The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation at the University of Texas recognized SMU Journalism Professor Craig Flournoy for his Pulitzer Prize-winning work in investigative journalism with The Dallas Morning News, and his work with students at Sam Houston State University and SMU. He was recognized as one of eight Texans who have worked to improve the lives of those in their communities. He is the only journalist on the list.
Flournoy’s work at The Dallas Morning News focused on investigating segregation and corruption in government sanctioned low-income housing in cities all over the country, especially Dallas. His work led to governmental investigations and improvements in the lives of hundreds of poor black families.
His students have also done investigative work all over Texas, including the Waterview Apartments at the University of Texas at Dallas, the largest privately owned dormitory in the United States. They uncovered extremely poor living conditions, high crime and rape rates and little, if any, resultant police investigation or intervention. As a result of their work, the conditions have improved.
“These kids got real world experience with journalism,” Flournoy said. “They made a difference. That can be a life-changing experience because most of us don’t feel like we can do that.”
Flournoy came to SMU in 2002 after receiving his PhD from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge with the encouragement of his family, and because he wanted to teach. The recognition of his work astonished him.
“I was stunned, I was shocked, I was surprised,” he said of learning that he was being recognized by the American Trustees Project, an organization dedicated to teaching young men and women about the importance of civic contribution and participation. He is featured in a documentary about his work, that will be used by the American Trustees Project as an example of civic involvement and leadership.
“They’re trying to get kids involved, trying to get kids out there, and I’ve seen my students do that,” Flournoy said. “Students here make a difference.”
He feels that he has instigated real change in the lives of the people he has worked so hard to help, mentioning his work with the Robin Square area specifically. Robin Square was an area of privately owned, government subsidized housing with “every imaginable problem,” Flournoy described. He discussed the complete lack of air conditioning, an infestation of rats, dirt roads with no curbs or gutters, marks on the walls of the buildings where sewage had overflowed and worse.
The crime rate was very high, and when a woman who was raped in front of her four-year-old son asked to be moved, the government told her that the only way she could remain in low-income housing was to stay exactly where she was. For seven years the government allowed this to go on.
Flournoy’s investigative work with The Dallas Morning News led to the closing of Robin Square and the 150-plus families living there, all blacks, who were given vouchers to live anywhere they chose. In his followup interviews with some of the families, Flournoy noticed a marked improvement in their lives. So did the Annette Strauss Institute.
For Flournoy, it is all about the younger generation, his students and others. He praised the work of his students at Sam Houston State and SMU for going out and investigating on their own conditions like those at the Waterview Apartments, for instigating real change.
“The students did that, not me,” said Flournoy. “It’s a lot of fun. When you put together the pieces of something and make the connections, it’s like being a detective, except you’re not following around somebody’s spouse; you’re going out and reporting on the bad guys …and the good guys. What other job allows you to be rude and impertinent to rich and powerful people?” He asked with a smile.
“If a hick like me from North Louisiana can help make a difference in people’s lives, if students carrying 15 hours can make a difference, then anybody can.”
