com
214.232.4961 charlotte@dpmre.com
415.525.9062 emilyruth@dpmre.com
PENDING
2115willomet.dpmre.com
SOLD, Represented Seller
SOLD, Represented Buyer
1435 Kings Hwy
2115 N. Willomet Ave
2858 Duval Dr
2414 Crow Creek
2 BEDS | 2 BATHS | 1,588 SQ. FT. | $525,000
3 BEDS | 2.1 BATHS | 1,554 SQ. FT. | $479,000
3 BEDS | 2 BATHS | 1,906 SQ. FT. | $399,900
3 BEDS | 1.1 BATHS | 1,768 SQ. FT. | $398,900
Susan Melnick
Michael Mahon
DeCarla Anderson Group
Emily Ruth Cannon
214.460.5565 susanmelnick@dpmre.com
214.914.5410 mmahon@dpmre.com
214.695.9043 decarla@dpmre.com
415.525.9062 emilyruth@dpmre.com
251510th.dpmre.com
SOLD, Represented Buyer
SOLD, Represented Seller
SOLD, Represented Seller
2515 W. 10th St
2726 Gladstone Dr
1130 Mountain Lake Rd
441 Trinity River Cir
2 BEDS | 1 BATH | 1,276 SQ. FT. | $360,000
3 BEDS | 2 BATHS | 1,156 SQ. FT. | $340,000
2 BEDS | 1 BATH | 1,409 SQ. FT. | $335,000
2 BEDS | 2.1 BATHS | 2,254 SQ. FT. | PRIVATE SALE
Michael Mahon
Ged Dipprey & Sandra Bussey
Michael Mahon
Michael Mahon
214.914.5410 mmahon@dpmre.com
214.225.4663 gooddeedgroup@dpmre.com
214.914.5410 mmahon@dpmre.com
214.914.5410 mmahon@dpmre.com
An Ebby Halliday Company
Price and availability subject to change. Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.