<div>Goyens was born in 1794 in Moore County, N. Carolina to a free mulatto and a white woman. It is believed that Goyens arrived in Nacogdoches, TX in the early 1820s. &nbsp;During his time in East Texas, he became a successful businessman. As well as being a Blacksmith and a wagon maker, he was involved with hauling freight from Natchitoches, Louisiana. On an 1826 trip to Louisiana, William English attempted to sell Goyens into slavery. &nbsp;In order to gain his freedom, English demanded that Goyens turn over his own slave woman and work off his debt, somewhat like an indentured servant. Goyens could still participate in trade himself within this agreement. Upon returning to Nacogdoches, Goyens successfully sought legal negation of this agreement.<br><br></div><div><div>Goyens had Cherokee ancestry, which likely was instrumental to his success as a mediator and interpreter for Sam Houston. In 1832, Goyens married his wife Mary, a white widower from Georgia. Although interracial marriages would have been unusual at the time, Goyens possessed a light complexion that is believed afforded him greater social mobility. After the revolution was over, Goyens purchased an estate outside of Nacogdoches that later became known as Goyens’ Hill. Despite efforts by his white neighbors to challenge and take his wealth, Goyens acquired great deals of wealth in real estate during his later life.</div></div><div><br></div>

The historical marker commemorating the participation of African Americans in the Civil War

Goyens in conference with a Native American

African American Military Heroes by Jim Haskins

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"African Americans and the Fight for the Alamo" by Robert L. Durham

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This historical marker commemorates the contributions of African Americans, both slave and free, who supported the movement for Texas independence from Mexico between 1835 and 1836. Among those recorded as having participated in the war are Hendrick Arnold and William E. (Bill) Goyens. Arnold was a guide and soldier in Ben Milam’s Texas Army at the Siege of Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto. Goyens served as an interpreter and liaison for Sam Houston in regards to the Cherokee Native Americans and helped negotiate a treaty.


African Americans in the Texas Revolution Historical Marker

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This tour begins by revealing the location of numerous student protests for and against racial integration at the University of Texas. It proceeds south, stopping at several historical markers and the location of historic African American institutions, and concludes at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center.

College communities in the South such as Austin saw some of the earliest and most significant acts of protest against segregation. In 1953, for example, Myrtle Washington was arrested for refusing to move to the rear of an Austin Transit Company&nbsp;bus. She was represented by&nbsp;Arthur Dewitty and&nbsp;the Austin Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) who used her arrest to challenge the legality of&nbsp;Austin's segregation law.<br><br>While her case did not result in the immediate end of segregation on buses, her actions and that of many others created an environment where white and Black residents and students challenged segregation in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Austin students also protested against the university's policy of maintaining separate&nbsp;dorms for white and Black students in May of 1965. Despite opposition&nbsp;by the university's dean of students, the students presented a resolution calling for the end of racial segregation in the dormitories of the university to the Faculty Council.&nbsp;<br><br>These actions led to a gradual end to segregation in most Austin establishments before the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but there were establishments such as Roy's Lounge that openly violated the law while many others took actions to make Black customers feel unwelcome. Protests against Roy's continued throughout April and May as owner Roy Eazor claimed that the only reason he refused to integrate was his fear of violence by his white patrons against African Americans.&nbsp;Numerous white counter-protesters waved Confederate flags--a scene that was common in the early and mid-1960s as the "Stars and Bars" was utilized as a symbol of white supremacy. Some students and community members expressed their belief that the civil rights movement was about victimizing whites. For example, some white students formed a short-lived anti-civil rights organization known as SPONGE: The Society for the Prevention of Negroes Getting Everything."&nbsp;<br><br>Other white Austin residents increasingly came to see the issue of racial integration as something that could divide residents and harm their businesses and other residents. While local Republican Party leaders were mostly silent on the issue, Black Republicans and young white Republicans sought to stem the drift of their political party against the civil rights movement. While most African Americans had supported the Republican Party before World War II, by the mid-1960s, political realignment saw some Southern Republican leaders courting white voters through opposition to civil rights laws. Leading national Republicans such as Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, as did John Tower, the first Republican Senator to represent Texas since Reconstruction.&nbsp;<br><br>Tom Dixon, an African American businessman from Houston who continued to support the Republican party estimated that only twenty percent of Black voters continued to support his party and urged party leaders to "do something" to retain the support of Black voters. While the Young Republicans passed a resolution urging the owner of Roy's to voluntarily open his business to all, other Southern Republicans avoided the issue in ways that reflected the realignment of the party on matters related to race.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>Students joined area residents and following the assassination&nbsp;of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, the city of Austin passed an ordinance barring racial segregation in businesses that served the public within city limits. Of course, the 1964&nbsp;Civil Rights Act already barred racial segregation, but this law served as an official endorsement of a law some white Southerners still refused to recognize. The city also passed an ordinance barring racial discrimination in housing.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>

