-
US Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands
US Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands established in 1865 to help slaves from Texas to District of Colombia make the transition to freedom. The Freedmen's Bureau championed black education, and by 1867 had taught 10,000 adults and children in Texas to read and write. There were only 16 schools for blacks in 1866. That figure had increased to 150 when then Freedmen's Bureau closed after a 5-year run. The schools offered instruction in reading, writing, history, and more. -
Civil War End
When the war ended, the country was in economic ruin. The devastation was exacerbated by emancipation, which arrived in Texas on June 19, 1865, 2 1/2 years after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Newly freed slaves and their families fled from fields to wherever freedom was. They scattered and established self-sustaining freedmen's towns like Lincolnville at Moccasin Bend, but freedmen primarily settled in East Texas. By 1900, blacks owned more than a quarter of Texas farmland. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The case was appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which held that the law was constitutional. The committee then appealed the case to the US Supreme Court. A decision in Ferguson's (Louisiana's) favor was handed down on May 18, 1896. The ruling upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine and legalized racial segregation in public accommodations. For education, that meant separate schools for black and white students, a principal that held until 1954. -
School Systems Evolve
School systems evolved in the 1920's and the 1930's. The state spent an average of $3.39 per student to educate black children, which is about a third less than for white students. Black teachers were paid significantly less than white teachers. Per month black teachers were paid $91.60. Then for white teachers which were paid $121.03 per month. -
Competition Between Blacks and Whites for Jobs
On June 15-16, 1943, a issue ignited two nights of violence. A white women reported being raped by a black man. She was unable to identify the suspect being held at a city jail. On the evening of June 15, more than 2 thousand white workers marched toward city hall and then disappeared into small bands, which began breaking into stores in Beaumont's black neighborhood near downtown. With guns, axes, and hammers they terrorized and assaulted numerous black residents. -
University of Texas Law Schools Policy of Segreagtion
In 1946, Sweatt challenged the University of Texas Law School's policy of segregation when he was refused admission because of his race. His rejection provided the opportunity the NAACP and Houston activists had been looking for to challenge and dismantle school segregation. They knew that desegregation would have to start at the top of the educational pyramid, with professional schools, and work its way down to primary schools. The strategy was to win small victories and build on them. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark 1954 Supreme Court case. The justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. Brown v. Board of Education was one of the cornerstones of the civil rights movement. It helped establish the precedent that “separate-but-equal” education and other services were not, in fact, equal at all. -
Mansfield High
On August 30 and 31, 1956, the black students attempted to enroll at Mansfield High. They were greeted by a angry mob of 400 white students and residents, who hung the 3 black students in effigy. Reporters and sympathizers were attacked, and stores closed in a show for support. One of the black students, Floyd Moody, recalled years later in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram story. How the Mansfield superintendent, R. L. Huffman was very direct in voicing his opposition when he met with the students. -
UIL's State Executive Committee
At a May 1964 meeting, the UIL's State Executive Committee unanimously approved Howard Chalkin's motion. The time had come to remove the word "white" as a stipulation for league membership. He had urged the UIL's Legislative Advisory Council to make the change. The request was repeated 5 months later. At which point the council assembled a "Membership Committee" to assess the advantages and pitfalls of the move. -
Winning in Texas
In the fall of 1967, the UIL and its member schools were in a much better place than before, no matter the adjustments. They inherited talented young black students and athletes. Many of them were the best and brightest at their PVIL schools. They helped raise the profiles of their new schools. They also rejuvenated moribund football programs.
