Commentator, on stage, from left, Sharon Grigsby, and panelists Darwin Payne, Lee Cullum, Rev. Gerald Britt and Bill Lively discuss the history of Dallas at The Dallas Morning News’ 125th Anniversary Symposium Saturday afternoon in the Hughes-Trigg Ballroom. (TYLER WILLIAMS/ The Daily Campus)

The topic up for discussion last Saturday at The Dallas Morning News’ 125th Anniversary Discussion Symposium in SMU’s Hughes-Trigg Theater was major events that have shaped and will shape the city of Dallas.

Four panelists, including Darwin Payne, historian, author and SMU professor; Lee Cullum, columnist and host of KERA’s “CEO Roundtable”; Rev. Gerald Britt, vice president of Public Policy and Community Development at Central Dallas Ministries; and Bill Lively, president and CEO of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, along with Sharon Grigsby, deputy editorial page editor for The Dallas Morning News acting as commentator, all shared the stage for discussion. The topics included how Dallas’ image has transformed over the years, the historical movers and shakers who have contributed to the city’s success, the leaders who belong in Dallas’ ‘Hall of Shame’ and The Dallas Morning News’ role in covering the city.

“A few weeks ago I asked the panelists to send us the top 10 events that historically transformed Dallas,” Grigsby said. The lists she received were very unique and not one event on each of the four panelists’ lists was duplicated.

The panelists spoke about the “shot heard ‘round the world'” and the image that the Kennedy assassination painted of Dallas. The panelists seemed to agree that Dallas was a self-consumed city at the time and didn’t realize that the whole world was watching.

“Knowing the rest of the world was watching [the JFK assassination] shaped how Dallas handled segregation and Civil Rights,” Britt Said. He mentioned that the integration of schools and other civil rights issues were handled by doing what was best for Dallas’ image.

Grigsby then asked the panelists their thoughts on what the most separated areas of Dallas are and where the city comes together the most. There was a consensus that the suburban and urban divide is among the largest issues in the city and that sports unify communities.

“The Hispanic population is the future of this city,” Lively said.

He noted that every year, the amount of African Americans and whites in the Dallas Independent School District falls lower than the previous year.

“Dallas is emerging as a new city,” he said.

Cullum said the division in schools is a large area where Dallas is separated, and sports are a “great meeting place for everyone.”

The panelists were then asked what they agreed was the hardest question— to place Dallas’ leaders in the city’s ‘Hall of Fame’ or ‘Hall of Shame’ for their historical influence on the city’s image. Among the Hall of Famers was John V. Lane for bringing railroads to North Texas, Stanley Marcus for his dedication to the arts and Ebby Halliday.

Among the villains stood former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller and Dallas County Judge Margaret Keliher, who came under fire for the loss of the Cowboys Stadium to the city of Arlington.

Lively called Miller a bad mayor for her decision to not have the stadium built in Dallas and noted that Dallas has missed out on the stadium twice, once to the city of Irving, and now, to Arlington.

“It is a lost economic interest for the next 75 years,” Lively said.