At this location in the spring of 1965, hundreds of students at the University of Texas held a series of afternoon demonstrations against Roy's Lounge, an establishment known for racial discrimination even after the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The restaurant maintained its policy against serving African Americans inside the establishment and also responded by refusing to serve any known white member of the Student Interracial Committee. Over time, hundreds of students held signs and maintained a picket line to discourage others from patronizing the establishment. While the administration of the University of Texas was not supportive of the actions of their white and Black students, and while the leaders of student government counseled "patience," the students persisted in holding pickets throughout April and were met by hundreds of white hecklers. Many of the white counter-protesters chanted "KKK forever" and waved Confederate flags to antagonize the white and Black students who sought racial equality. The students were joined by several professors, including Dr. David DeCamp who had participated in an earlier campaign against segregation in Austin theaters. 

University of Texas students protest racial segregation at Roy's Lounge, 1965

<div>		The segregated housing continued the tradition of treating African Americans as second-class citizens. The approved dormitories stood in terrible conditions. Historian Dwonna Goldstone describes them as ''temporary 'barrack-type residences' across the street from the football stadium. None of the San Jacinto Dorms had air-conditioned rooms. Cliff Courts were privately owned group apartments in East Austin, a considerable distance from campus." In 1958, the Daily Texan voiced its concerns about the inadequacy and segregated conditions of these dormitories, and advocated for full integration in the next years. As a response, UT created in that same year, the Almetris Co-op for female African American students. The housemother, Almetris Marsh, provided guidance to undergraduate and graduate students and a social environment for the African American community. <br><br>	Nevertheless, the protests escalated in 1961 after a meeting held at Kinsolving Dormitory at the beginning of the school year aimed to establish the following rules: &nbsp;''(1) there were to be no Black males in the lounges of white women’s dorms; (2) white women should not invite Black women to their dorm; (3) if a white woman invited a Black woman into the dorm, they were to go directly to the white woman’s room and shut the door; (4) a Black man could enter the dorm only to deliver a message or food; and (5) Black women could not use the drinking fountains or restrooms in white women’s dormitories.'' These measures enraged the student body and protests erupted regularly at Kinsolving, which was the newest dormitory and hosted Lynda B Johnson for some time during her father's presidency. &nbsp;<br>	<br>The lack of progress in this issue relied on the fact that dormitories did not belong to the realm of academics, and hence, exempted the stipulations established by Brown v. Board of Education. However, on May 1964 &nbsp;a lawsuit against the university, (which originated after three students were denied a space in segregated dormitories) was dropped since the students did not attend UT anymore. This lawsuit and its possible repercussions on the reputation of the university provided the catalyst for dormitory desegregation. On May 15, the Board of Regents voted six to one to lift the racial bars and fully integrate all aspects of students life, including dormitories. The Daily Texan featured the historical event on the front page under the headline ''Regents Drop Dormitory Segregation, University Becomes Totally Integrated'' and celebrated that a decade long fight for integration at one of the most prolific universities in the south was slowly coming to an end.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div>

The issue of student accommodation has remained a problem for students at the University of Texas since its foundation. However, following the academic integration at UT, African American students faced the challenge of finding a suitable living space. In February 1955, the Board of Regents approved a new plan to segregate the housing of the integrated university, placing male African American students in San Jacinto Dormitories D and F, McGinnis House, and Cliff Courts and Black women in the residence at 2515 Whitis Avenue.  Despite desegregated classes, the idea of African American students cohabiting with the rest of the UT population remained controversial and would require additional time.

