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'I wish we had better options': Black women in South Dallas voice concerns ahead of elections

The inside of a salon. Four women sit in chair as stylists behind them work on their hair at different stations.
Zara Amaechi
/
KERA
At Dreads by Dodie in South Dallas, a group of women discuss the issues that concern them the most in this year's election.

As Election Day approaches, KERA reporters have been talking to voters across North Texas about the issues on their minds as they plan to vote.

In South Dallas – where the median income is about $27,000 and many residents are being priced out of homes – many said housing affordability, and the high cost of living overall, is a top concern. Others pointed to reproductive rights: A survey by the health policy research group KFF found a quarter of Black women say abortion is their main issue this election season. And many of the Black women KERA’s Zara Amaechi spoke to say they feel their concerns are being overlooked.

Kianari Hill

"I wish we had better options for this election year. ... I feel like they're very much money hungry. They trying to run us up out of here, out of South Dallas, and bring all these newcomers from up north out here. But they don't want to fix up the problems that we need to fix down here.”

Albina Parker-Sims

A woman in a polka-dot shirt stands in front of a whiteboard in a classroom
Zara Amaechi
/
KERA
South Dallas teacher Albina Parker-Sims is undecided for this election.
“I lean back and forth between the two. There's pros and cons to both where you're talking about the dictatorship, and whether you deal with the education part where you're referring to the LGBT. It becomes an issue with both for me."

Heather Joy

“The average American or the average person in our community, we're being driven out and forced to live in other places that we probably still can't afford to live in our minimum wage is still so low. So, we've been at $7.25 for I don't even know how long. We have people here that are moving here from different states and stuff and we're the ones being pushed out.”

Nietta Reynolds

A woman in a black and yellow polo sits on a bench area outside with green grass and trees behind her.
Zara Amaechi
/
KERA
Nietta Reynolds is a teacher at W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy.

“Most of the people that live in the community in the southern sector of Dallas are educators. So [Project 2025] is going to mess with us economically."

Abigail Adams

“None of the nominees are talking about holding the pharmaceutical companies accountable for these outrageous prices. You have our elders who have worked their entire lives…they can't afford their medicine. I still on top of that have to pay hundreds of dollars a month for one prescription that is over $200, then another one's over $400. That's crazy to me when you're already paying three or $400 for insurance every month.”

Bree Raphiel

“Why are we paying to get better? Why is health care so expensive? Why does it cost so much to get a ride to the to the hospital?"

Patti Duke

A woman poses outside next to a sign for her salon, Duke's Studio.
Zara Amaechi
/
KERA
Salon owner Patti Duke
“I have a slew of concerns, but the women's rights is the one that is most near and dear to my heart. This time last year, I had fibroids and I had to have those fibroids removed and this was in the midst of everything going on with the abortion rights. I almost went septic, and the fibroids finally passed from the surgery. But after that, I had to go back and have a D&C [dilation and curettage]. And so, when we went to the operating room, I can remember them stopping us — Now, you weren't pregnant, were you? …You don't have to be pregnant to get the care that you need."

Sai Taylor

A Black woman sits as another woman visible partly behind her styles her hair in a salon.
Zara Amaechi
/
KERA
South Dallas resident Sai Taylor
“We shouldn't have 19 and 20 year old girls who want to do better for themselves have to get backdoor abortions because it's not their right anymore. The mortality rate for Black women is also disproportionate to our counterparts of white women. So, we need to protect Black mothers, protect Black women, protect Black children.”

Zara Amaechi is KERA’s Marjorie Welch Fitts Louis fellow covering race and social justice. Got a tip? Email Zara at zamaechi@kera.org. You can follow her on X @amaechizara.

KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.

Zara was born in Croydon, England, and moved to Texas at eight years old. She grew up running track and field until her last year at the University of North Texas. She previously interned for D Magazine and has a strong passion for music history and art culture.