Mrs. Patterson
Elementary school
One of the first teachers I remember who expected more from me than I expected from myself. She challenged me to become the best version of who I was.
Chapter One · Stop Six & Eastwood, Fort Worth
Born in Stop Six. Raised by a neighborhood.
I was born Donavan Roman Wheatfall, the youngest of four boys, to Raymond and Gloria Wheatfall. Our house in Southeast Fort Worth was under 1,500 square feet. I never once felt poor.
There were nights in Stop Six when the sound of gunfire was almost a bedtime story. Being the youngest of four boys gave me some protection. But what I remember most is family, community and belonging, and grown people who took pride in raising the next generation whether it was theirs or not.
My roots there go back further than me. Stop Six is named for the sixth stop on the old interurban line between Fort Worth and Dallas. My grandfather built a small home on several acres near that stop and raised my father alongside twelve siblings, thirteen children in all. He gave them a work ethic, a commitment to family, and a sense of service, dignity and responsibility. My father passed those things to me.
The whole neighborhood helped. Teachers, cafeteria workers, custodians, maintenance workers, neighbors, parents and extended family all had a hand in us. Schools were not just buildings where children went to class. They were community institutions.
10years old the first time I stood up to speak in public
26of Dr. King's sermons I had memorized by age 12
13children my grandfather raised near the interurban stop
Youngestelected member of the Fort Worth City Council
Go back and pick up the values we left behind.
- Familywhere it starts
- Dignityin every kind of work
- Self-respectbefore anyone else's
- Neighborlinessthe porch, the block
- Servicemy grandfather's word
- Community involvementshowing up
- Personal responsibilitythe one we own