Dormitory Integration at the University of Texas

<div>The theater stand-in protests were organized and performed by University students and gained a notable amount of attention during the 60s. Targeting theaters directly near to the University along Guadalupe St., otherwise referred to as The Drag, and started with a popular theater called the Varsity. &nbsp; The process was simple, quick, but effective, and drew quite a show for both those participating and looking on. Students of multiple races, although majority white, would line up to get tickets from the ticket booth of the theater. As each one individually reached the front, they would say to the sales clerk “I would like to buy a ticket if everybody is being admitted.” &nbsp;Once the ‘customer’ was told that it was against the theaters policy to “admit Negroes,” &nbsp;they would leave the line, walk all the way to the back, and get back into the line once again to repeat the process all over. The demonstration was performed with an average of 100 to 150 people every night for several weeks, with the lowest being 40 people and the highest, at the time, being 200. &nbsp;The long line of protesters would stretch down the street, endlessly restructuring itself as each person came to the front, was told the theater would not break its segregation policy, and then moved to the back of the line. After a week of this at the Varsity theater, students expanded to also protest at the Texas Drag theater, located only a short distance away on the same street.&nbsp; <br><br></div><div>The organization of the event came under some contention, as students who participated denied that any proper organization committee played a part in orchestrating or sponsoring the events. &nbsp;Despite this, it is obvious through multiple sources and other evidences that the Student Direction Action Committee, often called SDA, played a big part in both choosing the tactic of the stand-in and with bringing media attention. &nbsp;That being said, many people joined in on the protests without the help of the SDA, sometimes through different communities across Texas with the same interest of anti-segregation. <br><br></div><div>The support for the student protests was overwhelmingly positive by the academic community within the University of Texas. By December 9th, only seven days after the first protest on December 2nd, twelve members of the classical languages faculty sent in letters to the Daily Texan to support the protests. &nbsp;Then, only weeks later, a hundred more letters appeared, many signed by prominent members of faculty. &nbsp;Even outside of the university, the stand-in protests had fans. In one interview quip by the Texas Observer, a member of the Texas House of Representatives who attended the first demonstration claimed the protest was “… the best thing since the San Francisco riots.” &nbsp;Eleanor Roosevelt herself wrote in to the Texas Observer, saying that she was “… personally grateful to the Texas students for making the effort to bring about the end of this kind of segregation in their state.” <br><br></div><div>The climax of these theater protests arrived on January 14th, 1961, when over four hundred protesters organized to stand in front of four Austin theaters, two of which were the theaters already being protested along the Drag. &nbsp;Afterward, the protests began to slowly dwindle, although they lasted throughout the spring 1961 semester. &nbsp;The demonstrations did not result in the immediate desegregation of the theaters, but they were successful in bringing attention to the issue on both a local and national scale. Additionally, the stand-ins remained a beacon of civil disobedience, with violence only occurring once when “two Austin youths assaulted some of the demonstrators and were arrested.” &nbsp;The memory otherwise remains untarnished and stands as a personal success of the 1960s for both students and faculty of the University of Texas at Austin.&nbsp;</div>

Inspired by the success of sit-in protests across the country, University of Texas students developed a similar method of civil disobedience to tackle the segregation of local movie theaters located in the business area at the edge of campus commonly known as the Drag. Starting December 2nd in 1960  and reaching a climax January 14th of 1961 , the demonstrations were ultimately unsuccessful at pressuring the theaters to end their segregation.  Their real success, however, comes from living on as an important moment of racial history for the city of Austin and the University of Texas. 

Anti-Segregation Theater Stand-Ins during the 1960s

<p>Members met in the university's Old Main Building until it was demolished in 1931. After this, members of the YWCA met at the University of Texas YMCA and the two organizations worked collaboratively. By 1960, the University ‘Y’ had developed a reputation as the most radical YWCA in the South and was actively supporting students and activists who challenged segregation.&nbsp;<br></p><p>The YWCA and YMCA challenged the status quo long before the civil rights protests of the late 1950s and early 1960s. For example, the Y hosted discussions of socialism in the 1930s. During the civil rights movement, leaders of the Y supported groups such as Students for Direct Action (SDA). The Y's Varsity Building also served as a temporary home to Austin’s underground newspaper, The Rag.&nbsp;</p><p>During the 1960s, Leftist student groups such as SDS and the Y became so close they were associated together by the general public. National YMCA leaders responded in 1969 in hopes of ending this association and YMCA issued this statement: “Our board in no way supports or condones the involvement of the University Y with the SDS activities. We have no control of the University Y programs.” Opponents of the civil rights movement in Texas challenged its status as a religious and tax-exempt organization which led to disruptions in the Y's ability to earn revenue on this building for some time.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>On November 29, 1960, the University YMCA hosted a meeting of 25 members of the University Religious Council Committee, eight of which were African American students, to discuss the recent integration campaign targeting the restaurants on Guadalupe. IOn that day, a homemade bomb was detonated just outside the meeting room. None of the students in the meeting were harmed in the explosion. The total damage by the bomb consisted of a broken window and cracked cement, amounting to just under $50 in damages.</p><p>Despite the lack of injury, the blast spurred a joint investigation by the University police, the Department of Public Safety, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On November 30, police arrested William McKnight, a sophomore physics student from Kerrville, who confessed to making the bomb and implicated John Winborn, a sophomore pre-law student from Dallas, as an accomplice. On December 2, the two students were indicted after nine hours of deliberation by a grand jury on felony counts of “injury of private property belonging to another.” The students plead guilty to a misdemeanor and were sentenced to thirty days in Travis County Jail and fined $200 each. Winborn and McKnight were released after about twenty days for good behavior.</p><div><div>

