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‘All of Dallas is proud’: Hundreds gather for South Oak Cliff Day parade in heart of city

Mayor Eric Johnson surprised the state champion South Oak Cliff High School football team with a key to the city.

A sea of gold flooded the heart of Dallas on Saturday as hundreds of people gathered for a parade to ring in the city’s first South Oak Cliff Day.

The event honored South Oak Cliff High School’s Golden Bears football team, whose 23-14 win over Liberty Hill last month in the UIL Class 5A Division II title game was the school’s first state championship — and the first football title in 63 years for a Dallas ISD school.

Led by a procession of Corvettes, more than 20 schools with bands, drill teams and cheerleaders marched through the streets of downtown Dallas on their way to City Hall Plaza.

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Supporters lining the sidewalks carried cardboard cutouts of their favorite players; some had their jersey numbers painted on both cheeks. Trucks carrying the team, city officials and alumni were decked out with black, white and gold balloons and streamers, honking the whole way through.

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Perla Sanchez, from Sunset High School, performs during the Celebration of Champions Parade...
Perla Sanchez, from Sunset High School, performs during the Celebration of Champions Parade on Saturday.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

Mayor Eric Johnson, who served as grand marshal for the parade, surprised the team with a key to the city on a stage in front of City Hall.

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“I have the authority … to honor people who have made an extraordinary contribution to our world, our state, our nation and of course, this great city,” he said. “All of Dallas is proud.”

It was only the third time Johnson has bestowed the honor, causing South Oak Cliff coach Jason Todd to tear up as he thanked the crowd.

“As a kid, you have all kinds of dreams, but for those dreams to actually come true like it did in that moment, it hits you — hard,” Todd told The Dallas Morning News.

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Todd, who joined the team in 2014 as an assistant coach, was born and raised in Dallas. He said the support the team has had from the city has been “overwhelming, but not surprising.”

“Dallas always shows up for its own,” Todd said. “These kids did what it took to become champions, but only Dallas knows what a long road that really was.”

In a written statement, Johnson said the “football players — practice after practice and game after game — persevered and overcame significant adversity both in and out of school to ultimately achieve this victory.” This perseverance echoed how the South Oak Cliff neighborhood has “overcome historic inequities and banded together to make their community safer, stronger and more vibrant,” the mayor added.

Willie Johnson Jr., South Oak Cliff High’s principal, said the most important thing to celebrate is “the process that brought them to that point.”

“In 2017, South Oak was recognized as one of the most dysfunctional, failing schools across the state,” he said. “Now, South Oak is recognized for outstanding academic programs and the No. 1 state football team.”

In 2015, students took matters into their own hands when they walked out of school to call on the district to fix their run-down, 60-year-old campus. In January 2020, DISD finished its $52 million renovation, complete with a new turf field.

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DISD trustee Maxie Johnson said that is the prime example of the team’s “fight to earn everything they have.”

“We don’t have an achievement gap, we have an opportunity gap,” he said. “If you give Black and brown kids the resources, I promise you, we will win.”

Senior linebacker Ashton Stoker said the renovations made the team feel like they were finally on an even playing field. But he said it was still a difficult year for each player, marked by fluctuating COVID-19 cases, long hours on the field and little time to spend with friends and family.

“It was all worth it — make no mistake,” Stoker said. “No one here has ever experienced a moment like this.”

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Stoker is set to attend Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls on a football scholarship after graduating.

“This will always be home, though” he said. “What we were able to do for ourselves and our community is something we will never forget. I mean, can you think of a better way to go out?”

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