There has been a lot of talk

[LA_Mustang]

about SMU needing to becoming Dallas' University. I agree wholeheartedly, and that can be done when SMU reaches out to those living outside of the Park cites. There is a great story in today's DMN Metro section that is a perfect example of how SMU can build a bridge to the Dallas people by getting involved with the community. I know in the last few years the marketing department has invited DISD bands and students to be guest at football and basketball games. If we could only start winning and continue to get good press like in today's DMN, there is hope.

BTW, this quote makes the whole story.

"When I pass away, I want my tombstone to read: Mother of three, grandmother of four and a leader of many," she said, pausing to add that now she also wants her headstone to include something "about how SMU has helped me so much."


Fighting for a birthright

Map could help woman regain land taken from family in 1930s


08:33 PM CST on Sunday, February 15, 2004


By JAMES RAGLAND / The Dallas Morning News



About a dozen miles south of downtown Dallas, along a road where Dallas ends and Hutchins begins, there's a sprawling stretch of farmland that Murdine Berry affectionately calls "the house by the side of the road."

That means her door is always open to you – unless you're trying to take away something that belongs to her.

And Lord knows the 75-year-old former Dallas schoolteacher can sit you down on that comfortable sofa in front of her fireplace and talk your ears off for hours about all the people who've been trying to stake a claim on her farm.

"Baby," she said, shaking her head and looking down at the pile of documents she's accumulated, "you won't believe what all I've been through."

Oh, I believe her. And not because she fixed me a sandwich the first day I visited her, or a pot of gumbo the next time I came.

I believe her because it was not at all uncommon for black farmers in the rural South to lose their property in land grabs that often were aided by shoddy, if not corrupt, record-keeping practices.

The difference is, Murdine Berry didn't roll over. And her persistence, slowly but surely, is paying off.

For more than three decades, she has been fighting tooth and nail to get back the 120 acres that she says her great-grandparents, James and Catherine Morney, bought in 1876. The Morneys, former slaves, paid for the land with several bales of cotton and their life savings.

After they died in the early 1930s, the land on which they raised eight children was illegally divided in '32 and, over the years, dozens of people were claiming portions of it belonged to them. A legal battle ensued.

Well, in 1989, after years of fighting, Ms. Berry was awarded nearly 80 acres of the farm. She was ecstatic, for a while. But after consulting with other family members and reviewing records, she knew that the original farm was larger.

The problem was she could never find enough definitive evidence to show how much land the Morneys originally owned. Either the local records were incomplete or, as she discovered during her search, some were mistakenly thrown away decades ago.

She kept poking around the Dallas city and county records buildings looking for a map that would show the old farmstead.

Then one day, she got lucky.

Someone told her about Steve Short, who used to work as the government-documents librarian in the Edwin J. Foscue Map Collection at SMU's Science and Engineering Library.

Talk about a hidden jewel. "It's one of the largest map libraries in the southwestern United States," said Dawn Youngblood, the map librarian manager. "We have over a quarter-million maps."

And among that 250,000-plus lot of historic, military, navigation and political maps was a 1900 map with a key to the Morney farm.

When Mr. Short, who now works for the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., called Ms. Berry to tell her he had some maps that might help her, she was excited. But when she saw the one with her great-grandfather's name printed on it, she said, "I just started running."

And she hasn't stopped running since, in a manner of speaking. With the new map, she now hopes that she can find some attorney willing to work with her to try to get the rest of her family's land back.

"This map from SMU will show that we have more land," said Ms. Berry, who has three children and four grandchildren.

She's also busy refurbishing and furnishing eight cabins that she's bought and moved to the farm in an effort to re-create what life was like for black farmers in the late 19th century. The cabins will reflect that lifestyle, as will a chapel that she plans to build.

"It's a way for the kids to see how we lived years ago," she said.

When you pull up to the iron gate that opens to the winding gravel road that snakes to her house, you're greeted with a metal sign that reads: Land History, Freed Slaves James and Catherine Morney Purchased This Land in 1876.

The farm has been recognized by state agricultural officials as one of 94 Texas farms and ranches that have been owned by the same family for at least 100 years.