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The University of Texas YWCA was established in 18885 and supported educational and social opportunities for female students. The organization acquired land and built this structure, known as the Varsity Building, in 1920. While the members of the Y met on campus, rent from this building supported the organization and their activities which included an employment bureau that helped students find work during their school years and helped alumni find careers upon graduation. During the late 1950s, members of the YWCA participated in sit-ins at one of the YWCA's own tenants within the Varsity Building. Students likely clashed with YWCA leaders at first when they occupied the lunch counter of the Renfro Drug Store, but soon, local YWCA leaders supported the students and their call for integration.  

Varsity Building and the Austin YWCA; Integration of Renfro Drug Store

<p>Many University of Texas students took aim at the theaters
“Whites Only” policy in hopes of banning the racist rule and integrating the
theater. As students from all backgrounds united behind the cause of
integration, the Students for Direct Action (SDA) was conceived and this group
became the leading organization in the resistance of segregation. UT Student
Chandler Davidson would later state in an interview that this organization was
a necessity due to integration efforts in the University area being
nonexistent. Additionally, SDA would attempt to illuminate many of the problems
African American and other minority groups would face and how and how to “take
peaceful, lawful, but definite action to remedy the situation.”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[1]</a> As
the SDA became more popular one of the main priorities was the integration of
businesses on the drag. As plans to
protest the theater were being made, African American student Houston Wade put
forth the idea of using a combination of sit ins and standing protests he called&nbsp;a stand-in. SDA adopted the proposal and put the idea into practice.
With the intention of ending segregation, over one hundred UT students crossed Guadalupe Street
to the Texas Theater and lined up in front of the box office appearing to be
buying tickets. One by one, the students would approach the box office window
and recite “I would like to buy a ticket if everybody is being admitted,” the
students said. Ticket sellers denied the request repeatedly, and the group of
African-American and white students would return to the end of the line only to
try again.<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[2]</a>
Though unsuccessful, the students were not daunted and returned the next day
repeating the same mantra and undergoing the same process. In addition to the
growing amount of support from fellow Longhorns, many UT faculty openly
supported the student’s nondiscriminatory efforts “with 192 faculty members
publicly endorsing the stand-ins within its first month.”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Link: null">[3]</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>In addition to the growing support from
University faculty and students, the University Baptist Church, located on the
same street as the Texas Theater, endorsed the protests and displayed support
for the students. The pastor, Dr. Blake Smith, issued a statement to the Daily
Texan stating that “Racial segregation is a betrayal of democracy, an affront
to human dignity and an insult to God”.<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Link: null">[4]</a>
As the protesters multiplied in numbers, theater manager Leonard Masters moved
the box office indoors and attempted to hinder and dissuade protest of his
theater stating “I’m not going to have arguments going on in my theater” and
later defending his theater's racist policy by arguing that “We have a policy
and I have to enforce it. My feelings have nothing to do with it.”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[5]</a></p><p>

<span>Despite growing support for integration, many UT
students and drag business owners frowned upon the students intervention and
deliberate rebellion against the status quo. Though their attempted efforts
seemed futile, the students were steadfast in their resolve and belief. The
students continued their protest against the policy despite their formidable
odds of achieving any real progress. Through the opposition, the student
protesters received a jolt of momentum when former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt
flung her support behind the students. Additionally, Roosevelt wrote about the
events in her columnn entitled “My Day” elevating these events from the local
and state level to the national spot light. “I am personally grateful to the
Texas students for making the effort to bring about the end of this kind of
segregation” Roosevelt wrote.<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Link: null">[6]</a>&nbsp;</span></p><p><span>In
an attempt to appease protesters and with mounting&nbsp;</span>pressure growing on the theater to integrate,
Leonard Masters agreed to a one-month trial period of allowing white and African
American students purchase tickets. At the expiration&nbsp;of the one month trial, the Texas
Theater annulled the previous policy of segregation and the theater allowed all
people regardless of race.</p>

