Black History STROLL "Back Down Memory Lane" , Thomas and Hall Street.

Civil rights attorney Louis Arthur Bedford, Jr., became the first African American judge in Dallas County in 1966. Louis Arthur Bedford, Jr., an African American attorney, judge, and civil rights activist, and the son of Louis Arthur Bedford, Sr., and Callie Deborah (Rodgers) Bedford, was born in Dallas, Texas, on January 23, 1926. He and his sister, Deborah Lucille, grew up comfortably in a large house on Thomas Avenue. The DISD in May 2022 renamed the William Hawley Atwell Law Academy to Judge Louis A. Bedford Jr. Law Academy marking a new era. Students, staff, and community members gathered to celebrate the renaming after the first Black judge to serve in Dallas County. On the corner of HALL and  THOMAS, was the place to be in the 60's. The start of Henderson Chicken, the first Fried Chicken - Black Owned business in Dallas. Today Linda Henderson Mallory is the owner of Henderson Chicken and CEO of Mrs. Linda's Seasoning and the RANCH.