Rediscovering Central Track and Deep Ellum at the African American Museum, Dallas

The African American Museum in Dallas is currently hosting two exhibitions aimed at resurrecting the vibrant community that once thrived in the area now traversed by a highway. Central Track: Crossroads of Deep Ellum and Seeing a World Blind Lemon Never Saw are both on display at the Fair Park museum until May 30.

Co-curated by Alan Govenar and Phillip Collins, Central Track delves into the history of North Central Avenue, also known as Central Track or Stringtown. This area, linking Deep Ellum to what was formerly Freedman Town post-Civil War and now recognized as Uptown, was demolished in the 1940s to make way for the construction of North Central Expressway and the I-635 overpass.

The exhibition showcases life during the 1920s and 1930s, when the neighborhood thrived with Black-owned businesses like theaters, cafes, drug stores, and music shops. Notable among them was the landmark building at 2551 Elm Street, designed by William Sidney Pittman, the first African American architect in Texas. This building housed the offices of many Black professionals, including lawyers, doctors, and dentists.

Despite facing challenges in sourcing photographic materials, the co-curators relied on articles from both white and Black newspapers to illustrate the diverse community’s reality juxtaposed with the racist attitudes of the era. The exhibition reveals the resilience and cultural richness of Deep Ellum and Central Track, where individuals from various cultural backgrounds came together out of necessity.

The second exhibition, curated by Collins, presents Alan Govenar’s 34 large-scale images depicting significant places in the life of blues singer Blind Lemon Jefferson. Printed on German archival paper, these photographs capture the landscapes of East Texas, where Jefferson grew up, and highlight the sites associated with his life and music in Dallas.

These exhibitions serve as a poignant reminder of the communities lost to urban development and aim to preserve the memory of their cultural significance. Through visual storytelling and historical narratives, they shed light on the vibrant past of these neighborhoods and the individuals who once called them home.