<p>Through growing adversity the UT student
protesters were able to persevere in their fight against institutional racism.
These events are important because it set a precedent of integration and engendered a domino effect of integration throughout Austin.</p>

During the 1960’s the Texas Theater was a popular place where students would congregate and watch the latest movies. Today, the building is a CVS store. Nestled in the drag across the street from the University of Texas Campus, the theater was a popular landmark with many UT students and Austin residents. As the Civil Rights movement manifested through the country and the push for integration became more popular, the once popular theater became a site for peaceful protests and sit ins in an attempt to integrate the well-attended theater. Through the student’s steadfast efforts and the assistance from former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the student protesters were able to integrate the theater and chip away at the institution of racism prevalent in Austin. 

Texas Theater Integration

<div>African Americans in Austin had challenged segregation well before 1960. For example,&nbsp;Myrtle Washington was arrested for refusing to move to the rear of an Austin Transit Company&nbsp;bus in 1953. She was represented by&nbsp;Arthur Dewitty and&nbsp;the Austin Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) who used her arrest to challenge the legality of&nbsp;Austin's segregation law. Although her case failed to end segregation, it inspired additional protests that led to the gradual elimination of Jim Crow laws&nbsp;in Austin and Texas&nbsp;during the 1960s.<br>One tactic used by University of Texas students was known as a "stand-in." The stand-ins consisted of patrons standing in line at theaters that drew the color line. When participants reached the front of the line, they approached the ticket booth with money and asked whether the theater had reconsidered its Jim Crow policies that required African Americans to sit in a segregated section. After being informed that the theater had not changed its policy, they moved to the back of the line and waited for their next turn to ask if the policy had changed. The "stand-ins" were effective in limiting the number of tickets that could be sold until the police broke up the demonstrations or escorted white patrons who approved of segregation inside to purchase tickets in the lobby.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </div><div>These restaurants depended upon the University and were such a popular place with white UT students that the area was known as "The Drag" given the prevalence of cruising. White and Black students at UT formed a new organization to help coordinate their activities, Students for Direct Action, in the fall of 1960. SDA also worked with the Austin branch of SNCC and other progressive organizations. The partnerships were essential as white supremacists began using violence at this precise moment. For example, opponents of racial integration exploded a bomb inside the YMCA intended to kill or intimidate the members of SDA and SNCC that were holding a protest of the Y's refusal to admit African Americans.&nbsp;<br></div>

Prior to the 1960s, Black students were barred from University housing, athletics, and many extracurricular activities such as clubs and the band. Black students led a protest against their exclusion at a March 1960 Board of Governors Meeting. The month prior, the historic sit-ins in North Carolina that led to the founding of SNCC took place and led to sit-ins throughout the South. UT students were already protesting segregation at restaurants and other establishments on Guadalupe Street and by the spring of 1960, UT students were also holding sit-ins. UT students then initiated a new strategy at movie theaters called a "stand-in." 

University of Texas "Stand-Ins" 1960

<div>The city defended its actions as a measure to reduce racial friction. Many whites likely believed (or at least convinced themselves) that residential segregation would benefit African Americans. Despite numerous statements in 1927 and 1928 claiming that they were acting in the best interest of all citizens, the prime motivation was to find a way to legally&nbsp;remove nonwhites from the city center as evidenced by the following&nbsp;sections of the City Plan of&nbsp;1928. The documents make it clear that the city understood that their intentions violated the&nbsp;US Supreme Court's decision in&nbsp;Buchanan v. Warley (1917) that barred cities from deliberately creating segregated neighborhoods.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>"There has been considerable talk in Austin, as well as other cities, in regard to the race segregation problem. This problem cannot be solved legally under any zoning law known to us at present. Practically all attempts of such have been proven unconstitutional.</div><div><br></div><div>In our studies in Austin we have found that the Negroes are present in small numbers, in practically all sections of the city, excepting the area just east of East Avenue and south of the City Cemetery. This area seems to be all Negro population. It is our recommendation that the nearest approach to the solution of the race segregation problem will be the recommendation of this district as a Negro district.</div><div><br></div><div>This will eliminate the necessity of duplication of white and Black schools, white and Black parks, and other duplicate facilities."</div>

