South Dallas couple recall role in civil rights activism alongside Al Lipscomb

Elisabeth Dillon/Staff Photographer Ike and Lillie Bell Crawford, who moved to Dallas in 1958, fought to have their children bused to better schools and worked alongside Al Lipscomb on projects that included the creation of what's now the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center.

By LINDSAY RUEBENS Staff Writer lruebens@dallasnews.com Published 17 July 2011 10:40 PM

Ike Crawford doesnt like to talk about how white people mistreated him decades ago. He doesnt dwell on the bricks thrown at his car, on being denied entry to restaurants or on sleeping outside gas stations while traveling. He says it just perpetuates hate. Things were so different than they are now, said Crawford, who turns 82 this month. A lot of people got this race thing wrong. But Crawford wasnt a wallflower during the civil rights movement, and he and his wife, Lillie Bell, are among the fading voices of African-Americans who raised families in Dallas during that era. Their memories were refreshed with the death last month of Dallas civil rights activist Al Lipscomb. Ike considered himself one of Lipscombs assistants, and he and Lillie Bell said they were grieved to hear of his death. He wasnt afraid to take a stand for the right thing, said Lillie Bell, 75. Hes going to be missed. Hes really going to be missed. Ike said he first met Lipscomb at St. Mark Baptist Church in the early 1970s and soon found a leader in him. When I found out he was standing for what was right for all people, not just blacks, thats why I followed him, Ike said. The Crawfords, who married in 1953, moved to Dallas in 1958 when Ike was transferred for his job in rubber manufacturing. They bought their South Dallas home in 1960 and sent their children, 16 in all, to Oran M. Roberts Elementary School off East Grand Avenue, then considered a black school. Lillie Bell said they soon realized their children were receiving a substandard education. And she feared for their safety. They would just fight, fight, fight all the time, she said. It was so sad. And the teachers werent qualified. Wanting a better education for his children, Ike took action. With the assistance of Lipscomb, Ike arranged to have his kids bused to Robert T. Hill Middle School and Bryan Adams High School. I went all the way to Austin, said Ike, whose formal schooling ended in eighth grade. They couldnt learn nothing in the black school. And they were scared to death. Lillie Bell said her kids were set back two years academically, and the transition was made even more difficult because of racist classmates and teachers. She remembers when a young white teacher picked on one of her daughters, and she eventually paid the woman a visit. I told her, I love my child just like your mama loves you, she said. I didnt want no kind of race getting in the way of her education. She said the teacher then asked forgiveness for her mistreatment. Causes remembered

Lavette Lipscomb-Dudley, one of Lipscombs daughters, said Ike worked with her dad on different civil rights causes, including school desegregation. She also was bused to Bryan Adams. We were bused from the neighborhood schools to other schools for a better education, she said. Back then they said it was separate but equal, but we know that wasnt the case. Lipscomb-Dudley, 53, said she recalls Ike, her dad and other parents forming a committee with the white schools to improve race relations. The sixth of eight children, Lipscomb-Dudley said there were eight Crawford children whose ages correlated with each Lipscomb sibling, and the pairs became school buddies. But what she really remembers about the Crawfords? We were always amazed that with 16 children, when you went to their house, it was spotless, LipscombDudley said. It was always neat. All of Ike and Lillie Bells children graduated from high school. While only one has received a bachelors degree, some have associates degrees and all but one attended community colleges or trade schools. All 16 have been married and are either employed or retired. The majority of us are entrepreneurs, said daughter Kathy Haley, who owns Scyene Community Plaza in Pleasant Grove and manages a hair salon there. And were blessed to be successful. The Crawford children have had careers across the board, from working at the IRS to selling pharmaceuticals to mortgage brokering. Lillie Bell, who had never finished 12th grade, went on to complete her GED in 1981 and later took nursing classes while Ike took some business classes in the 1980s. I taught my children that no matter what you do, get a good education, Ike said. Education is one of the greatest things in the world. I wish Id had it. One of the first projects that the Crawfords tackled with Lipscomb was advocating for a community center. Ike said he, Lipscomb and a few other activists spent about two or three years in the mid-1960s persuading the City Council to create what is now the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center. Construction began in 1970, and all five buildings of the Crossroads Community Center were opened by 1974. Today the South Dallas center, renamed in Kings honor in 1975, hosts community events as well as health care and recreation facilities. Poor health Ike said he hadnt seen Lipscomb in years because both had been in poor health. A lifelong smoker, Ike suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes. Lipscomb endured several health problems, including diabetes, before his death June 18 at age 86. The Crawfords had less contact with Lipscomb after he became a City Council member in 1984, and they refocused their attention on mission work through their church.

But they say they think African-Americans like their 52 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren need a new leader to push for better education, family values and social justice. The blacks dont have a good leader today, Ike said. Id like to see some young men like Lipscomb and Luther King. Lillie Bell nodded her head in agreement. We need people who are not afraid to stand for whats right a man like my husband, she said. He wasnt afraid to take a chance, and he still does that.