Tales from the Morgue

2004: 50 years of integration

May 17, 2004

By Darren Meritz

El Paso's Texas Western College was a pioneer in the desegregation of the state's higher education system.

The school, now known as the University of Texas at El Paso, was the first University of Texas undergraduate school to accept black students, hire black faculty and allow black athletes to compete.

But as Thelma White's family can attest, change didn't come without struggle. White was the valedictorian of Douglass High School's class of 1954 and was denied admission to Texas Western because she was black.

"My mother wasn't really a rebel, if you will," said White's daughter, Chantre Camack, who now lives in Washington. "It was similar to Rosa Parks," who sparked the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott after being arrested for refusing to give up her seat. "Her feet were hurting and she just wanted to sit down."

White had a powerful weapon to challenge Texas' policy of segregating undergraduate education in colleges. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. the Topeka (Kan.) Board of Education, issued 50 years ago today and just before her graduation from all-black Douglass, said laws mandating segregated public schools were unconstitutional.

Joseph Whitaker was Texas Western's registrar and director of admissions when White applied for admission. He denied the application because she was black.

"UT lawyers said the law says you can't admit into Anglo schools blacks," said Whitaker, now 89 and living in an East Side retirement center. "We can't admit you. It's nothing personal."

Whitaker said he received intense pressure from UT System officials who steadfastly opposed integration.

"One of the regents came to me and said, 'Whitaker, there's got to be a way you can keep these damn (expletive) out,' " he said.

White, aided by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, filed suit in March 1955 to seek admission to Texas Western. Her family says she received some legal assistance from Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP lawyer who was the moving force behind the Brown case.

Whitaker said U.S. District Judge R.E. Thomason used a private meeting in chambers to warn UT lawyers and Texas Western administrators that little could be done to stop White from entering the college. White and her lawyer weren't present at the meeting, he said.

"It was all part of a plan, obviously," Whitaker said. "She was a pawn in the lawyer's hand really."

UT System officials decided to admit blacks to Texas Western before the suit went to trial. However, Thomason issued a judgment July 18, 1955, enjoining Texas Western from denying admission to White or any other black student based on race.

Twelve black students enrolled in the fall of 1955, the first integration of a UT undergraduate college.

White was not among them. She had already enrolled at New Mexico A&M, now New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces.

She spent two years at New Mexico A&M, then left school and married Maj. Curtis Camack. She had four children and worked at White Sands Missile Range before health problems forced her to retire. She died in 1985.

Her daughter said Texas Western's attempts to deny White admission based on race was part of a segregationist attitude that permeated El Paso.

"I remember her telling me about how they had to have in El Paso white-only water fountains," Camack said. "She had a lot of different atrocities in her family life in El Paso, so this isn't something different from that."

White paved the way for other changes at Texas Western. In 1956, a year after Texas Western admitted its first 12 black students, basketball player Charles Brown became the first black to integrate major college athletics in Texas.

In 1966, a Texas Western team with five black starters beat an all-white University of Kentucky team for the NCAA national basketball championship. It was the first time a team started five black players in the title game.

A few months later, Marjorie Lawson began teaching freshman and sophomore English at Texas Western, the first black faculty member in the UT System.

Marjorie Lawson died several years ago. Her husband, Juan O. Lawson, remembered his wife's hiring as one that involved the support of Anglo faculty friends, as well as some measure of cunning to urge the regents to consider her credentials rather than her race.

"At first, they did not want to hire her at (Texas Western) because she had let them know she was black," Lawson said.

Eventually, though, officials at Texas Western were able to find a way to diverge from practices that at the time could be used to deny her application based on race.

"They finagled around and were able to hire her without a picture," Lawson said.

Lawson, who also taught at UTEP, said that though he encountered some resistance from segregationists and some curiosity among academics who had never seen or known of a black physicist, he was able to focus on teaching and research.