The City Council of Austin decided that they needed a comprehensive city plan and zoning map in 1927. One of the leading objectives of the all-white Council was to find a way to encourage residential segregation and find a way to compel Black families, who at that time were living throughout the city, to move to East Austin. The city used techniques such as eliminating utility services in certain areas where Black citizens lived in order to force them from their homes and neighborhoods. Private developers then purchased these areas at very low prices and built new roads, homes, and commercial buildings. When these same neighborhoods "re-opened," higher rents and restrictive covenants prevented African American families from returning. Because of these same practices, the displaced minorities had few choices but to find housing in areas the city reserved for non-whites. 

The Great Depression accelerated the process, and by the mid-1930s nearly every Black family lived in East Austin which the city unapologetically labeled "The Negro District." This allowed the city to close Black schools in other parts of the city. For example, in 1931 the city closed the all-Black Wheatsville School after 60 years because so few Black families lived downtown. After Wheatsville was closed, Black children who still lived downtown were transferred to the E. H. Anderson School in East Austin. This measure placed added pressure on Black families to move to East Austin so that their children could attend a neighborhood school. Black institutions beyond East Austin also faced extreme prejudice from city officials that threatened their continued existence if they did not "voluntarily" relocate. For example, a Black business or church might be denied permits or service from public utilities.  

Ten years later, the city created Santa Rita Courts, the nation’s first federally funded housing project. The city claimed that their intention was to provide a low-cost housing option for Latinos. At the same time, documents reveal that the city hoped that their twin practice of eviction and construction of housing projects would compel non-white families living downtown to move to East Austin. Between racially restrictive covenants prevented non-whites from occupying certain neighborhoods, and because of the general lack of affordable housing in the city, East Austin became home to the majority of the city's African American and Mexican American residents.     

This pattern of residential segregation persisted with little change until the late 1990s. Urban growth and gentrification, along with urban development planning, have led parts of East Austin to become a desirable location among affluent young whites and students at the University of Texas at Austin. In fact, a section of East Austin is today known as "The Hippest Hipster Neighborhood" in America. 

How Austin Became Segregated: The City Plan of 1928

<p><span>Barbara
Jordan was born in Houston, Texas on the 21st of February 1936. She
and the rest of her siblings were raised by their parents to be a Christian
Baptist. They were also taught by their father to “believe in the principles of
Booker T. Washington, and [he] taught his daughters that discipline, dignity,
and education were the keys to success”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[1]</a>. As a child of the Great
Depression, Jordan and her family experienced financial hardship. In addition
to that, as a young African American girl in the pre-civil rights south she had
to attend all segregated schools. “While many of her classmates aspired to be
school teachers, she determined that there were higher aspirations for women
and for Blacks, and she refused to settle for the traditional path her peers
chose to accept.”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[2]</a>&nbsp;Jordan</span> worked
very hard and <span>showed early signs of intelligence and a flair for
politics, persuasions, and logical reasoning, becoming “a champion debater in
high school and at Texas Southern University, where she graduated magna cum
laude in 1956,”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[3]</a>.
She was an incredible public speaker and used it to her advantage. She returned
to the Lone Star State to open her own law firm after graduating from Boston
University Law School. She was one of only two Black females in her graduating
class. After just a short while back in Texas, Jordan decided to pursue a
career in politics.</span></p>

<p><span>Starting out small,&nbsp;Jordan got her first job as a politician trying to encourage registered voters to vote in the 1960 election.&nbsp;Although
she struggled at the beginning of her journey into the world of the American
political system, she was eventually very successful. Her first few attempts to
be elected into office failed, but in 1966 she become not only the first
African American to be elected to the Texas senate in 83 years, but the first
woman in history to be elected to such a position<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[4]</a>. The Texas senate was a
hard place for an African American woman to work, but Jordan simply did her
best to avoid confrontation with difficult colleagues<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[5]</a>.</span></p>

