The Juanita Craft Civil Rights House & Museum

The Junior League of Dallas (JID), City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, Friends of Juanita Craft Civil Rights House& Museum and other community partners announced the completed restorations and rehabilitation of the Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House.

Juanita J. Craft was a civil rights leader and politician from 1950 until her death in 1985. Her home served as a command center for the civil rights movements in Dallas and throughout Texas. Craft willed her home to the City of Dallas for civic use with hopes that the home would serve as a place where people of all backgrounds could visit and learn how to make a change in their communities.

The home is currently designated as a Dallas City Commission site, a Texas Historic Landmark property, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Craft’s home has served and operated as a public historical site since 1994. The City of Dallas was in the process of turning the Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House into an educational museum in 2018, but these efforts came to a halt when the home was flooded due to burst pipes.

In 2020, JLD announced that its centennial anniversary project would be a partnership with the City of Dallas to rehabilitate the Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House.

“Dallas is a better city because of Juanita J. Craft’s extraordinary contributions to racial and social justice,” Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson said. “Ms. Craft was a remarkable civil rights icon, and it is an honor to reopen her historic home to the public. Dallas residents now and for generations to come will benefit from this restoration project. Thank you to our partners — including the Junior League of Dallas and the Friends of Juanita Craft Civil Rights House — for preserving Ms. Craft’s legacy.”
Junior League of Dallas and its partners raised over $1.4 million to complete renovations in order to open the house to the public. JLD’s centennial gift covered both restoration costs and new educational opportunities for Dallas ISD students, including an educational coloring book and school curriculum showcasing Ms. Craft’s legacy.

“Ms. Craft’s vision and legacy demonstrates how the passion of one woman can reshape the heart of our city. The women of Junior League of Dallas continue to find inspiration in her tireless dedication to making Dallas an inclusive city for every one of its residents,” said JLD President Emily Somerville- Cabrera. “We are so proud of the partnerships with the City of Dallas and Friends of Juanita Craft to restore her and establish Ms. Craft’s home as a center of learning. The passion and partnerships that
made this project possible will carry Ms. Craft’s legacy forward for years to come and bolster Junior League’s mission of developing the potential of women, improving the community, and supporting a commitment to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

“The reopening of Ms. Craft’s home as a Civil Rights Museum is a jewel for this city. We are grateful to the many partners and collaborators who have made this possible and supported us to the finish line of preparing the house to be operational”, said Candace Thompson, director of the Friends of Juanita Craft Civil Rights House & Museum. ” We look forward to sustaining this house with viable programming inspiring new community leaders for positive change and ultimately establishing the house as a stop on the Civil Rights Trail. We exist to make Ms. Craft’s request a reality when she spoke these words, ‘It is my hope that after I am gone, people of all backgrounds will visit my house and come to understand that individuals can make a difference, and to appreciate the importance of service to the community and nation…you don’t have to be rich to make an impact, but you have to work and to care”.

Donors who contributed $10,000 and above toward the preservation and expansion efforts  of Juanita J. Craft’s human and civil rights legacy include: Anonymous; The Addy Foundation; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, Alpha Xi Omega Chapter; Children’s Health; Chrest Foundation; City of Dallas; Communities Foundation of Texas; The Constantin Foundation; The Craft Foundation; Dallas Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; The Eugene McDermott Foundation; The
Florence Foundation; The Garden Club Committee of the Junior League of Dallas; Hillcrest Foundation Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; Hoblitzelle Foundation; Junior League of Dallas, Inc.; Lou Anne King Jensen and Jeff Jensen; Make It Count Family Foundation; North Texas Cluster of The Links, Incorporated – Dallas Chapter, Fort Worth Chapter, Greater Denton County Chapter, Mid-Cities Chapter, Plano North-Metroplex Chapter, Trinity Chapter; Roy & Christine Sturgis Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; State Fair of Texas; and The Summerlee Foundation.

The Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House & Memorial Garden was supported in part through an African American Civil Rights grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of Interior.

The home will be available for public tours by appointment only beginning later this month. To schedule a tour, please call the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs or visit the Juanita Craft House website.

The Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House is located in the Wheatley Place Historic District near Fair Park.