By — Mit’Chell Lee
Some people have an impact on the world, even if it is small. SE students can learn about one March 22.
William Marvin Dulaney, history associate professor and department chair at the University of Texas at Arlington, will discuss Julia Scott Reed at 11:30 a.m. in the SE Campus library (ESED 1200).
Reed, born in 1917, was the first black woman newspaper columnist of her time working in Dallas, her hometown. Her work was so successful that it helped the community, Dulaney said, but not many people know of her. Dulaney hopes to get a message across to empower people.
“I want to show her significance in the history of Dallas,” he said. “She was not only the first African-American woman to write a regular column for a major daily newspaper, The Dallas Morning News, she was also involved in politics and the civil rights movement in Dallas,” he said.
All of those activities were part of an equal rights movement, Dulaney said.
Students will learn how she moved from a secretary to city editor, sat on numerous advisory boards and became a Democratic Party Precinct chair, a position she held for 23 years.
Dulaney will present the lecture on Reed’s life and times based on research he has done on her for the past five years. He believes all she did and even the way she got hired will be interesting as he describes the steps she took to gain her success.
“She is a feisty, politically astute and very articulate voice for African-Americans today in Dallas,” he said.
Reed was dedicated and hard working, Dulaney said. She helped open lines of communication between black and white communities in Dallas. More people should know of her existence, he said.