<p><span>Jordan's involvement with politics in Texas and generally in the South helped African Americans hold a position&nbsp;and a voice in power. This later allowed decisions on African American growth and programs to be made on priority and to be discussed in Congress such as her approval of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Jordan sponsored legislation that broadened the provisions of the act to include Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. Jordan was extremely active in immigration reforms and strongly felt that it should be of national interest to people.&nbsp;In
1972, Barbara Jordan was elected into the House of Representatives, the first
Black women to ever be elected from the south. Her experience in federal
politics were more welcoming than those in the state senate, and “she received
a warm welcome from her fellow House members from Texas, and was clearly a
rising political star.”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[6]</a> Thanks to her friendship
with Lyndon B. Johnson, she was able to be placed in the House Judiciary
Committee. In 1974, she gained national recognition from the broadcasted
impeachment trials of Nixon, for which she was heavily involved. Each member of
the House Judiciary Committee was allowed a certain amount of time to talk
during the hearing, and Jordan’s speech on her views of the importance of the
constitution was so incredible that “her brief remarks affected millions of
viewers who watched her on television, and her office received thousands of
letters thanking her for her clear explanation of what was at stake”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[7]</a>. In fact, she was such an
amazing speaker that she gave the keynote address at the Democratic Nation
Convention. She was the first African American woman in history to give this
address<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[8]</a>. “Republican Barry
Goldwater, a presidential candidate in the 1964 election, remarked that if he
had had a keynote speaker like Jordan, he would have won the election.”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[9]</a> Based solely on her
incredible speech, there were campaigns that insisted she become Jimmy Carter’s
running mate for the presidential election. Jordan did not think she should be
considered to be a running mate just because of one speech, so she declined. She
also declined a spot in Carter’s cabinet, because she wanted to be Attorney General and she was not given that role.</span></p>

<p><span>Jordan
suffered from multiple sclerosis, although she very much wanted to keep her
health private. It was probably one of the reasons that she did not choose to
run for re-election in 1978, and instead “accepted a post at the Lyndon B.
Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas,
stating that she wanted to help train future leaders of the nation and to bring
the government back to the people.”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[10]</a> Although “Jordan had
never taught before, but she was excited at the prospect of influencing
students who might enter government. Students flocked to her class.”<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[11]</a> Even as she taught, she
remained active in politics. She died from multiple sclerosis on January 17,
1996.</span></p>

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<p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[1]</a> Hively, Todd. “Barbara Jordan.”
Our States: Texas (September 2015): 1. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed
April 22, 2016)</p>

</div>

<div>

<p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[2]</a> Oliver, Bonnie J. 2006 The life
and times of Barbara Jordan: a twentieth-century Baptist and political
pioneer: the world was a different place for women in 1962 when Barbara Charline
Jordan lost her first race for the Texas House of Representatives. The Free Library
(June, 22), EBSCOhost (Accessed April 23, 2016)</p>

</div>

<div>

<p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[3]</a> “Jordan, Barbara (Charline).” Funk
&amp; Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk &amp; Wagnalls
New World Encyclopedia, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2016)</p>

</div>

<div>

<p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[4]</a> Ibid.</p>

</div>

<div>

<p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[5]</a> Hively, Todd. “Barbara Jordan.”
Our States: Texas (September 2015): 1. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed
April 22, 2016)</p>

</div>

<div>

<p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[6]</a> Ibid.</p>

</div>

<div>

<p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[7]</a> Ibid.</p>

</div>

<div>

<p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[8]</a> “Jordan, Barbara (Charline).” Funk
&amp; Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk &amp; Wagnalls
New World Encyclopedia, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2016)</p><div><p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[9]</a>&nbsp;Hively, Todd. “Barbara Jordan.” Our States: Texas (September 2015): 1. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 22, 2016)</p></div><div><p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[10]</a>&nbsp;Oliver, Bonnie J. 2006 The life and times of Barbara Jordan: a twentieth-century Baptist and political pioneer: the world was a different place for women in 1962 when Barbara Charline Jordan lost her first race for the Texas House of Representatives. The Free Library (June, 22), EBSCOhost (Accessed April 23, 2016)</p></div></div><div>

</div>

<div>

<p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[11]</a> Hively, Todd. “Barbara Jordan.”
Our States: Texas (September 2015): 1. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed
April 22, 2016)</p>

</div>

</div>

Denoting the final resting place of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, this grave marker includes the word "Patriot" - a tribute to a teacher, lawyer, and civil rights leader. Barbara Johns's political career began in 1966, when she became the first Black female to serve in the Texas Senate. In 1979 she retired from politics and taught at the University of Texas at Austin Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Jordan died from multiple sclerosis on January 17, 1996 at the age of 59. 

