By: Norma Adams-Wade
What determines how a person makes an impact on the world and the people around them?
The life of Edna Pemberton is a case study in seeking an answer to that baffling question.
You’ve probably been under a rock if you have not heard that one of Dallas’ premier keepers of the people’s souls, and the souls of humanity in general, joined the ancestors over the weekend.
visit. Credit: AP photographer Pablo Martinez Monsivais(A)
“Ms. P,” as she was widely known, was an outstanding community leader and people’s servant who was effective at all levels of leadership. City and business leaders and everyday folk as well lauded and listened to her.
Brushes with greatness
It’s hard to try to put a label on “Ms. P.” Perhaps two of her biggest claims to fame were when she earned the honor of introducing former U. S. President Barack Obama when he visited Dallas for a Democratic event in 2013 and — already aware of her respected but humble standing — greeted her with a warm hug that photographers captured.
The other distinction was when she was picked to carry the Olympic torch through Dallas on its way to the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA in 1996, the Olympics’ Centennial year. The iconic athlete Muhammad Ali lit the final caldron flame at Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Stadium.
In media reports, Pete Brodsky — owner of Southwest Center Mall, formerly Red Bird Mall, whose vital reorganization Ms. P” helped realize, — called her “the soul of the mall.” Various other leaders and supporters called her “the voice of Oak Cliff” where the mall is an economic lifeline.
Funeral details
“Ms. P’s “ home-going services include visitation Friday, April 25, 2025, from 3-6 p.m., followed by a wake from 6-7:30 p.m., both at Evergreen Memorial Funeral Home, 6449 University Hills, Dallas, TX 75241.
Her home-going funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 26, 2025 at Concord Church, 6808 Pastor Bailey Dr, 75237 in Dallas’ Oak Cliff community.
Burial will be at DFW National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy, Dallas, TX 75211 where she will join her late, beloved husband, DarNell Pemberton, who died in May 2005.
“Ms. P’s” burial time and date to be determined later.
Tributes and praise
“Ms. P” previously won a battle against cancer that began in 2012 and also battled blindness. Tributes and accolades from leaders and community people overflowed on social media and in daily broadcast and print media.
Among those who posted tributes and heart-felt regrets were Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett who said, “She didn’t just believe in change, she was the change.”
Others who gave tributes included former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, officials with the African American Museum at Dallas’ Fair Park, and various local Black-owned media outlets.
One community supporter posted on social media: “Lady P,” as the saying goes, ‘You are able to walk with kings and not lose your common touch.’ ”
Early recognition
I remember writing one of the first major public stories about “Ms. P” during my early years at The Dallas Morning News, probably around the 1980s.
Memories fade, but I recall that she and I talked about the traumas of her growing up in a foster home as a toddler after her mother died, leaving behind nine children; of which “Ms. P” was the youngest.
You could say it’s common that some individuals perform volunteer advocacy and charity efforts. Yet, “Ms. P’s” effectiveness and knack for organizing volunteers and spotlighting community issues made her stand out.
Childhood and youth
Edna Pemberton was born in Chicago on March 27, 1948. We talked about her learning to incorporate the survival skills she learned in foster care, and about her early years on one of her first jobs at the old K-Mart department store in Chicago and Dallas.
Those early jobs allowed her to display her abilities and leadership qualities.
We talked about her meeting her fabulous late husband, DarNell Pemberton, at church as a teenager. They married, had four children, and additionally raised six more children of her late sister who died after giving herself an abortion.
The Pembertons lived in Chicago, California and Texas, sharing mutually fulfilling lives together.
They were caring humanitarians and dedicated Christian members of Concord Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas, now renamed Concord Church.
Leading from the trenches
Edna Pemberton never held an elected office. She did allow herself to be persuaded to run for Dallas City Council in 1993. She did not win.
The benefits of her losing was that she returned to her undeniable skills as a community leader. She continued as an effective influencer who had the ear of practically all local leaders in public office. After losing the election, she said: “…my work is done in the trenches.”
At one point in 1991 she led a movement for a 10 p.m. youth curfew. It was an attempt to quell violence after a young mother was beaten and raped by several youths at night. Some community groups opposed the curfew idea.
She led volunteers to help thousands of Katrina Hurricane evacuees, working closely with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Her giving nature knows no boundaries as she founded Operation Community Care, a nonprofit that supplied needs to people who lived in homeless campsites around the city. She regularly met with police officials and landlords to discuss any current tenants’ issues that involved them.
She chaired the nonprofit Camp
Wisdom Now. She led Friends of Red Bird Airport, now renamed Dallas Executive
Airport. And she served as the community liaison during the transformation of the old Red Bird Mall to the current Southwest Center Mall.
Honors and recognition
Her past honors include the 2006 Texas Governor’s Volunteer Award; the Community Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her and Black community leader Betty Culbreath at Dallas Executive Airport Business Center.
During a past Women’s History Month, the African American Leadership Institute presented her with the Black History Everyday Difference-Makers Award, and they described her as “the pulse of Southern Dallas, business & community influencers.”
And to kick off Black History Month in 2025, officials and citizens held a public celebration with food and entertainment and voter registration, declaring the occasion “Edna P Day” at Southwest Center Mall.
Among those who posted tributes and heart-felt regrets were Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett who said, “She didn’t just believe in change, she was the change.”
I was just thinking…how does anyone expertly compose their life so that it makes an impact among the high and mighty and the low and humble?
“Ms. P” managed to connect both ends – and serve the middle.
So, what do we make of her life? Can a new Edna Pemberton enter stage right? She left a strong enough legacy for someone among us to try.
Norma Adams-Wade, is a proud Dallas native, University of Texas at Austin journalism graduate and retired Dallas Morning News senior staff writer. She is a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists. norma_adams_wade@yahoo. com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login