Saving The Lake

Activists form new grass-roots group to keep White Rock Lake lakey

In April, fans of White Rock Lake came together and helped defeat a proposal for a restaurant at Boy Scout Hill, at the northeast corner of White Rock Lake. Inspired by the community reaction, activist Julie Long Sherrod took the next step and formed a group she hopes will carry the baton.

Called Protect and Preserve White Rock Lake Park (PPWRLP), the entity is designed to permanently protect White Rock Lake from additional commercial development. It has no affiliations with governmental groups or other organizations, and it isn't restricted to people who live near the lake. They’re walkers, bikers, master gardeners and families who want to preserve the park for future generations.

Their goals are to preserve native grassland, protect wildlife and keep the area free to the public. They're also looking at the use of herbicides at the park, mowing practices and other environmental issues.

White Rock Lake is overseen by a nonprofit called the White Rock Conservancy, whose board and advisory group work with the City of Dallas and the Parks Department. The main function of that group is to raise funds to help maintain and improve the lake, the trails and 1,000-plus acres that surround it.

PPWRLP group sees itself as more of an advocacy group and more grass-roots, says member Ted Barker, who lives near the lake and took an active role in the protests against the restaurant at Boy Scout Hill.

"We’re sharing ideas within this group, and one idea is to gather information for a best practices guideline/manual for the Parks Department," Barker says.

They're reaching out to other preservation entities such as the For the Love of the Lake with whom it shared booth space at the recent Earth Day Texas event.

"White Rock Lake is a historic park, well over 100 years old," he says. "We do not believe that diminishing green space is warranted, especially for commercial enterprises."

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closing the gaps

Texas no longer leads U.S. for racial progress, new report says

The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center in Dallas

The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center/Facebook

WalletHub's report is released annually ahead of MLK Day.

Texas has been overtaken as the No. 1 state that has made the most racial progress, according to a new study.

The Lone Star State led the nation in 2025, but now ranks in third place behind Georgia (No. 1) and Mississippi (No. 2). It also ranked No. 5 nationally in the list of states with the most racial integration.

WalletHub's "States That Have Made the Most Racial Progress" study is released annually ahead of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The report compares all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 22 relevant metrics divided into two main rankings: racial integration (which the study defines as "the current integration levels of white people and Black people") and racial progress (defined as "the levels of racial progress achieved over time").

The report's author clarifies that the study focuses only on the racial integration between Black people and white people "in light of racial tensions in recent years that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement."

"We released this report ahead of the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation and discrimination against Black people," the report says.

The study further divided each ranking into four main categories measuring the gaps between white people and Black people over time; spanning employment and wealth, education, social and civic engagement, and health. Texas performed the best in education and health, ranking No. 4 nationally in both categories, and it ranked in sixth place for its social and civic engagement. The state ranked 16th in the category for employment and wealth.

According to WalletHub, Texas has "done a lot" to reduce gaps in health outcomes for white and Black residents, such as reducing gaps in health insurance coverage, and reducing the share of Black Texans suffering from "poor health" and diabetes. It also notes that Texas "made the second-most progress when it comes to obesity," but it did not acknowledge the racial bias in body mass index (BMI) that has been increasingly flagged in recent years.

The report further praises Texas for reducing the gap in business ownership between white and Black Texans, and for its improvement in reducing discrimination in the parole system. WalletHub does not offer data behind the parole claim.

"It’s encouraging to look at the data and see that some states have made significant strides toward racial equality over the past few decades," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo regarding the overall report. "This change demonstrates that state-level policies and residents’ attitudes regarding equality have grown considerably better."

Though racial disparity gaps are closing between white and Black people, racial profiling and discrimination is still a major issue affecting Black people and other people of color across the country.

In 2023, a senate bill banned public Texas universities from having diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and programs, prompting warnings of discrimination against Black, Hispanic, and other marginalized students, including those with disabilities.

The top 10 states with the most racial progress in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Georgia
No. 2 – Mississippi
No. 3 – Texas
No. 4 – North Carolina
No. 5 – Maryland
No. 6 – Florida
No. 7 – New Jersey
No. 8 – Massachusetts
No. 9 – Louisiana
No. 10 – New Mexico

wallethub texas report mlk day