African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression within the race and from the outside. Elissa Walton Benford-Roberts has been an active participant in uplifting the community by providing both assistance for women who needed help acquiring employment as well as partnering with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to bring affordable housing and the opportunity for housing ownership to the Rockdale community.
A 1969 graduate of Rockdale High School, Elissa, attended the Aycock School until her ninth grade year and was one of the first full four-year graduates to attend Rockdale High School after integration. Elissa was born to the late Eugene Walton of Houston, and Charles Etta Walton-Webb of Rockdale. Her grandparents, Almond and Zelma Lee Moultrie were cousins to my great-grandfather, Julius “Bose” Moultry. As an aside, the Moultry name was changed in spelling during WWI with some listed as “ie” and others as “y”.
I first remember Elissa from a small office in the Austin area which housed her non-profit business Lisa’s Hope Chest (LHC). It was here that I became acquainted with the great work that Elissa was doing to enrich the African American Community as well as other people in need. Elissa told me that in her early years, she had suffered through a very bad and abusive marriage. When she left the relationship, she essentially left with very little support. She would walk miles to work daily, had only one good dress to wear, and would wash it over and over to be presentable for work.
During that time, Elissa indicated that she was often ashamed that she only had the single dress; but made sure that she was clean and neat every day. Around 1996, Elissa began working for the Texas Legislative Council. During this period, Elissa had a vision of owning a business. She was not sure what type of business she would own or how she would make money from it. One day, her manager at TLC asked the common question on workforce succession planning, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” Elissa said that she would own a business but would not make money from it one day. Throughout her years at TLC, Elissa saved up enough to get transportation and would collect clothing in her car. She would assist both men and women by gathering gently used clothing and providing it to those in need. Elissa received donated clothes from people all over Central Texas as well as from other states.
Lisa’s Hope Chest became a beacon of hope providing the less fortunate with clothing to go to job interviews, doctors’ appointments, church, etc. Elissa eventually realized that LHC was her business, her non-profit, her calling. LHC was the only non-profit of its kind in Austin and the surrounding areas. Elissa eventually brokered office space and she operated LHC while working full-time for the Texas Legislative Council. LHC was one of the most rewarding things in her life. Hope stands for “Helping Others Progress Economically.”
Elissa operated Lisa’s Hope Chest for over 15 years, opening evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays and mornings on Saturdays. Remarkably, she served over 250,000 clients during this time. She received numerous accolades for her work. Once, there was also a foreign diplomat who visited to determine how they could start a similar non-profit. After retiring in 2011, Elissa passed LHC on to her church in the Austin area.
After Lisa’s Hope Chest, Elissa became involved with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to bring the opportunity for affordable housing ownership to Rockdale. She wanted to be able to help people provide a nice home for their families. Elissa remarked that her own mother received one of the first homes built through the City of Rockdale housing program about 15 years ago. She was so excited about her getting a new home.
After working through the process with her mother and learning the guidelines, Elissa decided that she could help others in the same way. Thus, she began working on helping people to secure new homes through the grant program. Elissa attributes her drive and desire for charitable work to her great-grandmother, Mrs. Olivia Mullins.
Ms. Olivia was another pioneer in the Rockdale Community across the tracks. She would take Elissa and other kids around Rockdale and get them to volunteer for different projects in the community. They cleaned the East side cemetery, delivered homemade dinners, cakes and pies to the community and did various fundraisers for the New Hope Baptist Church youth programs. Ms. Olivia also encouraged the children to do well in school by giving them a $1 for each A. “One dollar during those times was a lot of money,” Elissa reflected. Her Aunt also owned a beauty shop in the community and was consistently helping others. Elissa learned that she should volunteer whenever she got a chance to help someone else. Her motto is “I’ll help someone as long as it’s safe and legal, respects others and their ideas, even though their view might be different.”
Today, Elissa still works with the housing program. She had the opportunity to purchase a little rock house on the corner of Seventh and MLK in 2001. This house, built over 100 years ago, is called Bessie’s Cottage, after the lady who lived in it, Ms. Bessie Beals. Elissa wanted to save the house from destruction. This particular house is the oldest standing African American home in Rockdale. Ms. Beals, the original owner, was a member of the Springfield Baptist Church and her husband a Deacon of New Hope Baptist Church. Ms. Bessie was a well-known seamstress and began sewing at the age of seven. She is remembered for sewing many of the festive outfits for students in the Aycock school plays, proms and band. Thanks to Elissa, the house has now been restored and houses her daughter’s beauty shop.
She is consistently working to preserve the history of the community and the legacy of those who once lived there. A story board created by Elissa sits in Sumuel Park depicting how vibrant the Rockdale African American Community once was. At one time, there were over 50 businesses in the community. The storyboard serves as a reminder of the community pioneers and their families, contributions made to the community, and the support of each other during good times and hard times. This is what has always made the African American Community one of strength and resilience. People like Elissa serve to ensure that this legacy is cemented in history.
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