Truth, Racial Healing, & Transformation: Central Texas & Austin History

"The Task Force was comprised of an extraordinary collection of concerned citizens who served on either the
Steering Committee and/or one of the five Working Groups organized in the following sectors: education;
real estate and housing; health; finance, banking, and industry; and civil and criminal justice."

"This essay examines the Mexican American civil rights movement
by focusing on the work and ideas of George I. Sanchez--a prominent
activist and professor of education at the University of Texas--in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Sanchez is the most significant intellectual of what is commonly referred to as the 'Mexican American Generation' of activists during this period."

Interview with Dr. Charles E. Urdy, born in Georgetown, Texas in 1933, he later taught at Huston-Tillotson College in Austin, where he was active in early efforts for racial equality. Dr. Urdy held the Place 6 seat on the Austin City Council from 1981 until 1994.

"Civil Rights in Black and Brown Interview Database, is a publicly accessible, free, and user-friendly multimedia digital humanities website that provides digital video clips from the interviews to researchers as well as teachers, journalists, and the general public. Rather than simply streaming full interviews or displaying transcripts, this site indexes short clips and embeds a number of detailed thematic metadata codes and tags. End users are able to easily search for detailed subject information across the entire interview collection and add their own tags to help future users."

A national report broken down by states and racial identity including: African Americans, Hispanic, Asian, on children’s disparities in education and environment. The report described the disproportionate barriers facing children of color, and it recommended strategies that policy, community and civic leaders can use to guide their decisions so that all our children have a fair chance to thrive.

Submitted by Patricia Scott

Gerrymander map for school districts.

An Anglo account of the formation of LULAC.

The resource center has a small library and cultural events throughout the year.

Research subject guide produced by Austin Community College Library Services.

This collection is open for research use through the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History collection at University of Texas Austin.
Irwin A. Tang is the author of Asian Texans: Our Histories and Our Lives, among other works.
Irwin A. Tang Papers, 1995-2013, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Submitted by Irwin A. Tang.

According to the 1875 Census there were 20 Chinese people living in Austin. Most of these were men who left China to find work in order to support their families. Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act, they could not bring their wives or children. These men worked mainly in the laundry or restaurant business. This was the beginning of Asian presence in Austin.

Submitted by Loretta Edelen

Submitted by Teresa Ashley

Vietnam to Austin: Restoring Community was a historical exhibit presented by the AustinHistoryCenter in partnership with the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation from February 21 to July 17, 2009. This exhibit was the first Asian American exhibit at the Austin History Center and one of the first of its kind in the country. See selections online.

Submitted by Loretta Edelen

Huang, Hanna. (2018 Feb. 9). Waves of Hope: Asian American History in Austin. Last Modified February 21, 2018.

Here "students will learn about Asian American history in Austin.... home to many Asian Americans along with their rich history, culture, and traditions that are preserved and passed on to future generations by their families and communities. This exhibit showcases some of the history that is lesser known but nevertheless important to document and remember. All of the images can be found at the Austin History Center, which houses an Asian American Archival Collection of manuscript collections, photographs, clippings, books, periodicals and other items."

Submitted by Loretta Edelen.

Bullock Museum

Describes Austin's Black and Mexican populations during the time of the Freedmen's Bureau and the first railroad. Also mentions Paul Quinn College, founded by African Methodist Episcopal circuit-riding preachers, which opened its doors for Black students in 1872. "By 1870, Blacks made up almost 40 percent of the population." The Mexican population was much smaller and "not until September 1873, it has been recorded, was the Mexican Independence Day of Diez y Seis observed in Austin, and only 200 or so Mexican Americans were around to celebrate it."

"Built in 1928 on two acres of land in eastern Travis County, Gravel Hill was among 42 rural African-American schools that had been established near Austin by the mid-1930s. Most physical traces of these one-, two- or three-room schools have disappeared, but they have not been forgotten."

"On September 10, 1966, John Hill Westbrook of Elgin, Texas became the first African American to play varsity football in the Southwest Conference. He made his debut before a national television audience and in front of a capacity crowd who had filled Baylor Stadium."

"The Austin History Center proudly presents Black in the Past, one-minute vignettes depicting the stories of African Americans and the communities they built."

Also see:
Wells, Willie
Willie James Wells

Ivey-Muniz, Lauren M. A Legacy of Education and Service. Texas Lone Star, June 2016, p. 14-17.
Del Valle ISD will "honor the life of a two-time slave who became a successful businessman, landowner, and community patron. Board members of Del Valle ISD, just east of Austin, voted in November 2015 to name the district’s newest elementary campus Newton Collins Elementary School."
Submitted by Dr. Kelly Crook

"This web project presents an annotated chronology of major events in the desegregation of Austin, Texas, from 1940 to 1980 as they appeared in local newspapers and other materials such as the Austin Files (AF) in the archives at the Austin History Center, Austin Public Library. The timeline is intended as a guide to key events necessary for an understanding of this extraordinary time in the city’s history."