Ms. Berry is hoping to host tours on the land, which runs along Lancaster-Hutchins Road west of southbound Interstate 45. She's shooting for a start date of June 19 – signifying the day in 1865 black slaves in Texas found out about the Emancipation Proclamation and were freed; coincidentally, June 19 also is the day last year that her husband of more than 45 years died.

"When I pass away, I want my tombstone to read: Mother of three, grandmother of four and a leader of many," she said, pausing to add that now she also wants her headstone to include something "about how SMU has helped me so much."

For now, though, she's still focusing most of her time on getting back all of the Morney land. "My great-grandfather said, 'I never want this place to be out of the family, because it will always be a place for the family to live,' " she said. "It's been a struggle, but I'm doing what he would have wanted me to do."

She acknowledged that her crusade is draining, both physically and emotionally, at times. However, she said, stabbing her finger in the air for emphasis: "When I stop, I refuel."

And if you're along for the ride, and you're not out there trying to cause trouble or stir up some mess, Murdine Berry will treat you like family.

Otherwise, you'd best get out of her way.

E-mail jragland@dallasnews.com

[LA_Mustang]

she said, "I just started running."

And she hasn't stopped running since, in a manner of speaking. With the new map, she now hopes that she can find some attorney willing to work with her to try to get the rest of her family's land back.

"This map from SMU will show that we have more land," said Ms. Berry, who has three children and four grandchildren.

She's also busy refurbishing and furnishing eight cabins that she's bought and moved to the farm in an effort to re-create what life was like for black farmers in the late 19th century. The cabins will reflect that lifestyle, as will a chapel that she plans to build.

"It's a way for the kids to see how we lived years ago," she said.

When you pull up to the iron gate that opens to the winding gravel road that snakes to her house, you're greeted with a metal sign that reads: Land History, Freed Slaves James and Catherine Morney Purchased This Land in 1876.

The farm has been recognized by state agricultural officials as one of 94 Texas farms and ranches that have been owned by the same family for at least 100 years.

Ms. Berry is hoping to host tours on the land, which runs along Lancaster-Hutchins Road west of southbound Interstate 45. She's shooting for a start date of June 19 – signifying the day in 1865 black slaves in Texas found out about the Emancipation Proclamation and were freed; coincidentally, June 19 also is the day last year that her husband of more than 45 years died.

"When I pass away, I want my tombstone to read: Mother of three, grandmother of four and a leader of many," she said, pausing to add that now she also wants her headstone to include something "about how SMU has helped me so much."

For now, though, she's still focusing most of her time on getting back all of the Morney land. "My great-grandfather said, 'I never want this place to be out of the family, because it will always be a place for the family to live,' " she said. "It's been a struggle, but I'm doing what he would have wanted me to do."

She acknowledged that her crusade is draining, both physically and emotionally, at times. However, she said, stabbing her finger in the air for emphasis: "When I stop, I refuel."

And if you're along for the ride, and you're not out there trying to cause trouble or stir up some mess, Murdine Berry will treat you like family.

Otherwise, you'd best get out of her way.

E-mail jragland@dallasnews.com

[Bergermeister]

In the beginning, 1915 until say 1970, SMU was Dallas' university. Many, many Dallasites went to the home town school because it was a good school, affordable, and in the great city of Dallas. Although the Forty Acres was less expensive to attend, MOST of Dallas' business and city leaders went to SMU. Unfortunately, Dallas does not have any city leaders anymore, but still a great many business leaders are graduates of SMU and the renown Cox School. Somewhere, we lost the link, the connection, the bond. There are a few coordinated efforts and programs for this-n-that in existence, but not that common knowledge feeling that SMU and Dallas are joined at th' hip. I can assure you, 70% of Dallas adults and 90% of Dallas school children (k-12) do not know what "SMU" is, much less that it is located in Dallas, Texas. (Try asking those who have heard of SMU what the S, M and U stand for!) If you ever check out the obituaries in the Dallas Morning News, you read about many 70 - 80 - 90 year old Dallasites who graduated from Dallas High School, Forest Avenue, Sunset, Woodrow, Adamson, North Dallas, etc. who went on to SMU and achieved prominence in the community. We have essentially isolated ourselves and it is going to be extremely difficult to regain the name recognition and support.