"A number of them had not seen a black physicist per se, but the scientists were willing to give me the benefit of the doubt," Lawson said. As for the segregationists, "They just stood back and looked, and instead they didn't want to threaten themselves by getting involved."

Lawson, now a bishop in the Church of God in Christ, went on to have a prestigious career in the College of Science at UTEP, moving up the academic ranks and becoming from 1975 until 1980 the first black dean at a UT System school, then chairman of the physics department before his retirement in 1992.

As of fall 2003, UTEP's 21 black instructors made up about 2.5 percent of the faculty, while 33 percent of the faculty is considered minority -- either black, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, or American Indian.

Among UTEP students, 75 percent are from those minority groups, far higher than the statewide figure of 38 percent.

"Certainly in the area of students, the university enrollment very much reflects the demographics of the county that it serves," said Dennis Bixler-Márquez, director of Chicano Studies and a professor of multiculturalism at UTEP. "In faculty, it's a different story because you have almost a funneling effect with different choke points. I think we're still way out of proportion in terms of minority faculty."

Prospector, Sept. 30, 1950: KVOF-FM Hits The Airways

Radio Station KVOF-FM joined the air waves at noon Monday, mak­ing the first pre-scheduled broad­ cast with the new FM equipment installed late last spring. KVOF-FM now broadcasts on an eight hour per day schedule, from noon un­til 8 p. m. every Monday through Friday.

 

KVOF-FM will also carry all football games at Kidd Field and some dances, pep rallies, and other

special functions at Texas Western.

 

Some of the new equipment in­stalled for the college FM radio station includes a tape recorder, a

General Electric FM transmitter, a complete Standard transcription li­brary donated by KEPO, and an ABC Network line, also donated and installed by KEPO.

 

KVOF-FM will have an official opening in the near future. The exact date has not yet been set. Invitations will be sent to radio offi­cials in Austin and the Southwest and to El Paso City officials. Local radio stations will carry the broad­cast of the grand opening

Prospector, Jan. 12, 1957: Vet Villagers Study And Raise Families

By Mary T. Post

If you follow College Avenue west past the last dormitory, where the pavement ends, you will find yourself at the top of a hill. On your right is a warning sign in the form of a blue-coated, smiling officer. His right hand is raised to call your attention to the sign he holds in his left hand. The sign reads: "Slow-10 MPH"

Vet Village became a part of this campus in 1946 when the college joined with other schools across the nation in adding a new area to higher learning by providing housing facilities for veterans.

On down the hill a little way and to your left is Vet Village. Now you understand about the "10-MPHS" sign, for there are children playing here, most of them under four years of age.

18 UNITES

Eighteen barrack units, each consisting of four apartments, are "home" for 72 veterans and their families.

There are no streets in the village. Wide, unpaved spaces between the groups of units could be called driveways. Here the vets' cars are parked. Here many of the children play.

Tiny fenced-in yards are in front of each apartment. Even this time of year you can see that each enclosure has a lawn. In the summer there are flowers.

In each unit two of the apartments have two bedrooms, and two have one bedroom each. Only those couples having children rate a two bedroom apartment. However, because approximately 75 per cent of the couples have children, many families with children live in one bedroom apartments.

KINDRED SPIRIT

A kindred spirit prevails in this group of families. They have the same goals: higher education, a firmer grip on life, and more advantages for thier children. Most of them have sacrificed in order to attain these goals. All of them praise Texas Western College for Vet Village.

They also have a kindred fear. The safety of their children has become a real problem, for many cars go through the village and do not observe the "10-MPH" sign. The villagers have all the desires and responsibilities of families without some of the civil protections afforded by more formal neighborhoods.

LOW RENT

The village rent is low. Water, gas, and lights are furnished. Only a small charge is made for using an electric refrigerator and for running an air conditioner.

Each apartment is furnished with a kitchen stove, a circulating heater for the living room, and a hot water heater.

