Juanita Craft Civil Rights House reopens to public, tells story of Dallas civil rights icon

DALLAS - The South Dallas home of late civil rights pioneer Juanita Craft is now open for the public to learn how she helped shape the city and our world.

The single-story house turned museum is filled with photos and artifacts from Craft's life, telling her story.

"The importance of it is a legacy doesn't die. A legacy lives on," said Candace Thompson, the Board Chair for the Friends of Juanita Craft Museum.  

Juanita Craft was instrumental in desegregating the State Fair of Texas and had an incredible impact on rights for all across the country.

"We had a civil rights movement here, and it was very active," said Thompson. 

Craft, a former council member, entertained politicians and community leaders in the home she moved into in 1950.

"You can see through this entire house that she stayed connected to the community that she lived in, while she was still making leaps and bounds in the work that she was doing," said John Spriggins, the general manager of the South Dallas Cultural Center. "There's a photograph of her shooting a basketball where she is in the middle of kids literally shooting a basketball. She's not there as a young woman. She's there as an elder, but still there shoulder to shoulder with the kids she inspired."

Restoring and creating the museum was a six-year journey.

"This is not just all about Juanita Craft, it's about all these very important historical moments that helped shape and change this country," Spriggins said.

The house is currently open to tours by appointment.

You can learn more about the museum here.