Research subject guide produced by Austin Community College Library Services.

"Miss Kitt, as she prefers to be called, has spent most of her life in this Texas farming town halfway between Manor and Elgin, just inside the Travis County line. She has seen Littig move from woodstoves and wash pots to television and trash removal. Hundreds of “freedman” towns like Littig were formed in East Texas after emancipation. Many prospered as farming communities into the 20th century until agriculture incomes plummeted and new generations moved away."

"This map shows early freedmen communities that were formed in Travis County immediately after the Civil War."

The New York Times.

"When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, granting equality and integration in schools, the Rev. Anthony Mays became the first and only African-American student to enroll in Round Rock High School for the 1964-1965 school year."

Submitted by Martha Ward

© Copyright 2010 - 2015 Harold McMillan, DiverseArts Culture Works, and East End Cultural Heritage District. Larger site includes historic sites and architecture, gentrification, redevelopment, and more.

"Recent studies have shown that visitors to US national and state parks are disproportionately white, with low numbers of ethnic minorities, especially African Americans.
A new study identifies several reasons why African Americans choose not to patronize public parks in greater numbers, including a racist history that curtailed African Americans’ access to parks, on-going racial conflict within communities near parks, and a lack of African-American heritage at parks."

Focus on Littig, Texas, one of the oldest black communities in the state, located in eastern Travis County, off Old Highway 20 between Manor and Elgin.

Georgetown University, for instance, had two residence halls named for two past university presidents who had sold slaves to service Georgetown’s debt. Eight others are mentioned who had buildings named for slave owners, KKK members, white supremacists and politicians who opposed civil rights.

White and black citizens and former students were interviewed.

"Examines the spread of American slavery into the borderlands between the United States and Mexico in the decades between 1820 and 1850. The Texas Slavery Project database contains population counts for each Texas county with surviving tax returns from the Republic of Texas era, from 1837 to 1845."

Oral Histories: Memories of Marshall and Carver Schools and Desegregation in Georgetown. Interview with a black man.

A black man recalls school desegregation in Georgetown, TX.

A black woman recalls school desegregation in Georgetown, TX.

Describes Austin's Black and Mexican populations during the time of the Freedmen's Bureau and the first railroad. Also mentions Paul Quinn College, founded by African Methodist Episcopal circuit-riding preachers, which opened its doors for Black students in 1872. "By 1870, Blacks made up almost 40 percent of the population." The Mexican population was much smaller and "not until September 1873, it has been recorded, was the Mexican Independence Day of Diez y Seis observed in Austin, and only 200 or so Mexican Americans were around to celebrate it."

"Born in Round Rock in 1926, Mendoza moved with his family to Austin in 1928. His mother was a Texas native. His father, who came from Mexico during the Mexican Revolution, fled the disasters of that war. Ironically, 18 years later, their son would fight for their adopted country in a different war (WWII)."

Submitted by Teresa Ashley

Not available online..

"Civil Rights in Black and Brown Interview Database, is a publicly accessible, free, and user-friendly multimedia digital humanities website that provides digital video clips from the interviews to researchers as well as teachers, journalists, and the general public. Rather than simply streaming full interviews or displaying transcripts, this site indexes short clips and embeds a number of detailed thematic metadata codes and tags. End users are able to easily search for detailed subject information across the entire interview collection and add their own tags to help future users."

Research subject guide produced by Austin Community College Library Services.

"In the spring of 1943, the Texas legislature unanimmously passed and Gov. Coke R. Stevenson signed a peculiar civil rights resoluton, the 'Caucasian Race--Equal Privileges' resolution."

"In 1919 A. K. Davis went to Mexico to bring workers to the Leander area. He brought back many families, some of which became American citizens and also Williamson County’s earliest Hispanic settlers."

Round Rock, The Historic Round Rock Collection, Mexican-American

Round Rock, The Historic Round Rock Collection, Mexican-American

Account of Mexican American assimilation from the lens of the author's personal history and that of his family.

"In the early 1870s, Mexican immigrants began arriving in Austin in large numbers. Most moved to the area just south, southwest and west of the square. Newspapers from that time show that Mexican residents of the area celebrated Diez y Seis de Septiembre, marking Mexico's (and Texas') independence from Spain, in the public square. Celebrations here continued until 1927, when Mexican cultural and patriotic events moved to Austin's east side, first at Riverside Park and then permanently at Parque Zaragoza.
By 1905, the neighborhood to the west and south of the square was largely identified with Austin's Mexican population. Three Hispanic churches were established within 1-2 blocks of the square. In 1907, Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church (pictured at left) was built directly across from and facing the square, at the northeast corner of Guadalupe and West Fifth streets. In 1917, a parochial school associated with the church was established next to the church.
In the 1960s, the park was converted to a parking lot. Ownership of the square was contested between the city, county and state.
In 1974, the Sierra Club and PARD began discussions of converting the parking lot back to a public park. The restoration began in 1976 as part of the Bicentennial celebration. Several names were offered for the park, but the submission provided by the Lions' Club of Austin's - Republic Square - was chosen in tribute to the Republic of Texas."

