From Forest Avenue to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

Why Elsie Faye Heggins led the charge to reshape South Dallas in the image of its Black residents

By: Jerry L. Hawkins

Outlets: Dallas Free Press

Published: August 15, 2025

Words: 2,052

Last Updated: 11 months, 2 weeks ago

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The election of Elsie Faye Heggins to the Dallas City Council in 1980 signaled a massive change to Dallas’ political environment, and she and her community knew it.Heggins and her fellow South Dallas residents commenced giant-sized plans to terraform South Dallas. In his document, “Struggles Over Street Names in Dallas,” scholar Edward Sebesta details Heggins’ vision for reimagining her community (including a map titled “Elsie Faye Heggins’ Vision”):“Heggins proposed …

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