83R18733 JGH-D
 
  By: Giddings H.R. No. 1336
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         WHEREAS, The proud heritage of a Dallas institution is being
  honored on April 12, 2013, with the dedication of the Moorland YMCA
  Building on Flora Street as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark; and
         WHEREAS, In the late 1920s, the Young Men's Christian
  Association of Dallas began an effort to create a YMCA in the
  African American neighborhood of North Dallas; despite the economic
  hardship of the Great Depression, local residents raised $75,000,
  and another $25,000 was contributed by the Rosenwald Fund, which
  helped build YMCAs for African American communities across the
  American South; and
         WHEREAS, Named for Dr. Reverend Jesse Edward Moorland, a
  national official of the YMCA, the new facility was designed in the
  Italian Renaissance Revival style and opened in 1930; it offered
  programs in education and recreation for local youth and made its
  gymnasium available for use by nearby schools; a number of
  prominent athletes received their earliest training there, among
  them welterweight boxing champion Curtis Cokes, professional
  football player Jimmy "Iron Claw" Hill, and Chicago Cubs shortstop
  Ernie Banks; and
         WHEREAS, This handsome, redbrick building became a hub for
  the social, cultural, and political life of the African American
  community in Dallas as one of the few places where African Americans
  could congregate outside of church; it served as an important
  meeting venue for civil rights activists and members of the NAACP,
  and it provided hospitality for African American visitors who had
  difficulty finding a hotel room in the segregated city; famous
  overnight guests included boxer Muhammad Ali and Supreme Court
  Justice Thurgood Marshall; and
         WHEREAS, Eventually the needs of area YMCA members outgrew
  the building, and the facility on Flora Street was closed in 1970
  and replaced with a location in Oak Cliff; the Moorland YMCA
  Building continues to serve the community today as the home of the
  Dallas Black Dance Theatre, which purchased the property in 1999;
  and
         WHEREAS, For more than 80 years, the Moorland YMCA Building
  on Flora Street has played a meaningful role in the lives of African
  Americans in Dallas, and the preservation of this notable structure
  for future generations is truly deserving of recognition; now,
  therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas
  Legislature hereby commemorate the dedication of the Moorland YMCA
  Building as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and commend all
  those responsible for this noteworthy occasion.