Features six women, among them Martha P. Cotera, "a key player in establishing some of the most influential Latino organizations in the country. She is a founding member of the Raza Unida Party in Texas, Mujeres Pro-Raza Unida Caucus, the Texas Women’s Political Caucus, the National Women’s Political Caucus and several others.

The narrator was born in Austin, TX in 1924 and died in 1992

"Historian Marta Cotera says that by the late 19th century the neighborhood was principally Mexican-American, and the park itself was then known as Guadalupe. As people of color were pushed or pulled eastward in the 1920s and 30s, many of the residences around Guadalupe Park were replaced by warehouses, car lots, lumber yards, ice houses, and printers."

Born in Round Rock, TX, Mr. Martinez served in WWII. He was interviewed at age 87 in Austin, TX.

"Between 1910 and 1920 ethnic Mexicans living on the Texas-Mexico border were targets of state-sanctioned violence. Although historians estimate that several thousand Mexican nationals and American citizens were killed, this period of violence has received little public attention. Refusing to Forget, an educational non-profit, hopes that in bringing public awareness to this often forgotten period, we can also raise the profile of a struggle for justice and civil rights that continues to influence social relationships today. ‘The violence had wider social resonances. It was key to the imposition of a Jim Crow style of segregation on those of Mexican descent, limiting their voting and relegating most to segregated neighborhoods and schools. On the other hand, it also catalyzed a Mexican-American Civil Rights movement.’"

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the U.S.-Mexican War. Signed on 2 Feb.1848. “Since 1848 Native Americans and Mexican Americans have struggled to achieve political and social equality within the United States, often citing the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as a document that promised civil and property rights. Although the treaty promised U.S. citizenship to former Mexican citizens, the Native Americans in the ceded territories, who in fact were Mexican citizens, were not given full U.S. citizenship until the 1930s.”

"The Voces Oral History Project documents and creates a better awareness of the contributions of U.S. Latinos and Latinas of the WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War generations. The project was created in 1999 by UT journalism professor Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez and initially focused solely on the WWII generation. At the time, it was known as the U.S. Latino & Latina WWII Oral History Project. In 2010, the project expanded into the Korean War and the Vietnam War generations of Latinos and Latinas, made possible through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. With the expanded scope came a new name: Voces Oral History Project. Most of our interviews have been of military veterans, but we have also documented the broader Latino civilian experience of men and women alike."

An Anglo account of the formation of LULAC.

Interactive project allows the reader to choose from a panel of individuals to ask three questions.

"With House Bill 174, the Texas State Legislature named the last Friday in September American Indian Heritage Day, which recognizes the historic, cultural, and social contributions American Indian communities and leaders have made to the state."

Brief overview based on three books:
--Institute staff, The Indians of Texas, Institute of Texan Cultures, San Antonio, 1970.
--Newcomb, W.W. Jr., The Indians of Texas, University of Texas Press, 1961 (Fourth Paperback Printing 1978).
--Utley, Robert M., The Indian Frontier of the American West 1846-1890, University of New Mexico Press, 1984
Written by Robert Plocheck for the Texas Almanac 1998–1999."

The Austin City Council voted to replace the holiday with Indigenous Peoples Day, a holiday that celebrates Native Americans. Austin follows other U.S. cities — including Seattle; Denver; Albuquerque, N.M.; and, most recently, Los Angeles — in renaming the holiday observed on the second Monday of October.

Research subject guide produced by Austin Community College Library Services.

"The Native American and Indigenous Collective (NAIC) arises from the merging of the Longhorn American Indian Council (LAIC) and the Native American & Indigenous Student Assembly (NAISA.) NAIC is a student led organization at the University of Texas at Austin with the principles of native empowerment, research, transnational and intertribal unity, scholarship and community. The merging of these two groups celebrates the different indigenous identities across the four directions and seeks to create consciousness about our indigenous roots as we continue to fight for the survival of our cultures."

Bob Bullock Museum exhibit online.

"Texas Beyond History (TBH) is a public education service of the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin, and in partnership with the Department of Anthropology at Texas State University and 15 other organizations. Begun in 2001, its purpose is to interpret and share the results of archeological and historical research on the cultural heritage of Texas with the citizens of Texas and the world.

In this virtual museum you will find information on and images of many different aspects of the cultural legacy of Texas, a legacy spanning at least 13,500 years."

