When Richard Doherty landed a job and moved to Oak Cliff in 1983, his brother-in-law was appalled, warning him the area was dangerous. Doherty respected him as a Dallas native, but his in-law’s dismay did not dampen his enthusiasm for his newfound community.
For the next four decades, Doherty documented Oak Cliff, from panoramic images showcasing everyday activities to simple portraits of neighbors, family members, and smiling strangers. These collected photographs—along with essays by Bill Minutaglio, John Rohrbach, and former student Christopher Blay—form Framing Oak Cliff: A Visual Diary of the Dallas Neighborhood. The book, which was published in May, is the first to be released in UNT Press’ “Seeing Texas” series.
The book shows how Oak Cliff has maintained spaces where working-class residents can become business owners, creating an eclectic and stable community. Doherty says he never intended to profit from his images of these individuals, as he made his black-and-white film photographs mostly for himself and the benefit of the community he captured.
“I always returned to where I was working and gave [the subjects] prints of the photographs,” he says. “A lot of people don’t even have photographs of themselves. Especially photographs made by a crazy White guy!”
A man fishes in the Trinity River circa 1991.
Richard DohertyNeighborhood Spotlight
Dallas
Before moving to the area, the Arkansas native was taught how to use a camera by his shutterbug father. Doherty’s passion for photography grew while he attended college, leading him to teach the craft at Louisiana State University. He moved to Dallas when he got a job offer at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth. While a photography professor, he acclimated himself and his growing family to the ebb and flow of their neighborhood.
Doherty says he has seen Oak Cliff evolve, recalling that when he first moved there, Bishop Arts had only one hair salon, a stark difference from the lively environment it fosters today. “You have this enclave of privileged folk, and then, in the perimeter, surrounding them and adjoining neighborhoods, it’s economically undeveloped,” he says. “There have been a lot of people that have been displaced because of the development [in Bishop Arts].”
He hopes his book will acknowledge the Oak Cliff of the past, preserving and respecting the community that his family cherished. He doesn’t plan to leave it anytime soon. “They’ll probably carry us out feet first,” he says. “We plan to age in place.”
This story originally appeared in the August issue of D Magazine with the headline “Just Across the River.” Write to feedback@dmagazine.com.
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