Dr. Anne Elizabeth Davis Roark
Wichita Falls, Wichita County, Texas
Marker Inscription
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)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Wichita Falls' 1918 oil boom swelled its African American community, Dr. Anne Elizabeth Davis Roark answered the need for professional care, practicing podiatry downtown for nearly six decades after opening her first office in 1923. Remarkably for the Jim Crow era, her practice served white patrons even as she and her husband built Black institutions on the east side — a hotel and coffee shop that doubled as a poll-tax station and waitress-training site, and the Isis Theater that hosted Black artists and welcomed Black servicemen barred from facilities at Sheppard Air Force Base.
Why it matters
Roark's career shows how one determined Black professional could quietly cross segregation's color line while simultaneously nourishing the culture, enterprise, and political life of her own community.
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Related people
- · Anne Elizabeth Davis Roark
- · Daniel Henry Roark
Related events
- · Wichita Falls oil boom of 1918
Themes & tags
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