Reclaiming Dunbar: Push is on for a cultural district

What began as a community effort to restore a prominent historic Black church has grown to include a drive to create a cultural district in the Dunbar neighborhood.

The old First Baptist Church has sat empty on the corner of Martin Luther King and Comanche for decades. In the meantime, other cultural assets around it have been discovered, renovated or created: The Cephas House, Eddie Durham Park, the Calaboose. And all the while, other historic Black churches have lined Centre Street, forming a kind of trail from the old church to Dunbar Park and the old Dunbar School, where Black students went before integration. Shetay Ashford, Ph.D., sees those assets as the foundation for the Dunbar Arts, Cultural and Innovation District.

Ashford submitted an application to the Texas Commission on the Arts for cultural district recognition on Friday. The San Marcos City Council passed a resolution on May 15 lending support to Ashford’s application. State recognition would increase the district’s funding potential.

“We would have a state recognized designation … which would provide us with the opportunity to apply for funding at the state level,” Ashford said.

The purpose of a cultural district

Ashford defined a cultural district as, “a special zone within a community or city that harnesses cultural assets to help revitalize communities and attract visitors.”

She said she began looking into ways in which historical preservation efforts drive community development and how cultural districts help drive economic development, including job opportunities. The Six Square District in East Austin, a vibrant arts and cultural district designed to preserve and promote African-American culture, is an example of how such districts can revitalize a community and bring in visitors, money and more. The district in Austin, which includes the George Washington Carver Museum, is named after the six square miles set aside for African-American residents in Austin’s 1928 municipal plan.

Ashford pointed out that the Dunbar neighborhood is historically African-American, but the demographics have shifted so that Blacks no longer make up the majority in Dunbar.

“We want to basically promote the minority and multicultural arts in that community while preserving African-American culture,” she said.

Parts of the Dunbar area are already a recognized historical district, and Ashford said that most of the assets and activities in the area that promote Black culture and the arts have been around for years already; seeking recognition as a cultural/arts/innovation district is merely a way to consolidate those events and centers of culture and build them up. Events like Jazzfest, Blackfest, Juneteenth, pop-up art exhibits and others could draw more visitors to the Dunbar area and to San Marcos overall.

“As we bring together and really market these events on a broader scale … we really have an opportunity to broaden awareness of the rich culture and history of the city … and benefit the city as a whole,” Ashford said.

And, building on the existing cultural and arts events, Ashford said she would like to see a school for artists established and to work with churches in Dunbar to identify artists in the community and nurture their talents. The most prevalent arts in the community already are performing arts and visual arts.

“I’m looking to really develop this,” she said.

Ashford’s nonprofit organization, the P2P Movement, is spearheading the Dunbar project. She said one of the benefits of that is the organization has already started research projects regarding the creation of the cultural district and reached out to the university and San Marcos residents to forge partnerships with an emphasis on community and workforce development.

“It’s a holistic, community-driven approach,” Ashford said.

There is an ongoing community needs assessment project — Reclaim Dunbar — that is taking input from current residents of the area and displaced residents to get their perspectives, Ashford said. The results will be used to decide what kinds of programs and features the cultural district will have.

The centerpiece

While Ashford focuses on the Dunbar district, the Calaboose African-American History Museum and many of its partners in the community are continuing with efforts to get the old First Baptist Church — once the centerpiece of the Dunbar neighborhood — restored. Ramika Adams, treasurer for the Calaboose, said that right now, the focus is on finding grants and other funding sources.

“Everybody’s doing something, but right now it’s ‘hurry up and wait,’” Adams said.

Historic Commission member Diana Baker is working on grant writing and an application to get historic designation for the church, Adams said. Carina Pinales is still serving as a community liaison for the project, and Adams’ husband Willie and Mike Armstead have volunteered to be project heads. The owner of the church, Kurt Waldhauser, is talking with Andy Sansom at the Meadows Center; the Calaboose has raised about $5,700; and the San Marcos Cinema Club is helping with fundraising efforts and trying to get Robert Redford — who has family ties to San Marcos — to visit the city and possibly donate to the restoration efforts. There will also be a 5K run in September, in conjunction with the Mermaid Society’s annual events, to raise funds for the church restoration.

Adams said the Calaboose is also working with Main Street to get a grant from the National Preservation Trust.

“That’s a $150,000 grant they can give us to get some actual hammers swinging,” she said.

The restoration project would also benefit from donations from the private sector, Adams said, like McCoys or H-E-B.

“We need sponsors,” she said.

How to help

Anyone interested in volunteering to help with the Dunbar arts district can email info@dunbarartsSMTX.org. Ashford said she could use help with administrative tasks, graphic design, social media and grant writing. More information on the project is available at DunbarArtsSMTX.org or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dunbarartssmtx.

As for the restoration of the First Baptist Church, Adams said right now, the most help is needed with raising money.

“Give money, organize a great fundraiser,” she said.

For more information on getting involved with the restoration efforts, call 512-393-8421 or email adams.ramika@gmail.com.