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The Poll Tax in America, a story

*On this date in 1876, the American national election results brought in the illegal use of the Poll Tax in the United States.

Historically, Poll taxes had been a major source of government funding among the colonies which formed the United States. Poll taxes made up from one-third to one-half of the tax revenue of colonial Massachusetts. Various privileges of citizenship, including voter registration or issuance of driving licenses and resident hunting and fishing licenses, were conditioned on payment of poll taxes to encourage the collection of this tax revenue.

Although often associated with states of the former Confederate States of America, poll taxes were also in place in northern and western states, including California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin. Property taxes assumed a larger share of tax revenues as land values rose when population increases encouraged settlement of the American West. In the United States, payment of a poll tax was a prerequisite to the registration for voting in a number of states. The tax emerged through Rutherford B. Hayes in the 1876 election as part of the Jim Crow laws.

After the right to vote was extended to all races through the Fifteenth Amendment, many Southern states enacted poll tax laws as a device for restricting voting rights. The laws often included a grandfather clause, which allowed any adult male whose father or grandfather had voted in a specific year prior to the abolition of slavery to vote without paying the tax. These laws, along with unfairly implemented literacy tests and extra-legal intimidation, achieved the desired effect of disenfranchising African American and Native American voters, as well as poor whites until court action following ratification of the 24th Amendment in 1964. In 2020, the right to vote remains challenged and this article shows the intersectionality and pattern of voter suppression on black and poor citizens in the last three centuries in America.

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On this date in 1876, the American national election results brought in the illegal use of the Poll Tax in the United States. Historically, Poll taxes had been a major source of government funding among the colonies which formed the United States. Poll taxes made up from one-third to one-half of the tax revenue of colonial Massachusetts.

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The Slocum Massacre occurred on July 29, 1910 in Slocum, Texas, an unincorporated community in southeast Anderson County. The city used to be home to a thriving African American community with several businesses and farms owned by black residents. Leading up to the massacre, a … Read MoreThe Slocum…

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opening of the colored carnegie library in houston

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opening of the colored carnegie library in houston

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An exceptional unit of Black soldiers who fought in World War I will receive the Congressional Gold Medal.

The descendants of Sgt. Leander Willett, who fought in World War I: Zakharii Willetts, Debra Willett, Kheli Willetts and Leander Willetts IV. Credit... Desiree Rios for The New York Times

For most of her life Debra Willett had a vague idea about who her grandfather was. She knew he had fought in France in World War I at some point.

But she didn't grasp the importance of what her grandfather, who died in 1956, had accomplished until she began doing some genealogy research in 1998.

Sgt. Leander Willett served with the distinguished 369th Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the Harlem Hellfighters, the most celebrated regiment of Black soldiers during World War I. Unlike many Black soldiers who were limited to manual labor and custodial duties, the Harlem Hellfighters made it to the front lines. There were celebrated for their bravery, helping to change the perception of Black soldiers as inferior.

As time passed, however, the Hellfighters, who numbered in the thousands, were largely forgotten. Somehow, they did not maintain the same historical prestige as the Tuskegee Airmen, the country's first Black aviation unit, or the Montford Point Marines, the first Black marines, though the Harlem Hellfighters preceded both groups.

Although they returned home to cheers after the war, the Hellfighters, their descendants say, carried the scars of brutal combat and, once the cheering had stopped, the disappointment of remaining second class citizens, subjected to racism and discrimination, in the very country they had served and defended.

"As I understand from my aunt and my father he never ever spoke about World War I," said Ms. Willett, 63, who lives in Oyster Bay on Long Island. "My father thinks that the reason he didn't speak about it was the fact that he was bayoneted and gassed and it left such a horrible impression upon him."

She added that "because he was African American this was really nothing spoken about or celebrated."

Until now. The Harlem Hellfighters, largely overlooked for more than a century, will be awarded a Congressional Gold Medal. The U.S. Senate recently passed legislation to give them the award, and President Biden is expected to sign the bill as early as this month.

"My vision is that the people in America should know about the Harlem Hellfighters as well as they know about the Tuskegee Airmen," said Representative Thomas Suozzi, Democrat of New York, who sponsored the medal legislation along with Representative Adriano Espaillat, Democrat of New York. (The Tuskegee Airmen received the medal in 2007, followed by the Montford Point Marines in 2011.)

"I think that these are examples of great Americans who served their country and who never received the proper recognition," Mr. Suozzi said. "And it's never too late to do the right thing."

Recently, the descendants of the Harlem Hellfighters, military veterans and elected officials gathered at the 369th Regiment Armory in Harlem to celebrate the passing of the bill. Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Espaillat, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, and more made endearing speeches about the resilience of the Hellfighters.

In 1959, a diligent and curious soldier discovered a room in the armory where artifacts of the Hellfighters, including photographs, had been abandoned. The items were cleaned and later displayed, sparking a sort of rediscovery of the once-famous unit.

