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UNT Dallas to bring 826, a whimsical writing center, to southern Dallas

The organization has already started writing programs with a book of personal essays.

When author Dave Eggers and educator Nínive Calegari leased a space in 2002 at 826 Valencia Street in San Francisco to found a writing center, the permit required them to sell something. So they turned the center into a “pirate supply store” that sold writing tools and trinkets with a nautical theme.

Now, the 826 Network’s writing centers across the country each have a theme. But tucked behind the whimsical storefronts lies the infrastructure to increase literacy and tell the stories of Dallas and other cities, said Doug Keller, 826 National’s network growth director.

The University of North Texas at Dallas, Big Thought, For Oak Cliff, The Writer’s Garret and Paul Quinn College are working to bring an 826 writing center to the city. It would be Texas’ first official chapter of the nationwide community centers that tutor students in writing and publish their work.

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Student Darrius Chamblee (left), 826 volunteer Brittnay Connor (center) and student Juliet...
Student Darrius Chamblee (left), 826 volunteer Brittnay Connor (center) and student Juliet Kalala collaborate on a writing project. 826 Dallas' organizers say collaboration between students across the city is a cornerstone of 826's mission.(UNT Dallas)
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Cynthia Perez, director of external relations and special events for UNT Dallas, is leading the effort to bring 826 to the city. She said the center will be a pivotal after-school resource that underserved kids need, but traditionally haven’t been able to access.

“Whether it’s for after-school programming, academically, socially, emotionally, it’ll be transformational for students,” said Perez, who formerly ran the Hispanic Families Network, a grant-funded community program organized by The Dallas Morning News and Al Día. “It’s not just tutoring kids and helping them with the writing, it’s getting them to express themselves, to share their stories, to amplify their voices — to empower them.”

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Students have very few places to express their views on society, Keller said, and without that space, a vital perspective is missing.

“Youth voices [are] critical to a healthy civic dialogue specifically within education and all the areas where youth are impacted,” he said. “We hear from the people who are most deeply impacted by the decisions we’re making, and young people should be a part of that decision.”

Hearing from students consistently allows educators and government officials to better understand students’ needs and how to meet them, Keller said.

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“What I see is a shift not just for students and their own confidence, but the way adults understand the youth in their community,” Keller said. “Rather than that stranger-kid-who’s-up-to-no-good stereotype, instead it’s an understanding of the issues that matter to students.”

Allison Lee, director of program design at Big Thought, brings deep experience from her work with 826 in New York. She said one of the fundamental effects of an 826 chapter is that it brings together students from different parts of the city.

“Kids are so grounded in their school. That tends to force them into the school being the only place to meet people,” Lee said. “It helps people feel more connected to their city. Kids that would’ve never been able to meet each other [are] able to meet and create friendships.”

Perez said there’s an extensive process to establish the writing center. The 826 Dallas Project must be an independent nonprofit with successful events and programming before it can become an official chapter. She said in two years, she hopes the project will be a fully recognized chapter and the writing center will be built and operational.

Armando Banchs, a volunteer, tutors Emari Burks in the art of writing. 826 aims to make...
Armando Banchs, a volunteer, tutors Emari Burks in the art of writing. 826 aims to make writing fun for students with hopes they will find a passion in it.(UNT Dallas)

One initiative that Perez hopes will prove the viability of 826 in Dallas is the Young Authors Book Project, which compiles students’ poetry and personal essays. In Faceless: Untold Side Effects of Culture, Race, and COVID-19, students shared stories on topics including the plight of essential workers, the dread of staying home during the pandemic and racism.

Featured writers are in ethnic studies courses at Dallas ISD’s Trinidad “Trini” Garza Early College High School, one of the 826 Dallas Project’s partner schools.

Dilyan Arizmendi, 18, reflected on sorrow and loss when the coronavirus canceled milestone events commemorating the final year of high school.

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“I thought about how I will never be able to have that experience — the culmination of high school that everyone looks forward to. Prom night. Walking the stage. Finishing high school. My experience was a grand one, but it will never have the ending I always wanted,” Arizmendi wrote.

At the onset of the pandemic, Leyda Lopez, 17, recalled her observations of how people reacted to business and school closures. She described behaviors such as stockpiling groceries and refusing to wear masks as selfish.

“I got to use my new mask when I convinced my mother to let me go with her to the store a few weeks ago. My expectation of closed stores and everyone wearing a mask was met with regular store activities. People weren’t taking the virus seriously. It was like the virus never existed to begin with,” she wrote.

Elijah Compton, 18, grappled with police brutality and Black Americans’ historical efforts for fair treatment under the law.

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“Cops were beating Black men senseless / If the law ain’t on my side / Then the camera be my witness,” Compton wrote.

Along with helping students express themselves, the 826 writing center’s goal is to make writing accessible, UNT Dallas president Bob Mong said.

“The concept behind 826 is to make writing fun, to make it an adventure [and] to make it something that helps clarify a child’s identity,” said Mong, a former editor of The Dallas Morning News. “By expressing yourself you begin to understand who you are as a person.”

One of the organizations helping bring 826 to Dallas is For Oak Cliff, a nonprofit that began as a back-to-school drive and has expanded its mission to freeing Oak Cliff from systemic oppression.

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Taylor Toynes poses for a portrait at Glendale Park in Dallas on Jan. 24, 2017.
Taylor Toynes poses for a portrait at Glendale Park in Dallas on Jan. 24, 2017.(Nathan Hunsinger / Staff Photographer)

For Oak Cliff executive director Taylor Toynes said the center is a crucial component to the changes he sees in the southern Dallas neighborhood.

“Oak Cliff is kind of going through a renaissance,” he said, “and what every good renaissance needs is great writers.”

For more information or to get involved, visit the 826 Dallas Project website.

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CORRECTIONS, 3:13 p.m. Aug. 13, 2020: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified someone in a photo caption and had an incorrect title for Perez. The story also now refers to the center as the 826 Dallas Project because it is not an official chapter.