Historical Fact
In addition to the above observations, visionary and practical African American men and women worked together continuously to define and clarify goals for their community and to partner with established systems. In November 1926, during a period of dynamic renaissance for African Americans, a group of progressive citizens met to discuss the progress of the city of Dallas as it related to the civic, commercial and industrial outlook for their community.
At the request of W.E. Clark in 1925, Dr. W.K.Flowers, Sr. and E.I. Crawford invited several business, civic and professional leaders to a series of meetings. The meetings were held in the Flowers Building that had recently been completed on Hall Street.
Some of the individuals invited to these early meetings were: Ewell Starks, B.H. Ballard, D.B.Gardner, Sam C. Black, Dr. A.E. Hughes, Sr., Dr. R. T. Hamilton, Dr. M.B. Anderson, Arthur Prestwood, Prof. T.D. Marshall, Henry Strickland, R.T. Ashford, Will Ewing, R. S.Watson, Prof. T.W. Pratt, M.M. Rogers, Jerome Rowan, J.E. Smith, Sr., and Dr. Quinton McMillan.
These men agreed that only by joining together as a group could they "set goals and form a unified voice" to express positive minority sentiment as it related to Dallas' accelerated growth. Therefore, they decided to form an organization for the purpose of opening the doors to industry for the skilled and semi-skilled workers in the community. The name chosen for the organization was the Dallas Negro Chamber of Commerce (DNCC).