Public Pays Respect To Dallas Politician Al Lipscomb

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The public had a chance to say farewell to Al Lipscomb – a man who changed the political and social landscape of Dallas – on Thursday afternoon. Lipscomb was elected to the City Council in 1984 and was the first African American to run for Mayor of Dallas, although he did not win. Lipscomb became ensnared in a bribery case in 2000. He was convicted, but that conviction was later overturned.

Lipscomb's body is now lying in state at Fair Park in south Dallas, where his friends, other politicians, his neighbors and fellow citizens of Dallas came to pay their respects at the Hall of States on Thursday.

"He meant the world to me," said friend Eddie Sewell. "He was my Malcolm X. He was my Nelson Mandela. He was my Martin Luther King. He was my hero."

Lipscomb was outspoken, sometimes brash, but always sympathetic to those who lived in poverty. And as a Dallas city councilman, Lipscomb was never shy about challenging the political establishment.

According to former school board member Ron Price, support from Lipscomb cemented his first campaign. "If it wasn't for Al Lipscomb, many African American elected officials in North Texas, especially Dallas, would never have had the opportunity to get elected, so Mr. Lipscomb really opened up doors," Price said.

About 300 people attended the Thursday viewing.

Even Mayor Elect Mike Rawlings came to the public viewing on Thursday afternoon. "He changed Dallas in so many ways," Rawlings said, "and made Dallas a city of inclusion, not of exclusion, and that's what we've got to keep doing."

"Every porch has steps to it. Mr. Lipscomb was steps that led to the door that others have gone in," said Reverend Allen Madison. "I think he's made a great impact as far as his humanitarian service, as well as his political service. Dallas will miss him."

A memorial service will be held for Lipscomb on Saturday at the Friendship West Baptist Church on Wheatland Road in Dallas. Service begins at 11:00 a.m.