Barbara Jordan's Grave, Texas State Cemetery 

<div>Blackshear moved from its original location on Olive Street to 11th Street when it was renamed in 1936. Before this move, news publications of the time reported terrible conditions at the school. A 1933 story in the <i>Austin American</i> reported that conditions were "deplorable," writing, "For that 450-pupil school...there are only 11 teachers and a principal. [They] seem capable and willing, but cannot accomplish their best with the equipment they have at their disposal." Continuing, the campus "is obviously a firetrap, and nothing has been done about it."</div><div><br><div>The campus went through a series of improvements when it moved in 1936. Ivy League-educated Friendly R. Rice started working as assistant principal at Blackshear in 1931 and was a leader at the school until 1972. He was widely regarded as a progressive educator and was given the freedom to implement his innovative ideas. He collaborated with social service agencies to build a library and provide hot lunches for students, which was at the time an unusual feature eventually implemented throughout the district. The library was the first at a Black school in the Southwest.<br><br></div></div><div><div>In 2014, Blackshear began offering expansive fine arts programming. It is the first elementary school in Austin to do so. The fine arts program includes instruction about the works of Shakespeare, including creating full-length stage productions, music instruction, and instruction in visual art and storytelling.</div><div><br></div></div>

In 1891, Blackshear Elementary School opened to provide free education to African American children in the area then known as Gregory Town. It was originally named School No. 3, then Gregory Town School and Gregory School. It was named after Edward Blackshear (1862-1919) in 1936. Blackshear was a nineteenth-century teacher and principal. He left Austin in 1895 to serve as head of Prairie View College.


Blackshear Elementary School - Historical Marker

<p>The museum houses an extensive collection of books, photographs, manuscripts, maps, and other materials that document the history of African Americans. It also hosts exhibitions that focus primarily on black history and culture, featuring photographs and artifacts that illuminate different aspects of African American history and culture. The museum is housed in a 1,720 square foot, city owned building that was originally the main public library in Austin and the first library for blacks in the town. The building was moved to east Austin in 1933, where it became the Austin public library's first branch. </p><p>The museum was located in a former library that was known as the "Colored Branch" between its establishment in 1926 and 1947, when the building was renamed the George Washington Carver Library in honor of the famous scientist, activist, and educator. Carver was raised in the Great Plains, having attended the segregated schools of Fort Scott and enduring both Jim Crow and rejection from colleges before achieving an advanced degree in Iowa. In the mid-1970s, east Austin residents lobbied for a larger branch library, which was completed in 1980 on a site adjacent to the old building Janie Harrison, Fanny Lawless, Onie B. Conley, and other community members decided that the original building would be an ideal site for a Black-history museum. Renovations of the old library building began in September 1979, and the museum opened to the public on October 5, 1980, and was expanded with a new facility in 2001. The museum provides invaluable support to Black artists by organizing solo exhibitions of their work and has been hosting the Regional Black Artists exhibition since 1983.</p><p>The Carver Museum's permanent collection consists of paintings, prints, family papers, and memorabilia related to Austin African Americans. The museum supplements many programs within the site. It exhibits educational tours, concerts, storytelling, and other activities. It also operates a Youth at Risk program in which people are taught black-and-white photography during sixteen-week courses that culminate in exhibitions of their work. </p><p>The museum is funded by the city, government grants, and donations from corporations and private foundations. The Friends of the Carver, a support group that has been operating since the museum's inception, also provides financial support. The museum had developed an ambitious $11.5 million three-phase plan by 1992 to establish a Black heritage and cultural center with a theater and expanded exhibition and storage space. The Carver Museum is a member of the Texas Association of Museums and the African American Museum Association.</p>

<p>The George Washington Carver Museum is the first neighborhood museum in Austin dedicated exclusively to African American history. The museum and center are located next to a public library that was created in 1926 to serve the African American community of Austin in the era of segregation. That library became home to a small museum in 1980. A 1998 bond initiative led to the construction of the expansive museum next to the original library. The museum offers exhibits that share the experiences and contributions of African American residents. The museum is housed in a 36,000-square-foot facility with four galleries, a conference room, a classroom, studio, 134-seat theater, and archival space. The galleries feature a core exhibit on Juneteenth, a permanent exhibit on Austin's African American families, an artists’ gallery, and a children’s exhibit on African-American scientists and inventors.</p>

African American History in Austin and the University of Texas

African Americans in the Texas Revolution Historical Marker

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information