DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Dr. Anne Elizabeth Davis Roark — and friend, this one deserves every mile of road you've got left in you. Now, 1918.
Oil comes up out of the ground in Wichita Falls, and with it comes a boom — the kind that reshapes a town overnight. The African American population grew right along with the derricks, and with more people came a need for businesses, for services, for community. That's the world Dr.
Anne Elizabeth Davis Roark stepped into. She was born in rural Texas in 1894. Educated at Paul Quinn College in Waco.
And if you thought that was the end of her schooling, well — you underestimated her considerably. She went on to Chicago, attending Schools of Chiropody and Massage. Podiatry, for those keeping notes.
The woman knew feet, and she knew hands, and she knew exactly what she was doing. She opened a practice first in Mineral Wells, but it wasn't long before she and her husband, Daniel Henry Roark, made their move to Wichita Falls. And in 1923, she opened her first office there.
She would practice podiatry in that city for nearly sixty years. Nearly sixty years. Let that settle.
Here's where it gets interesting — and a little defiant. From the nineteen-twenties through the nineteen-forties, Dr. Roark's office sat in the downtown area, serving white patrons.
The marker calls that an unusual occurrence in the segregated community of Wichita Falls. Unusual is a polite word for what it took to pull that off, day after day, in that era. But downtown wasn't her whole story.
Over on the east side, she and Daniel were woven into the fabric of their community in ways that go well beyond a medical practice. In the nineteen-forties, the Roarks operated the Roark Plaza Hotel and Coffee Shop. That place served as a poll tax location — meaning folks could go there and take one more step toward exercising their right to vote.
It also functioned as a waitress training site for African Americans. They were active in their church, Anderson Chapel A.M.E. They contributed to the local NAACP and to church women united.
These were not people who sat still. And then — Daniel died. Most folks, after a loss like that, might let certain plans fall away quietly.
Not Dr. Roark. She continued their plans.
Together, she and Daniel had intended to open an African American theater on the east side of town. She saw it through. The Isis.
The Isis brought in well-known African American artists and movies for the community. And it did something else — something that the times demanded. Because there were no facilities at Sheppard Air Force Base for African American soldiers, the theater served as the Negro Servicemen's Service Center.
Men in uniform, serving their country, needed a place. Dr. Roark's theater became that place.
She passed in 1984, and she is buried beside her husband in Lake View Cemetery — Daniel beside her, just as they had stood beside each other through all of it. Nearly sixty years of practice. A hotel, a coffee shop, a poll tax site, a theater, a servicemen's center, a church, a cause.
Born in rural Texas in 1894. The marker says she persevered in the face of adversity to achieve her goals and to better the cultural environment of her community. I'd say that's just about the most modest way you could possibly put it.
What the marker says
Following the local oil boom in 1918, the African American population in Wichita Falls increased as did the need for businesses and services. Dr. Anne Elizabeth Davis Roark was born in rural Texas in 1894 and educated at Paul Quinn College in Waco. She furthered her education by attending Schools of Chiropody (Podiatry) and Massage in Chicago. Dr. Roark opened a practice in Mineral Wells, but shortly moved to Wichita Falls with her husband, Daniel Henry Roark. Dr. Roark practiced Podiatry in Wichita Falls for nearly 60 years, opening her first office in 1923. Dr. Roark’s office from the 1920s to 1940s was located in the downtown area, serving white patrons, an unusual occurrence in the segregated community of Wichita Falls. Meanwhile, Dr. Roark and her husband were active in their east side community. During the 1940s, they operated the Roark Plaza Hotel and Coffee Shop, a site that served as a poll tax location and a waitress training site for African Americans. The Roarks were active in their church, Anderson Chapel A.M.E., and contributed to the local NAACP and church women united. After Daniel’s death, Dr. Roark continued their plans to open an African American theater, the Isis, on the east side of town. The theater brought in well-known African American artists and movies for the community. The theater was also used as the Negro Servicemen’s Service Center as there were no facilities at Sheppard Air Force Base for African American soldiers. In the face of adversity, Dr. Roark persevered to achieve her goals and to better the cultural environment of her community. Dr. Anne Roark passed in 1984 and is buried beside her husband in Lake View Cemetery. (2016)