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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The city of Dallas lost an esteemed professor, |
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author, storyteller, and entrepreneur with the passing of Dr. Njoki |
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McElroy on October 16, 2023; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Sherman in 1925, Njoki McElroy grew up in the |
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Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas; she attended segregated, |
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under-resourced public schools, but credited her supportive Black |
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teachers with enabling her to enroll in Xavier University in New |
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Orleans at the age of 16; after beginning her career as a public |
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school teacher, she earned her master's and doctoral degrees in |
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performance studies from Northwestern University; she went on to |
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teach there for over three decades, creating groundbreaking courses |
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in the performance of Black literature; in 1987, she joined the |
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Master of Liberal Studies program at Southern Methodist University; |
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adoring students nicknamed her "Queen Professor," and many of them |
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went on to become leaders in the entertainment world and other |
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fields; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. McElroy was a prolific writer, and The Dallas |
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Morning News hailed in particular her autobiographical 1012 |
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Natchez: A Memoir of Grace, Hardship and Love; her short story was |
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anthologized in the critically acclaimed From Daughters to Mothers: |
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I've Always Meant to Tell You, and her plays were produced on |
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university and professional stages alike; a master storyteller, she |
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performed and conducted workshops throughout the U.S., Europe, and |
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the Caribbean, training educators in ways to engage students by |
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incorporating storytelling in their instruction; she directed |
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several productions centered on overcoming the legacy of racism in |
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Dallas, most notably 2019's From Freedman's Town to Botham Jean: |
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Stories of Racial Healing; as founder of the annual Back Home with |
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the Folks Festival, she provided a platform for artists in |
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marginalized neighborhoods, and she was a generous mentor to |
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countless people and raised money to support their creative |
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endeavors; and |
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WHEREAS, Abundantly talented, Dr. McElroy was also a |
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photographer and a television producer, and she and her husband |
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launched Black Fox Enterprises, a beauty company with major-market |
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distribution; following his death in 1978, she took over as |
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president/CEO; among myriad accolades, she received the |
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President's Council on Youth Opportunity Award, the NAACP Living |
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Legend Award, and a Ford Foundation Fellowship; moreover, she was |
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the treasured matriarch of a fine family that included six children |
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and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and |
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great-great-grandchildren; and |
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WHEREAS, Njoki McElroy led a rich and purposeful life, and |
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her legacy as a champion of Black culture will continue to resonate |
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for years to come; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the memory |
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of Dr. Njoki McElroy and extend sincere sympathy to all who mourn |
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her passing; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Dr. Njoki |
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McElroy. |