TWC maintenance men are to be commended, according to many of the village house wives. They answer calls promptly and efficiently.

Last summer new window sashes were put in all the apartments. New sinks and new cabinet doors have replaced the old. Wall to wall linoleum was laid in each room a few years ago. Although the vets must do their own redecorating, the college furnishes paint for this purpose.

According to R.C. Fisk, assistant business manager of the college, there is a waiting list of people whow ant to live in the village.

Most of the families admit the quarters could be better, but they all express gratitude for this community where they may live and rear their children and get an education.

Prospector, Jan. 16, 1942: President's Talk Opens Mines Radio Studio

College To Broadcast Four Programs Weekly From Campus

KTSM Install  Remote Control Facilities In Museum Room

The College of Mines opened a radio room in the Texas Centennial Museum this week and plans were made for broadcast four times a week from the college campus.

The studio, which will have a remote control wire room from radio station KTSM, is located in the music room in the museum.

Dr. D.M. Wiggins, president of the college, opened the studio Monday with the first of a series of talks on "Education in Wartime."

This radio studio is for the benefit of any department which feels it would like to broadcast a program about its particular courses. There are four program times-Monday from 7:45-8 p.m., when Dr. Wiggins will talk, another on Tuesday from 7-7:30 p.m., to be taken over by the music department, and two other to be scheduled later.

The college is planning to continue these programs in years to come and is hoping to improve and add to the radio studio.

Station KTSM paid for the line and furnished the remote control box. They have given the College of Mines unlimited time in which to conduct broadcast.

Every Tuesday from 7 to 7:30 p.m., the music department will give a program composed of a vocal ensemble, numbering 45 people. Students will plan, time, help research and direct, write continuity and act as copyist for the manuscripts.

The writing, and wherever possible, the arranging will also be done by students. It is an all-student show and will give practical experience in radio, technique.

There will be a guest artist appearing on every performance. A considerable portion of the program will be given over to folk songs of the southwest and Mexico.

In addition to these folk songs and patriotic numbers, the ensemble will also play music that has stood the test of performances from classical down to contemporary composers.

1939: Mines To Ask Two Additions

June 24, 1939

WPA Structures Will Be Sought; Plant Given To Institution

College of Mines officials will ask Federal approval of WPA projects for construction of large additions to two buildings.

Plans for an addition to the metallurgy building that will be approximately two and one-half times as large as the present building are completed and WPA officials have given assurance that they will be approved.

The new addition will be three stories high. It will have space for all classes and laboratories in the metallurgy department.

The second addition will be made to the chemistry building. It will double the size off the present building and will be used for chemistry laboratories.

A section of the addition to the metallurgy building will be used to house a working model of a cyanide plant which has been presented to the college by the American Smelting and Refining Co.

The plant is a model of a standard cyanide plant for extracting gold and other metallic ores from masses of rock material. It will occupy a space 17 feet by 8 feet and is an identical model of the plant of A.S.&R. Co. in Parral, Chih., Mexico.

The cost of the new construction has not been estimated.

1937: Mines Building Plans Studied

July 8, 1937

Architects to Follow Tibetan Style in Constructing $100,000 Edifice
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Leon White, consulting architect for the College of Mines $100,000 administration and library building, will arrive here withing the next few days to work with Percy McGhee on plans, President Wiggins of the College said today.

The new building will be of Tibetan architecture to conform with the other college building. It will be more like the El Paso Centennial Museum on the campus, a slightly modified form of the original buildings, President Wiggins said.

The Mines buildings are copies of houses and monasteries in the province of Bhutan below Tibet. Mrs. S.H. Worrell, whose husband was dean of Mines, chose the style in 1917, records show.

President Wiggins said today he is pleased by the gift of 150 acres to the college from the American Smelting & Refining Co. The land was presented to Mines through Brent Rickard, general manager of the Smelter and approved by the Texas University Board of Regents. The land adjoins the mines campus west of the stadium.

