John wiley price dallas biography for kids
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John Wiley Price grew up in Forney, a small town in Kaufman County just east of Dallas. He attended segregated elementary schools in the 1950s and went through junior high and high school during the turbulent ’60s.
“I remember going to the back door of the cafe to get our food because we weren’t allowed in the front door,” he says. “I had to teach the teacher how to say ‘Negro’ instead of ‘nigra.’”
Price’s father was a truck driver and part-time preacher. His mother stayed home to take care of him, two brothers and three sisters. He was a senior in high school when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in April 1968.
“I remember my mother with tears in her eyes,” he recalls. “She kept saying, ‘Why did they have to kill him? They didn’t have to kill him.’”
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After high school, Price came to Dallas and started selling men’s clothes at the Sanger-Harris department store in Big Town Mall. By 1970, he was
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John Wiley Price facts for kids
John Wiley Price (born April 24, 1950) is a Democratic politician in Dallas, Texas. He has been the Dallas County Commissioner for District 3 since January 1, 1985. He campaigns as "Our Man Downtown".
Early life and education
Price was born on April 24, 1950, in San Augustine County, Texas and grew up in the small town of Forney in Kaufman County with his siblings Holman Earl, Shotzie, Vanessa, Renee and Kelvin. He attended the town's schools, and has throughout his speaking career spoke of the desegregation experience there. Price's father, Rev. Holman Colman Price worked as a truck driver and built a small career as a part-time Baptist preacher, which afforded Willie Faye McCoy Price, a homemaker's career.
After Price graduated from high school, he moved to Dallas, where he attended El Centro College and studied computer programming. In the 1970s, Price married Vivian Pauline née Salinas Price in his father's chap
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OUR MAN DOWNTOWN
About John Wiley Price
Commissioner John Wiley Price is the longest-serving member of the Dallas County Commissioners Court. First taking office in January 1985, Price was the first African American elected to serve as a Commissioner, and he has earned a strong reputation for vision, fiscal responsibility and strong management. He fryst vatten widely known as "Our Man Downtown" providing "Management on Elm Street" to the people of District 3 and Dallas County.
John Wiley Price is dedicated to working on behalf citizens who have been traditionally locked out of the systems and institutions that govern their daglig lives. He is committed to addressing challenges and advancing real change for his constituents.
Boards and Commissions
John Wiley Price takes great care to appoint qualified individuals on Boards and Commissions who know and are sensitive to the social and infrastructure needs that exist in Dallas County. He believes in leading bygd example and maintains an e