{"id":158898,"date":"2026-02-10T21:03:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T21:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/158898\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T21:03:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T21:03:25","slug":"descendants-of-founders-of-douglass-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/158898\/","title":{"rendered":"Descendants of Founders of Douglass Community"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n Descendants of Founders of Plano\u2019s Historically Black Neighborhood Recall Fond Memories of Their Front-Porch Community<\/p>\n

David Evans, Tamara Thomas, Kimberly Smith and Andrea Brooks are siblings who have called Plano\u2019s Douglass Community home their entire lives. They grew up surrounded by family and friends who cherished the rich history of their neighborhood.<\/p>\n

The siblings\u2019 great-great-great grandfather, Andy Drake, was the first Black man<\/a> to settle in Plano after receiving his freedom. Together with Mose Stimpson \u2013 also an ancestor of the siblings \u2013 Drake founded the community in the 1860s, named after abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Many of Drake\u2019s and Stimpson\u2019s descendants still reside in Douglass today.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe mural, \u201cTracks of Our Past and Future,\u201d located in the Douglass Community, honors prominent past residents Jewel Roberts, James Thomas and Andy Drake \/\/ photo Jennifer Shertzer<\/p>\n

For most of its history, Douglass was predominantly African American. Today the community is more racially diverse, with Black residents now making up a quarter of its inhabitants, according to the 2019 American Community Survey. The neighborhood is home to approximately 200 modest houses located<\/a> near Downtown Plano between Central Expressway and I Avenue.<\/p>\n

Like One Big Family<\/p>\n

Andrea, 13 years her brother David\u2019s senior, was a student when Plano started the process of integrating schools in 1964. Prior to that and even for years following integration, Douglass operated as its own, self-sustaining community.<\/p>\n

\"SiblingsSiblings David Evans, Andrea Brooks and Tamara Thomas on Andrea\u2019s porch in the Douglass Community \/\/ photo Hunter Lacey<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of segregation, they had to have their own everything here,\u201d David said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCandy shops in people\u2019s homes. Our own funeral home. There was a hotel,\u201d Andrea remembered.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a self-sustaining community because Black people could not go and shop at other stores,\u201d David shared.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn African American school in Plano, 1907 \/\/ courtesy Plano Public Library Genealogy Center<\/p>\n

All three siblings remember Douglass as a place that operated as one big family during their childhood in the 1950s and 60s. When their grandmother cooked, she would ask the neighbors if they wanted to eat, too. They\u2019d all gather together, extended family and neighbors, over a hot meal. When their grandmother took them shopping, she\u2019d ask anyone nearby if they\u2019d like to join. When the ice cream truck stopped by, their grandparents bought ice cream for every kid on the block.<\/p>\n

\"DouglassDouglass School cafeteria staff with students, Oct. 1962 \/\/ courtesy Plano Daily Star-Courier<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the most wonderful place to grow up because everybody, whether you were cousins or not related, was family. You couldn\u2019t get away with much because everybody knew everybody, and everybody\u2019s mother was watching,\u201d Tamara said. \u201cIt was and still is such a safe neighborhood. We\u2019d sleep with our windows up, the doors unlocked. \u2018Cause everybody was family, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PlanoPlano Colored School faculty, Oct. 1961 \/\/ courtesy Plano Daily Star-Courier
\nIntegration Splits the Community<\/p>\n

Andrea vividly remembers the experience of Plano schools becoming integrated. She recalls that it was not easy for her, or for any of her neighbors.<\/p>\n

The city decided to divide the neighborhood in half. Kids living on the west side of Douglass attended schools on the west side of Plano, and kids on the east side of Douglass attended schools on the east side of Plano. Being separated from one another \u201cwas horrific,\u201d Andrea said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tried to put all the Black children into special education initially,\u201d she recalled. \u201cMy uncles and my mama and my grandparents all went up there and talked to the principal. They talked to the school board. So, I was one of the lucky ones that did not get put in special ed. I had straight As before that. I was lucky because my family advocated for me. So many families didn\u2019t because they were afraid to speak up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Andrea\u2019s ability to attend regular classes thanks to her family, she believes that many of her friends were still placed in special education courses for no reason other than their skin color. Even still, Andrea was given all F\u2019s on her report card her first year in integrated high school. Again, her family went up to the school to see what the problem was. After the school could not provide evidence that she had failed, her grades were corrected.<\/p>\n

The difficulties Andrea and her classmates endured at the school were, in her memory, on account of some of the administrators and teachers. \u201cAmongst the kids, we all got along. There were no racial issues at all between us kids,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Evans siblings grew up in the Douglass Community \/\/ courtesy Tamara Thomas<\/p>\n

