the city’s African American residents own homes. The city has received $5 million in private grants to create more affordable housing. Being implemented are 31 recommendations indicated by a housing study. Among them is a $3 million bond package that is being used to establish a land bank to acquire vacant properties on which to build affordable homes. —C.M.B.
Main Industries
Technology, telecommunications, banking, financial services, and healthcare
Landmarks
Fair Park/African American Museum
Annual Events
Black Invitational Rodeo; Grambling vs. Prairie View A&M State Fair Classic
B.E. Industrial/Service 100 Companies
Facility Interiors Inc.
Top Black Officials
Donald W. Hill, deputy mayor pro tem, city council; Eddie Bernice Johnson, U.S. Rep.; Charles W. Daniels, assistant city mayor; John Wiley Rice, county commissioner
Websites
www.dallascityhall.com; www.dallasblack.com
The sense of feeling welcome is what Carol and Michael Davis like most about Dallas. “Michael is a native son. I have no history, no roots here, and still I find the city inviting,” says Carol, who grew up in the Washington, D.C., area. Until four years ago, the couple was living and working in New York City. Michael’s employer, JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management, reassigned him to Dallas to help set up a regional office. Married six months at the time, Carol moved with him.
“We realized there was a high concentration of corporate retirement plans,” says Michael, one of the first African American managing directors in the institutional asset management division. “We were looking to build a franchise here. … The city has changed a lot since I grew up. It is much more eclectic,” adds the graduate of the University of Texas and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
Since the couple was trying to start a family, cost of living was a major concern. “We wanted to be in a position where we would have the luxury of my staying home with a baby or going to work based on what was convenient, so we wouldn’t be under any financial pressure,” explains Carol, who studied engineering as an undergraduate at Princeton and earned her M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. Indeed, she took care of their daughter during her first 15 months from the comfort of their single-family home. Today, Carol works part time as an independent consultan
t in healthcare management.
The thirtysomething couple, who have a household income over $100,000, opted for in-home childcare, but they have identified good preschool programs for their 2-year-old. “I’ve been involved in the local preschool association in our neighborhood, the east part of Dallas,” says Carol, noting the availability of various resources, including those for stay-at-home moms. —Carolyn M. Brown
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WASHINGTON, D.C.
A CITY THAT ONCE EARNED A REPUTATION AS THE “MURDER CAPITAL,” Washington, D.C., is enjoying a renaissance of sorts under Mayor Anthony A. Williams. The violent crime rate for the nation’s capital is well below the average for other top 10 cities. Still, survey respondents expressed overall dissatisfaction with public safety.
“We don’t have the same community policing focus other cities have. Even in well-to-do neighborhoods, there are a lot of complaints about the police department and its