By Norma Adams-Wade
It’s not enough.
Yes. Kudos are in order and well deserved for those who named the African American Museum courtyard at Fair Park in honor of museum founder, President/Chief Executive Officer Dr. Harry Robinson Jr.
The organizers are to be commended.
But it’s not enough.
The whole building should bear his name.
Yes, again. I know that the soft-spoken, but stubborn and very strong-willed Black history and culture icon firmly nixed the idea when it surfaced four year ago.
Yes, I know people don’t attempt to buck this nationally-revered luminary out of earned respect.
But on this one, I’m inclined to push the boundary a bit.
COURTYARD OR BUILDING?
Corporate benefactor Lowe’s Hometowns and philanthropist Mary McDermott Cook financed renovations for the museum courtyard before the ribbon-cutting, naming honor, and dedication on October 24, 2023. In-kind support came from a few other groups. The ceremony and later related public events celebrated the museum’s 30 years at Fair Park — although Dr. Robinson Jr. created the institution 49 years ago at historically Black Bishop College that closed in 1988. The museum opened at Fair Park in 1993. The well-meaning financiers and supporters did a commendable thing by honoring Dr. Robinson Jr., 82, with the courtyard name honor.
But the honor fell short of some folk’s envisioned big picture of seeing the name Dr. Harry Robinson Jr. African American Museum affixed to the entrance of the building and operation he himself conceived.
LET THE PEOPLE SPEAK
News reports quoted African American board chairwoman Vonciel Jones Hill as describing Dr. Robinson Jr. as “the heart and soul and driving force” behind the museum.
Yes, I get it. It’s hard for some people to accept a compliment, and the attention makes them uncomfortable. They are not friends with the spotlight and camera. Motivating and pushing from behind the scenes is their comfort zone. But when someone has racked up such achievements as this small-in-stature but giant of a man, then that modest giant may need to give in a bit and let people show appreciation – in a big way.
WHY DETROIT WRIGHT, NOT DALLAS ROBINSON JR.?
In 2019, a grassroots effort—lead by The Beloved Community Consulting Group, a South Dallas advocacy entity – began pushing to name the museum in honor of the veteran library archivist and Black history scholar. The New Orleans native quickly nixed the idea, calling the roll of financial backers and city leaders he said he felt deserved the honor more. The community did not agree, but the icon prevailed. The point was made that in Detroit, supporters named the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History after the African-American physician who founded it 33 years previously in 1965. Supporters proudly named the building for him in 1998 while he still lived at age 79. That action made the obstetrics and gynecology physician one of the few and perhaps only African-Americans to have a building named for then while they still lived. Wright died four years after the honor.
The 49-year-old museum in Dallas has Dr. Robinson Jr.’s DNA and it’s hard to separate his persona from the institution that he founded after he arrived at Bishop College in Dallas in 1974 as museum director and librarian. Over a nearly half-century now, he has nurtured the museum from the basement of the Bishop College library to shine at Fair Park as one of the nation’s premiere African American museums. I do not want to wait until Dr. Robinson Jr. joins the ancestors. Should the building name effort be attempted again, I want him to accept this highest honor NOW.
PLEASE ADD “DR.” TO NEW COURTYARD NAME SIGN
Again, gratitude to those who dedicated the courtyard to Dr. Robinson Jr. But news photos from the ribbon-cutting dedication show that the new name sign omits the earned Education doctorate title of the graduate of three universities and additional post-graduate studies. Please correct the sign (if it has not already been corrected) by adding “Dr.” to the founder’s name. It’s protocol to use the “Dr.” title once it is earned. But it’s also a Black culture “thang” that we be sure to use it as subtle respect. In African-American culture, education is the mountaintop. Earning a doctoral degree raises a person’s stature in the community and gives the public a way to bow in honor, congratulating the individual by proudly using the title when addressing them.
HONORS MOUNTING OVER NEARLY 50 YEARS
Dr. Robinson Jr. has filled a number of high-ranking national and local seats and received many awards, including being named an Extraordinary Texan by Texas Highways magazine in 2014 and receiving The Spirit of the Centennial Award, presented by Friends of Fair Park in 2022. Here are three recent and upcoming honors: (1)The Courtyard naming in October 2023. (2) Harambee Community Leadership Award during Harambee Dallas festival in October 2023. (3) Dr. Robinson Jr. and Dr. Frederick Haynes III are set to receive special honors at the Bobbie L. Lang Hall of Fame Luncheon, noon, April 6, 2024, Sheraton Dallas Hotel, 400 N. Olive St, Dallas 75201,sponsored by African American Education Archives and History Program To learn more, email loretta.simon@yahoo.com, call 214.697.2813, or visit https.//aaeahp.org.
Public note to beloved Dr. Harry Robinson Jr.: Should the occasion resurface, please do not deprive the public of a preeminent opportunity to show you well-earned, supreme love.
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 and was its first southwest regional director. She became The News’ first Black full-time reporter in 1974. norma_adams_wade@yahoo.com
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