1937: Crowds View E.P. Museum Relics Dispaly

April 23, 1947

El Pasoans thronged through the Centennial Museum on the College of Mines campus today after its formal opening yesterday afternoon.

More than 4000 persons visited the new building yesterday and last night.

The museum will be open until 9 p.m. today and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow.

About 250 persons were present yesterday at the dedication ceremony at which Wallace Perry, member of the Centennial commission of Control, presented the museum to the College of Mines on behalf of the State Centennial Commission.

Tribute To Courage

J.G. Bennis, who spoke in behalf of the county Centennial committee, said the building was a tribute to pioneer courage that built a civilization out of the desert of the Southwest.

County Judge Joseph McGill praised the committee composed of Mr. Perry, ex-Mayor R.E. Sherman and Julian Harrison who went to Austin and "talked the centennial commission out of $50,000 for the museum."

Dream Realized

"This memorial is a realization of many years of a great many El Pasoans," Mr. Sherman said. "Here the past and present will be linked together for all times. The fact that this building is here today is due to the fact that El Pasoans fought for it."

Mr. Sherman reviewed the difficulty the committee had in obtaining the appropriation for the museum and praised Mr. Perry for his part in the fight.

Other speaker were Mayor M.A. Harlan, Mrs.W.R. Brown, Mrs. C..H. Leavell and Mr. Perry.

Dr. D.M. Wiggins accepted the building in behalf of the college of Mines.

Praises Perry

"The resourcefulness of Wallace Perry is largely responsible for this building being here today," Dr. Wiggins said.

"I wish I had had him and the rst of the committee that obtained the money for it with me in Austin during the last few weeks when I have been fighting for appropriations for the college."

Dr. Wiggins urged El Pasoans to maintain an interest in the museum and contribute toward its growth by gifts and loans of relics and exhibits.

1934: Miners Grid Work to Start Here Sept. 10

July 30, 1934

Practice to Beign Later Beacuse of Rules in Border League

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Football practice at the Texas College of Mines will not start until Sept. 10 Coach Mack Saxon announced lat night before returning home with his Odessa Oilers.

Mobilization of the school's candidates wills tart later than usual because Border conference rules specify that its members cannot begin official work before Sept. 10. The Mines will play under Border loop rules this year, providing the University of Texas board of regents approve.

Saxon was optimistic of a good season despite the fact hat the school will bar freshmen players this year. He said several promising junior college men will be eligible for playing.

Woodrow Wilson, star quarterback, and halfback for the Miners last year, will be in wonderful shape for the 1934 season, Saxon said. Wilson underwent an operation on his knee last spring. The operation was reported to be successful.

Definite announcement that the Miners will resume football relations with the University of New Mexico after a lapse of several years was made by Saxon. The game will be played Oct. 13 on Kidd field.

Saxon will return to El Paso about Sept. 1 to bein plans for the season.

1934: College of Mines President Barry Reveals Athletes Get Preferred Treatment

May 22, 1954

Pres. John G. Barry of the College of Mines, in explaining his resignation today, said that college athletes have been treated so well that he feared criticism from the rest of the students.

Mr. Barry's insistence on high scholastic standards has driven away Mines athletes who could not pass the courses, according to some El Pasoans who sought Mr. Barry's removal.

Mr. Barry said that as a result of the college's athletic practices, other teams have shied off from playing with Mines so that it is now hard for Mines to get games.

President Barry issued the following statement to the press explaining the reason for his resignation in ore detail:

"Up until ow the College of Mines had offered courses and been governed by standards in accordance with those ruling at the university and recommended by the state board of education. It is difficult to believe that the board of regents will wish to conduct a college of any lower standard.

"The college is actually in a critical condition in that it is the only one supported by the state which is ineligible for membership in the Texas Assn. and the Southern Assn. of Colleges. At present, the most formidable bar to membership seems to me to be the necessity of being a member of an athletic conference, which is likely to be some years in the future.