But even descendants, like Ms. Willett, remained unaware of the full scope of the Hellfighters' achievements.

The Harlem Hellfighters were the most celebrated Black regiment in World War I but were largely forgotten after returning to the United States, where they faced racism and discrimination. Credit... via National Archives

The Harlem Hellfighters were born out of the 15th Infantry Regiment of the New York National Guard in 1916. When the United States entered into World War I, the unit became the 369th Regiment.

During that time period, white military leaders, still under the influence of pervasive racist beliefs, thought Black soldiers would not fare well on the battlefield, but could be useful abroad in other ways, so the unit was sent to South Carolina to train.

While stationed there, the soldiers - many of them strangers to the overt racism of the South - were barraged with racial slurs from their white peers and local citizens. Their commander told them to respond to threats with "fortitude and without retaliation."

"In the North things were somewhat better than they were in the South," said Dr. Krewasky Salter, a historian and museum director who worked with Mr. Suozzi's team to make sure the bill was historically accurate. "So when they came down South they weren't necessarily willing to accept what they were receiving."

When the soldiers arrived in Europe, they were relegated to building forts, roads, digging ditches, and other menial jobs. Their leader, Commander William Hayward, repeatedly requested that they serve on the battlefield instead.

Since American white soldiers were unwilling to fight alongside the Hellfighters, the Black soldiers were eventually assigned to the 16th Division of the French Army.

The Hellfighters spent 191 days in combat, which is believed to be longer than any other American unit in the war, according to multiple accounts. Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts were the first Americans, Black or white, to receive the Croix de Guerre, a French award given to those who show immense acts of heroism in battle.

James Reese Europe, a musician who joined the regiment as bandleader, introduced jazz to the French. His band played for soldiers at relief stations and in hospitals.

"My father used to tell me how famous my grandfather was and I was too young to appreciate it," said James Reese Europe III, 65, at the armory. "Before the 100th commemoration of World War I came about, people were looking me up because of my name. And only then was when I started really looking into it."

The junior Mr. Europe became an amateur historian. "I bought every book I could find on my grandfather and found out all of these things that I only wished I had listened to when my father tried to tell them to me," he said.

The 369th Infantry Regiment memorial in Harlem. Credit... Desiree Rios for The New York Times

Mr. Salter, the historian, emphasized the sociocultural challenges of the Hellfighters era. White soldiers refusing to be in combat with Black people was an extension of the racism across The United States at the time.

"These men served and were willing to fight and die during a period of extreme Jim Crow-ism," he said. "During a period of the height of the 'Separate but Equal' time in America."

He continued. "They felt that when the president said to all Americans and I'm paraphrasing, 'We must fight to make the world safe for democracy,' a good number of African Americans kind of believed that. They were fighting for themselves and their communities and their families back home to get out of this period."

But instead of coming home to a new world where Black people were treated fairly and equally, many veterans had difficulty finding jobs, securing housing and starting their own businesses.

Ms. Willett said her grandfather got married, had five children and worked for a coal company in Oyster Bay, the place he loved most.

He didn't talk much about his time as a Hellfighter, but his family knew enough of his achievements to hold the name "Leander" in high regard.

"At one time, there were six different men in my family with that name," Ms. Willett said. "Now his great-grandson is Leander Willetts IV." (There are also family members who use Willetts as a surname instead of Willett, because of differing historical records).

Once her genealogy research pointed to the Harlem Hellfighters, Ms. Willett began pursuing recognition for her grandfather, finding a willing sponsor in Mr. Suozzi.

He secured Sgt. Willett a posthumous Purple Heart two years ago but felt like that wasn't enough, which led to the Congressional Medal legislation. "We're finally righting a wrong," Mr. Suozzi said at the armory.

"Maybe it'll open up doors for other people to start adding this to their curriculum," Mr. Salter said of the publicity surrounding the award, and what it could mean for teachers, writers and historians.

Mr. Espaillat agreed. "The history books don't reflect women, they don't reflect people of color," he said. "This is a great story to teach our young people about the history of racism in America, and how folks fought to overcome that. I think it's an important story to be told."

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The Harlem Hellfighters Were War Heroes. Then They Came Home to Racism.

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An exceptional unit of Black soldiers who fought in World War I will receive the Congressional Gold Medal. For most of her life Debra Willett had a vague idea about who her grandfather was. She knew he had fought in France in World War I at some point.

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the formation of the naacp in texas 1915

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the formation of the naacp in texas 1915

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Jesse Washington was an African American farmhand from Waco, Texas. On May 15, 1916, after being convicted of the murder of a local woman, he was lynched by a White American mob, an incident known as the Waco Horror.

