Born in 1934 the daughter of a sharecropper, Elsie Faye Heggins and her mother moved to Dallas from Rusk, Texas, when she was 11 years old after her parent’s divorce. Balancing work and school, Heggins attended what is now known as the University of North Texas while working in real estate. She worked as a real estate agent in North Texas for 16 years, establishing the personal and business relationships that would serve her well as she moved from business to activism.
During the 1960s and ’70s, Heggins’ passionate and confrontational personality helped her in leadership roles with the Crossroad Community Center, Dallas Legal Services Project, Black Citizens for Justice, Law and Order, and many other organizations. She ran unsuccessfully for the Dallas ISD school board and was elected as Democratic chairman of her precinct. Heggins became a champion for her community, pushing for healthcare for the elderly and for single-member districts that would better represent the city.
Though single-member districts wouldn’t happen until 1991, in 1980, she became the first Black city councilperson without ties and support from the White community or organizations. Before Heggins’ election, candidates had to seek the approval of the powers that be in Dallas because there were no single-member districts. Her election showed that grassroots efforts and non-establishment candidates could win and represent their neighbors. Heggins would serve two terms on the city council, where she fought to change the construction plan for I-45 to provide access to South Dallas.
Heggins served two terms, where she successfully fought to change the construction plan for Interstate 45 to provide improved access to South Dallas. She fought for public works improvements and service expansions for her neighborhood and won a $15 million flood control project for a community near Fair Park. She also helped stop the extensive mass house demolition that was taking place in South Dallas for the expansion of Fair Park. During her time in power, she led investigations into the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer, fought against the original route plan of DART, saying that it was racist, and her appointee to the DART board actively fought for the organization’s dissolution.
Her style earned her a brash and fiery reputation, but she was a fierce advocate for South Dallas, consistently hosting times to hear from her constituents about how the city could better serve them.
Dallas civil rights leader J.B. Jackson described Heggins this way: “She doesn’t mind them [the members of the City Council] kicking her, treating her like a dog; she hangs on like a snapping turtle, and she gets things done.” She later ran for county commissioner but lost the election and retired from politics. She spent her last years in Houston running a small antique shop and died in 2000. A street in South Dallas was named for her in 2015.
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