The city of Dallas could rename the Houston Street bridge after former Dallas Cowboys tight end and Civil Rights activist Pettis Norman.
Norman died last July at the age of 86. He joined the Cowboys in 1962 and was the force behind integrating players' hotel rooms so they were not assigned by race. He was with the team until 1970.
The Dallas Cowboys featured Norman in a profile last year before his death. During the interview, Norman said assigning rooms by last name instead of race "opened the door" to changing the mentality about race in Dallas.
"I think a team has to be someone that shares the whole atmosphere together," Norman said in the interview, recounting a conversation he had with Tom Landry. "That's when you build strong teams."
Council Member Zarin Gracey said during Monday's Quality of Life, Arts, and Culture Committee meeting that the proposal is to rename the Houston Street Bridge — which runs between Interstates 30 and 35 into downtown — to the "Pettis B. Norman Bridge".
He said Norman was a District 3 resident who was a "bridge builder" who created the Minority and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise in Dallas.
"He did that to bring folks together to really start doing business together," Gracey said.
The request has support from dozens of community leaders including former Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, Texas State Senator Royce West, and Tom Landry Jr..
Council Member Gay Donnell Willis said she loved the idea of highlighting Norman's civil rights advocacy on a citywide scale.
"What could be more appropriate than a bridge builder having a bridge named for them?" Willis said. "And this just checks so many boxes of what's so critical to build a strong community."
Gracey said the request will go through the City Plan and Zoning Commission and then back to the council for consideration, giving the public opportunities to give feedback.
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