The mutilation and burning of 17-year-old Washington received perhaps the greatest notoriety of the 492 lynchings that occurred in Texas between 1882 and 1930.
Arrest and trial
Washington was arrested on May 8, 1916, charged with having bludgeoned to death Lucy Fryer (53), the wife of a white farmer in Robinson, Texas, a small community seven miles south of Waco. After confessing to both rape and murder, Washington was transferred to the Dallas County Jail by McLennan County sheriff Samuel S. Fleming.

Washington's trial began in Waco on May 15 in the Fifty-fourth District Court, with Judge Richard I. Munroe presiding over a full courtroom. After hearing the evidence, a jury of 12 white men deliberated for only four minutes before returning a guilty verdict and assessing the death penalty.

Before law officers could remove Washington from the court, a group of white spectators surged forward and seized the convicted youth. They hurried him down the stairs at the rear of the courthouse, where a crowd of about 400 persons waited in the alley. A chain was thrown around Washington's neck before he was dragged toward the City Hall, where another group of vigilantes had gathered to build a bonfire.
Lynch mob
A postcard showing the burned body of Jesse Washington, Waco, Texas, 1916. This image is from a postcard, which said on the back, "This is the barbecue we had last night. My picture is to the left with a cross over it. Your son, Joe."

Upon reaching the city hall grounds, the leaders of the mob threw Washington onto a pile of dry goods boxes under a tree and poured coal oil over his body. The chain around Washington's neck was thrown over a limb of the tree, and several men lowered his body onto the pile of combustibles and ignited a fire. An observer wrote:

"Washington was beaten with shovels and bricks (...) was castrated, and his ears were cut off. A tree supported the iron chain that lifted him above the fire (...) Wailing, the boy attempted to climb up the skillet hot chain. For this, the men cut off his fingers."

Two hours later, some men placed the burned corpse in a cloth bag and pulled the bundle behind an automobile to Robinson, where they hung the sack from a pole in front of a blacksmith's shop for public viewing. Later that afternoon, constable Les Stegall retrieved the remains and turned them over to a Waco undertaker for burial.

Though lynching violated Texas law, no members of the mob were prosecuted. However, the foreman of Washington's jury criticized local law officers for failing to prevent the lynching, and a special committee of Baylor University faculty passed resolutions denouncing mobs.

A. T. Smith, an African American journalist, editor of the Paul Quinn Weekly, was arrested and convicted of criminal libel after he printed allegations that Lucy Fryer's husband had committed the murder.
Press coverage
While the The Nation, The New Republic and The New York Times condemned the lynching, only a few Texan newspapers denounced the Waco mob. The Houston Post, Houston Express, Austin American and San Antonio Express printed critical editorials, but the Dallas newspapers made few comments.

The Waco Morning News expressed regret for the incident, but resented what it called the "wholesale denunciation of the South and the people of Waco" by the national press.

The most important demonstration of outrage emanated from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which launched a full-scale investigation of the affair and employed the incident as a cause célèbre in the organization's crusade for a federal antilynching bill. A photographer's pictures of the lynching strengthened the argument.
References

Charles F. Kellogg, NAACP: A History (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1967).

Rogers M. Smith, The Waco Lynching of 1916 (M.A. thesis, Baylor University, 1971).

James M. SoRelle, "The `Waco Horror': The Lynching of Jesse Washington," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 86 (April 1983).

Robert L. Zangrando, The NAACP Crusade Against Lynching (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1980).

Wikipedia Waco Recalls a 90-Year-Old 'Horror'
by Wade Goodwyn - NPR.org
Jesse Washington lynching
Of the 492 lynchings that occurred in Texas between 1882 and 1930, the incident that perhaps received the greatest notoriety, both statewide and nationally, was the mutilation and burning of an illiterate seventeen-year-old black farmhand named Jesse Washington by a white mob in Waco, Texas, on May 15, 1916-an event sometimes dubbed the "Waco Horror."

Washington was arrested on May 8, 1916, and charged with bludgeoning to death fifty-three-year-old Lucy Fryer, the wife of a white farmer in Robinson, a small community seven miles south of Waco. After confessing that he had both raped and murdered Mrs. Fryer, Washington was transferred to the Dallas County Jail by McLennan county sheriff Samuel S. Fleming, who hoped to prevent mob action at least until the accused could have his day in court.

Washington's trial began in Waco on May 15, in the Fifty-fourth District Court, with Judge Richard I. Munroe presiding over a courtroom filled to capacity. After hearing the evidence, a jury of twelve white men deliberated for only four minutes before returning a guilty verdict against the defendant and assessing the death penalty.

Before law officers could remove Washington from the courtroom, a group of white spectators surged forward and seized the convicted youth. They hurried him down the stairs at the rear of the courthouse, where a crowd of about 400 persons waited in the alley. A chain was thrown around Washington's neck, and he was dragged toward the City Hall, where another group of vigilantes had gathered to build a bonfire.