"Whose land are you on? Start with a visit to native-land.ca. Native Land is both a website and an app that seeks to map Indigenous languages, treaties, and territories across Turtle Island. You might type in New York, New York, for example, and find that the five boroughs are actually traditional Lenape and Haudenosaunee territory.

On the website and in the app, you can enter the ZIP code or Canadian or American name for any town. The interactive map will zoom in on your inquiry, color-code it, and pull up data on the area’s Indigenous history, original language, and tribal ties."

Part of The Historic Round Rock Collection: An Ongoing History.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the U.S.-Mexican War. Signed on 2 Feb.1848. “Since 1848 Native Americans and Mexican Americans have struggled to achieve political and social equality within the United States, often citing the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as a document that promised civil and property rights. Although the treaty promised U.S. citizenship to former Mexican citizens, the Native Americans in the ceded territories, who in fact were Mexican citizens, were not given full U.S. citizenship until the 1930s.”

See maps of ethnolinguistic distribution of native Texas indians and of Texas tribes

The article links other pertinent Statesman articles, such as "History of Austin's racial divide in maps," "Racism learned," and "How to talk to kids about racism: An age-by-age guide."

"This web project presents an annotated chronology of major events in the desegregation of Austin, Texas, from 1940 to 1980 as they appeared in local newspapers and other materials such as the Austin Files (AF) in the archives at the Austin History Center, Austin Public Library. The timeline is intended as a guide to key events necessary for an understanding of this extraordinary time in the city’s history."

Discusses the intentions of UT benefactor George Littlefield when he commissioned the statue of Jefferson Davis and of five other confederates--"Robert E. Lee and Albert Sidney Johnston, confederate generals; John H. Reagan, architect of black disenfranchisement after Reconstruction, from poll taxes to literacy tests; James Stephen Hogg, the Texas governor who signed the first Jim Crow bills into law in 1891; and Woodrow Wilson, the first post-Civil War southern president, who removed blacks from positions of power in the federal government, segregated the federal bureaucracy and refused to involve the federal government in defending black civil rights in the face of white terrorist violence--on campus: to celebrate white supremacy and embed it into the very landscape of UT-Austin."

"Racially, economically -- Austin is a divided city, and the divisions that persist today are rooted in discriminatory housing policies of the past."

Interviews with black and white citizens on school desegregation in 1965.

From the late 1950s until around 1967, University Junior High near the UT campus taught a diverse population of students, with Black and Latino students coming from East Austin to attend.

Account of white activism in Austin, Texas during the 1960s.

One of several interviews with individuals who were students at the time of desegregation of Georgetown, TX schools in 1965.

PDF of the full report is available.

Article from Texas Monthly describes segregation in the city, comparing it to Houston.

"The mission of the Office of Indian Education is to support to meet the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives so that these students can achieve to the same challenging state standards as all students.

The Indian Education Formula Grant program provides grants to support local educational agencies in their efforts to reform elementary and secondary school programs that serve Indian students. The programs funded are to be based on challenging State content standards and State student performance standards used for all students, and be designed to assist Indian students to meet those standards."

"The mission of the Asian American Resource Center (AARC) is to provide spaces, services, resources, and programs through an Asian American Pacific Islander perspective. The vision is to empower Austin's diverse communities through cultural understanding and life-enhancing opportunities."

"In the early 1970s at the height of the Chicano Movement in Austin, Texas, Mexican American and Latino artists, educators, and leaders recognized a need for cultural arts space, education, and programming. With members from such organizations as the League of United Chicano Artists (LUChA) in East Austin, a myriad of Latino dance arts groups, Chicano theater troupes, and community organizations, this idea gained momentum. The eventual demise of El Centro Chicano and the Juárez-Lincoln Center created an urgent need for a community cultural center, and Austin’s artists and community leaders were eager to pursue that goal. After many long years and struggles, ground broke for the Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) in 2005, and, at last, the grand opening was held September 15, 2007, realizing a nearly 40 year old dream for the Mexican American community in Austin."

"The George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center is dedicated to the collection, preservation, research, interpretation and exhibition of historical and cultural material reflecting all dimensions of experiences of persons of African decent living in Austin, Travis County, and in the United States."

"The mission of Great Promise for American Indians is to preserve the traditions, heritage and culture of American Indians, and to support the health and education needs of their youth and families. We do this to honor the past, and to ensure the future.
We will achieve this mission by:
--supporting programs that preserve the traditions, heritage and culture of all American Indian people;
--dispelling myths about American Indians, and educating the public about American Indians and their many cultures;
--sponsoring and conducting the annual Austin Powwow and American Indian Heritage Festival;
--supporting and promoting the activities of the Native American Parents Committee;
--supporting the health and education needs of American Indian youth and their families; and,
--networking with other groups and organizations that share our goals and values.

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