Standing Improved

"I believe that other important colleges will not trust the College of Mines for some time to come. During the past few years it has been possible to improve greatly the standing of the college with respect to other requirements such as number of full professors, and number of volumes in the library.

"One may only guess the attitude of the next legislature toward appropriating money for support of a sub-standard college.

"The matter of athletics is an amusing one because it seems to be destroying itself. The conduct in the past has been such that more and more, neighbors have tended to shy off from playing with Mines so that now it is difficult to get games.

Athletes Treated Well

"Athletes have been treated so well that I have feared criticism from the balance of the student body because of the partiality shown. (Dr. Barry referred tot he fact that a dormitory is provided some athletes and some in the past have been given public jobs in spare time, jobs where their chief duty was to call for their pay checks at the court house.)

"Only a few engineering students have participated. The bulk of the players have elected the easiest academic courses available. Computations made on those in trouble have often shown that it would take them 10 or more years to earn a degree.

"The college offers an abundance of courses leading to the B.A. degrees as provided at the university. They should be amply sufficient for the bulk of school teacher aspirants.

"The college admits all students on the same basis as the University of Texas.

Teachers Helped

"The college was ranked ahead of all teachers' colleges by the legislative committee. The attitude of the college toward teacher training was possibly in advance of the times as understood locally.

"Many teachers in El Paso have made good use of the college. It would be unfair to penalize them now by granting special favors to those who have been quiescent and obdurate for many years during which they have made no academic advance whatsoever.

"The College of Mines is principally a local school, its only basis for state support being its special function related to mining. It is important that a new head for it should have a close time and understanding of that business..

"It may seem fruitless and undesirable to formulate an estimate of outlook for the college, but the thinking people of the city should be alive to it. Two general things might happen to the special function of mining: One, the consolidation of the mining school with the other engineering schools of the university; two, the decision of the legislature that it no longer wishes to spend state money on those subjects.

Sees Junior College

"If either should happen, the physical plant might be turned over to a local junior college district for its operation and support in accordance with existing laws. This has already been strongly recommended to the legislature by the state board of education. Because of changing economic conditions, the next legislature may consider it even more seriously

"A possible cure for the foregoing is the insistence upon the maintenance of a mining school of such highs standing that it cannot be questioned, and that it will be so outstanding as to draw earnest students from far and wide. The college is ideally situated to accomplish this if there is unremitting striving for this aim.

"In conclusion I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to those thinking people of the city who have given their understating support to a proper upbuilding of the college. I sincerely hope that they will continue such support in the future, but will be even more alive to the dangers connected with the highly vocal small minorities obsessed by special view points and fanaticism. Keep in mind that a college is judged by the quality of its graduates."

:Very Sincerely Yours,
"Jon G. Barry."

Prospector, Dec. 15, 1923: Alumni Association Is Organized

Graduates of the College of Mines met recently in the College building and organized the Alumni Association of the College of Mines.

L.A. Nelson, of the class of 1916, was elected president; John Schaffer, class of 1920, secretary and Fred L. Fox, class of 1922, treasurer.

The purpose of the alumni association is to boost the College of Mines, to work for the best football team in the southwest, and look after employment both for students in school and for graduates, and to work for a student body of 200 next year. The alumni decided to accept as associate members students who have completed one semester's work.

Two honorary members were elected, Tom Dwyer and Frank Groch, in appreciation of their interest and backing of the College. Mr. Dwyer was for a number of years coach for the football team and adjunct professor of engineering. The secretary will get in touch with all graduates and all former students in the near future, to enlist their co-operation in the Alumni Association work. Those present at the meeting were Lloyd A. Nelson, Fred L. Fox, John Schaffer, Gordon M. Smith, Oscar Theinheimer, Walton Sarrels, Tom Dwyer, Frank Groch and B.L. Coffey.