While attending Bowman Junior High, Andrea says she made history as the first Black cheerleader in Plano. \u201cI was so excited to be accepted. It was great. And I never experienced any overt racism during that time period. It was awesome,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n

By the time Tamara and David arrived to high school, integration had occurred long enough in the past that they did not have the same experiences that Andrea did. But they felt that symptoms of racism persisted regardless.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would go to my white friends\u2019 homes and we would play. Now that I think about it though, they never came to our house,\u201d remembered Tamara. Her experience at school, though, was overall positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a couple Black teachers and administrators by that point. It was pretty good for me,\u201d Tamara said.<\/p>\n

David, on the other hand, had issues at school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very inquisitive. I was always into something, and talking, and I had a lot of energy. So, they tried to put me into special ed. They did that a lot with young Black boys,\u201d David recalled.<\/p>\n

The Evans family was always \u2013 and remains \u2013 civically engaged in the Douglass Community and the city. David remembers his grandfather, Andrew (A.J.) Stimpson, attending every city council meeting, and Andrea remembers being taken along as a kid to attend with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I liked best was when he would come back and tell people in the neighborhood what happened. I could understand it because he was explaining it in a way that made more sense,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ensuring a Bright Future<\/p>\n

It has been an ongoing effort throughout Andrea\u2019s lifetime to preserve many of the buildings in Douglass, she noted. Her grandfather advocated for the area at every city council meeting, ensuring that its homes and landmarks be preserved. That baton has been passed to Andrea, Tamara and David now as they run Douglass Visions Committee<\/a> (DVC) together.<\/p>\n

\"DouglassDouglass Visions Committee at a community event in late 2020 \/\/ courtesy DVC<\/p>\n

DVC is a nonprofit organization focused on rebuilding, revitalizing and empowering communities, beginning with residents of Douglass. Among other initiatives, one of DVC\u2019s purposes is to work on getting landmark status for some of the community\u2019s historic buildings. Their work on that has been slowed due to the ongoing pandemic, but they\u2019ve enjoyed the positive progress they\u2019ve had thanks to their partnership with the City of Plano.<\/p>\n

Stimpson and Drake Park<\/a>, in the heart of Douglass, is named for the two founders of the community. The land was originally owned by Mose Stimpson, and then passed down through generations. Finally, their grandfather, A.J. Stimpson, gave the land to their mom\u2019s brother, Willard Stimpson, and he sold it to the city. In 2017 it was converted into the park it is today, with a playground, open green space, benches and a covered area with picnic tables.<\/p>\n

\"EvansEvans siblings at Stimpson-Drake Park, named for their ancestors \/\/ photo Hunter Lacey<\/p>\n

On top of helping maintain the buildings in Douglass, DVC also came through from the very onset of the pandemic to help with food insecurity. From March through May last year, DVC provided hot meals. Starting in June, they moved to delivering<\/a> boxes of groceries, with some help from Plano West Rotary Club.<\/p>\n

The organization also offers education on an array of topics. During COVID-19, the focus has been primarily on health and wellness. Leading up to the November election, DVC educated the community on the ballot. Another topic they\u2019ve focused on is mental health as many people have suffered from depression and anxiety in the last year.<\/p>\n

DVC\u2019s services operate out of an overflow of love that David, Tamara and Andrea feel for their community. David serves as president, Tamara serves as vice president and Andrea serves as secretary. Although the organization operates first and foremost to serve pressing needs in the community, at its core it exists to carry on the tradition of close-knit friendship that has characterized Douglass from its inception.<\/p>\n

\u201cDouglass is a front-porch community,\u201d David remarked. \u201cIt is a very friendly and safe community. When my grandpa would be in the car, he\u2019d just keep his hand up waving all the way down the street. And that\u2019s still a practice here today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe siblings\u2019 mother, Eleanor Stimpson Evans, with her late brother, Willard Stimpson \/\/ courtesy Tamara Thomas<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is welcome here. They\u2019ll be welcomed by the people here in the neighborhood as if they\u2019ve known them forever,\u201d Andrea said.<\/p>\n

DVC has expanded beyond Douglass, too, and now serves communities in Waco and even Baltimore, Maryland. They\u2019ll be expanding to Killeen, Tyler and East Texas this year. This is all impressive, considering DVC is made of a small core team of nine volunteers.<\/p>\n

To someone just passing through, Douglass could be perceived as just another set of blocks of homes. But Douglass is a living monument to the history of Black people in America, specifically in North Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much rich history here. We\u2019re not just people that are here. We belong here. This is our home, and it will be our children\u2019s home and our grandchildren\u2019s home,\u201d Tamara shared.<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t \t\tDouglass Visions Committee >
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