Sorry, was looking for a book that I have that provided some of the details as I don't want to mis represent, but I think one of my kids has it.
Younger posters on this board might be shocked to know that back in the day, all parts of Dallas weren't a welcoming place to the new Cowboys.
The practice was that if you were a new player of color who came to the club, you would be directed to the Cedar Crest neighborhood in South Central Dallas. Don Perkins was interviewed by the Washington Post and he talked about the poor conditions of the homes available in this area at the time.
Mel Renfro tried to move his family to an apartment complex in North Dallas, near the Cowboys' practice facility, but the deal got scrapped at the end and Renfro actually sued siting discrimination.
There have been multiple explanations for what North Dallas 40 meant and one is that supposedly there was an unwritten acknowledgement that no sale or rental of a residential property would involved persons of color north of that point.
Norman got involved with real estate development and was part of building at least one apartment complex in North Dallas that would provide quality living environment from persons of color.
I am sure I botched that up and was hoping to get the details correct, but Norman is a forgotten person in the civil rights history of Dallas.