Remembering the Civil Rights Struggle Across Texas
Part 1 – A. Maceo Smith Changed the Way We Think
Martin Luther King Jr. said “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Much has been written and said about Antonio Maceo Smith, but history makes it clear that he was the man of his time in Dallas . Smith not only changed the perception about Blacks in Dallas , but also breathed new life into an African-American community that needed to change the way it thought about itself. “He was a man who broadened the importance of the Civil Rights struggle in Dallas ,” said Dallas Historian Donald Payton. “It was his voice and hard work that brought national attention and federal government interest in Dallas .” According to Payton, prior to Smith's arrival in Dallas , many issues were handled as neighborhood or church issues. Without real political power, Blacks were reduced to handling much by approaching Whites with hat-in-hand.
Then a young businessman came to Dallas in 1933 and along with the Rev. Maynard H. Jackson built a coalition hoping to stimulate social, economic and political improvement in the Black community. Prior to his arrival, historical documents provide insights in a city that was draped in segregation and supportive of Jim Crow laws. Neighborhoods, schools, restaurants, restrooms, water fountains, department stores, public services and transportation facilities were all separated and other freedoms limited in the Black community.
Politically, Blacks were paralyzed since “all-white” primaries shut Blacks out of state politics. Black neighborhoods were scattered across different sections of the city, but were still divided by race. Segregation also created a severe housing shortage for Blacks coming to the city.
According to Darwin Payne's book, “Big D: Triumphs and Troubles”, Smith came to Dallas and became active in the Negro Chamber of Commerce and, by using his skills and talents as an organizer, worked to transform the chamber into a force that promoted economic opportunities for Blacks throughout the city.
The long trek for this African-American trailblazer began on April 16, 1903 in Texarkana , Texas . He completed degrees at Fisk University in Nashville and went on to get a Masters in Business Education from New York University . He then organized a small ad agency and published a weekly newspaper and looked forward to a bright career in New York . After his father died, Smith returned to Texarkana and was moved by the poor treatment and intolerable conditions Black citizens faced.
Moved by conditions and wanting to change things in his hometown, Smith became co-owner of a realty company and organized a chapter of the National Negro Business League. After making some headway, he moved to Oklahoma City to serve as a general agent for a life insurance company and used his skills there to revive the local NNBL chapter.
In 1932, Black undertaker E.J. Crawford went to Oklahoma City and hired Smith to come to Dallas to help organize a new insurance company and manage a burial association. In Dallas , he joined the Negro Chamber of Commerce and made it a powerful organization for promoting economic opportunity. During that time, he not only taught business administration in Dallas ISD but also served as publisher of the weekly Dallas Express. He was also instrumental in getting funding for the Negro Building in 1936.
Smith's genius led to activities and programs that helped and encouraged “mom and pop” grocery stores, barber and beauty shops, small restaurants and other Black businesses.
In 1937 he became an administrative aid with the Federal Housing Administration, according to UTA Texas History Online archives. In 1939 the United States Housing Authority appointed Smith regional relations advisor in Region VI.
Sometimes referred to as “Mr. Civil Rights” or “Mr. Organization,” Smith was a lifelong activist in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Texas . He participated in the legal campaign against the White primary system that culminated in Smith v. Allwright (1944). (The plaintiff was Lonnie E. Smith, not A. Maceo Smith.) He also participated in the legal campaign against educational segregation in Texas , culminating in Sweatt v. Painter (1950).
As cochairman of the Biracial, (later Triracial,) Committee for the City of Dallas , Smith played a prominent role in the peaceful desegregation of public facilities and schools in the city. He served on the national board of directors of the NAACP from 1953 until 1957, when his supervisors at the FHA forced him to resign.
However, adversity did not deter Smith from his activism. He continued to be active participating in the founding and leadership of the Texas State Negro Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Council of Negro Organizations, the Dallas Urban League, and the Texas State Progressive Voters League. He also served as general president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity from 1952 until 1954 and was a member of the Rotary Club of Dallas and the Knights of Pythias, a member and trustee of New Hope Baptist Church in Dallas , and a member of the board of trustees of Bishop College .
“He had the ability to deal with the federal government that resulted in bringing dollars and resources from the outside that led to growth,” Payton said. “That bargaining power and influence had a domino effect for decades in business, federal and state positions.”
Smith also was a force in integrating the post office in Dallas and the hiring of more Black employees to other federal positions. It was he who spearheaded both the voting rights and the teacher equalization suits in Texas , according to records from Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson.
Much of his work in changing Dallas was been remembered, recognized and respected in federal circles with the naming of a federal building in his honor in 1993.
Smith retired as assistant regional administrator for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1972. He died in December 1977.
Today, the A. Maceo Smith award is given to a community leader and citizens for distinguished service to the African-American community. For 50, years, Smith's dedication and no defeat spirit made him one of the most effective active Black voices on Black issues for the African-American community.
Like King, the philosopher Pittacus said the measure of a man is what he does with power. He never sought to make a name for himself or exploit his position or prominence. A. Maceo Smith's power was his unselfish devotion and dedication to a struggle that still remains as one of the greatest and best examples of leadership in the hearts and minds of a new generation of Black Americans.
