\/Flickr)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text 2″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em”]<\/p>\n
Like many in historically disenfranchised neighborhoods tapped for development, Reyes has seen the area change right before his eyes. In the decade since the bridge went up, investors have poured into West Dallas, seeing the potential to draw a thriving middle class. The development has introduced hip restaurants, nightlife and green spaces, but longtime residents \u2013 most of whom are Black and brown \u2013 feel they have been overlooked in the plan for growth.<\/span><\/p>\nReyes lives in the same wood-framed house he grew up in in Los Altos. There he played football and dodged cars as a kid. Today, he waves to the paletero<\/em> as he passes by.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI got a tab with him,\u201d Reyes jokes, gesturing to a paleta<\/em> or popsicle stick he cleaned only moments before.<\/span><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/09\/Shardae02.jpg” alt=”\u00d2The American dream is not my Indigenous dream. It’s so different than that,\u00d3 Jolie Varela said. \u00d2As an Indigenous woman, I would like to see our ceremonies restored, our traditions restored, our homelands restored, and our land back. When people come from other places and they come in the name of this American dream or in pursuit of this American dream, I don’t think they realize how that American dream erases Indigenous people, and further infringes upon our rights as Native people.\u00d3 (Photo by Jarrette Werk)” title_text=”Shardae02″ align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image 2″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″]<\/p>\n
The founding members of West Dallas 1 gather for the National Day of Prayer in May. (Photo courtesy of Raul Reyes Jr.)<\/span><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text 2″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em”]<\/p>\n
The 47-year-old father of three is chair of the Los Altos Neighborhood Association. He also advocates for his community as president of West Dallas 1.<\/span><\/p>\nThe coalition works to ensure neighborhoods are safe, equitable and provide residents with opportunity. It recently had success closing down a concrete plant operating illegally in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text 2″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em”]<\/p>\n
Reyes says the win energizes the group in its fight over other issues like removing an air-polluting shingles plant from residents\u2019 backyards. It also wants to make sure a proposed 400-foot office tower at Trinity Groves will benefit existing members of the community.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cHow many cubicles are my neighbors gonna have in there?\u201d he asks, skeptical of claims that the office will bring jobs. \u201cHow many Fortune 500 companies hire people with high school diplomas?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nReyes appreciates the role hard work plays in his community.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cOne thing about the hood, you\u2019re gonna learn how to hustle,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\nHe remembers loading up his dad\u2019s truck on weekends to sell produce, tortillas and tamales the neighborhood. Though his father worked as a porter in St. Paul Catholic Hospital, he knew he had to earn more to provide and leave a legacy for future generations.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/09\/Shardae03.jpg” alt=”\u00d2The American dream is not my Indigenous dream. It’s so different than that,\u00d3 Jolie Varela said. \u00d2As an Indigenous woman, I would like to see our ceremonies restored, our traditions restored, our homelands restored, and our land back. When people come from other places and they come in the name of this American dream or in pursuit of this American dream, I don’t think they realize how that American dream erases Indigenous people, and further infringes upon our rights as Native people.\u00d3 (Photo by Jarrette Werk)” title_text=”Shardae03″ align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image 3″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 3″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″]<\/p>\n
Three generations in Los Altos: Raul Reyes I, II and III celebrate the eldest\u2019s birthday and ring in the new year together. They share a name, but each man has a unique relationship with his neighborhood. (Photo courtesy of Raul Reyes Jr.)<\/span><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text 4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em”]<\/p>\n
\u201cHe got out there and did all he needed to do,\u201d Reyes says.<\/span><\/p>\nEqually important to him is the role of a quality education, and he\u2019s committed to making sure it is encouraged. He leads West Dallas 1\u2019s education equity committee, working to secure the higher earning potential for his neighbors and the opportunity that comes with it.<\/span><\/p>\nHis optimism for future generations doesn\u2019t dull the ache he feels as someone who deals with systemic oppression. As a child of Mexican immigrants and father to Black biracial children, he\u2019s experienced inequity that even education doesn\u2019t fix. He thinks of his son who received full athletic and academic scholarships to Southern Methodist University and now attends law school in Florida. Since George Floyd\u2019s murder and the racial reckoning of 2020, Reyes worries about him even more.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cMy son\u2019s done everything right. Everything,\u201d Reyes says. \u201cYet, I gotta text him every hour [asking], \u2018Hey, man, you good?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/09\/Shardae05.jpg” title_text=”Shardae05″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 3″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″]<\/p>\n
Reyes\u2019 family has two small American flags in their front yard. He grapples with his American identity sometimes, saying the country isn\u2019t fair to all its children. (Photo by Stella M. Ch\u00e1vez)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2021\/09\/Shardae01.jpg” alt=”\u00d2The American dream is not my Indigenous dream. It’s so different than that,\u00d3 Jolie Varela said. \u00d2As an Indigenous woman, I would like to see our ceremonies restored, our traditions restored, our homelands restored, and our land back. When people come from other places and they come in the name of this American dream or in pursuit of this American dream, I don’t think they realize how that American dream erases Indigenous people, and further infringes upon our rights as Native people.\u00d3 (Photo by Jarrette Werk)” title_text=”Shardae01″ align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image 1″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″]<\/p>\n
Raul Reyes sits on his front porch, greeting neighbors as they pass on a hot Texas afternoon. (Photo by Shardae White)<\/span><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text 4″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em”]<\/p>\n
Reyes laments the fact that his family and neighbors still have to fight for opportunities people on the opposite side of the bridge are automatically afforded.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cYeah, I\u2019m proud to be an American,\u201d he says with reserve. \u201cIt comes with a whole lot of hurt, though. That\u2019s just the truth.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThat pain doesn\u2019t deter Reyes in his mission. If anything, it fuels his fight for the hood that raised him and will inherit his legacy.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThe neighborhood has always been good to us,\u201d he says. \u201cWe gotta pay it back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nHe looks out past the gate onto the street where he once played football and dodged cars.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m here. I ain\u2019t going nowhere.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What does it mean to be an American? We are finding, coaching and training public media\u2019s next generation. This #nprnextgenradio project is created in Texas, where six talented reporters are participating in a week-long state-of-the-art training program. In this project we are speaking to people representing a diversity of experiences and backgrounds in gender identity, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":459,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"coauthors":[18],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/167"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/459"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/167\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texasnewsroom2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}