On page 6-11 of the MacDraw Pro User's Guide, you will find instructions on changing the color of a text object. It says to select the object(s), click on the pen icon if necessary and 'select a different color from the Style palette.'
It should say to select a different color from the color palette. If you click on the black pattern in the pattern bar or palette, you will get a message that says 'Sorry, pen patterns cannot be applied to a Text object.'