Upon reaching the city hall grounds, the leaders of the mob threw their victim onto a pile of dry-goods boxes under a tree and poured coal oil over his body. The chain around Washington's neck was thrown over a limb of the tree, and several men joined to jerk him into the air before lowering his body onto the pile of combustibles and igniting a fire.

Two hours later several men placed the burned corpse in a cloth bag and pulled the bundle behind an automobile to Robinson, where they hung the sack from a pole in front of a blacksmith's shop for public viewing. Later that afternoon constable Les Stegall retrieved the remains and turned them over to a Waco undertaker for burial.

Though lynching violated Texas law, no members of the Waco mob were prosecuted. However, the foreman of the jury that convicted Washington criticized local law officers for failing to prevent the lynching, and a special committee of Baylor University faculty passed resolutions denouncing the mob.

A black journalist, A. T. Smith, editor of the Paul Quinn Weekly, was arrested and convicted of criminal libel after he printed allegations that Lucy Fryer's husband had committed the murder. Other blacks in the Waco area condemned the Fryer killing and remained conciliatory toward the white population.

Although the Nation, the New Republic, and the New York Times severely condemned the lynching, only a few Texas newspapers denounced the Waco mob. The Houston Post, Houston Express, Austin American, and San Antonio Express printed critical editorials, but the Dallas newspapers made few comments. The Waco Morning News expressed regret for the incident but resented the "wholesale denunciation of the South and of the people of Waco" by the national press.

The most important demonstration of outrage emanated from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which launched a full-scale investigation of the affair and employed the incident as a cause célèbre in the organization's crusade for a federal antilynching bill. A photographer's pictures of the lynching strengthened the argument.

Although the American entrance into World War I delayed the NAACP campaign until 1919, the "Waco Horror" remained a vivid indication that though the frequency of lynchings had begun to decline in the United States after 1900, those incidents that still occurred often were characterized by extreme barbarity.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Charles F. Kellogg, NAACP: A History (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1967). Rogers M. Smith, The Waco Lynching of 1916 (M.A. thesis, Baylor University, 1971). James M. SoRelle, "The `Waco Horror': The Lynching of Jesse Washington," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 86 (April 1983). Robert L. Zangrando, The NAACP Crusade Against Lynching (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1980).
James M. SoRelle

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Jesse Washington | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers

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Jesse Washington was an African American farmhand from Waco, Texas. On May 15, 1916, after being convicted of the murder of a local woman, he was lynched by a White American mob, an incident known as the Waco Horror.

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houston riot of 19178. dorris miller awarded medal of honor

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houston riot of 19178. dorris miller awarded medal of honor

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Award the Congressional Medal of Honor to American Hero Dorie Miller

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Smith v. Allwright decision... Texas Negroes.... - RareNewspapers.com

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Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers offers the largest inventory of original historic newspapers for sale, all guaranteed authentic and all at great prices.

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Born in 1902, Juanita Craft was an American civil rights activist, politician, and icon, best known for her tireless efforts advocating for racial justice and equality. Not only did Craft demand rights for Black citizens, but for all minorities - the poor, the sick, the young, and the elderly. Craft's work was instrumental in the civil rights movement, particularly in Dallas. For the 60 years Craft lived in Dallas, she left her mark on the city through her determination, generosity, and love for all mankind.

As a granddaughter of slaves, Craft experienced racial discrimination very early on in life. At just 16 years old Craft lost her mother, who died of tuberculosis after she was refused hospital treatment based on the color of her skin. Craft continued to feel the impact of racial discrimination when she moved to Dallas and struggled to find work, despite having a college degree. Finally, Craft accepted a job as a bell maid at the Adolphus Hotel.

In efforts to combat job discrimination, Craft joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1935, and there found her life's calling. First appointed membership chair in Dallas, she then became a Texas NAACP field organizer, playing a crucial role in establishing more than 180 branches of the NAACP. Craft was the first black woman in Dallas County to vote in a public election and served two terms on the Dallas City Council in the '70s.

One of Craft's greatest legacies was her work with youth. In the '40s, Craft organized the Dallas NAACP Youth Council - the first of its kind. This model was then used around the country to create more youth branches. Craft instilled in her Youth Council the importance of assembling in order to successfully advocate for what is right and just. Together they organized sit-ins, picket lines, and other peaceful demonstrations across the city to protest racial injustice.

Craft is also largely responsible for the successful integration of the State Fair of Texas and the Dallas Independent School District, in addition to many Dallas universities, theaters, restaurants, and lunch counters. South Dallas was home to both Craft herself and the State Fair of Texas - that being said, Craft's campaign to integrate the Fair was an essential part of her work. Beginning in 1955, Craft organized peaceful protests with her Youth Council and others every year until the Fair was fully desegregated in 1967. Thanks to the work of Craft and many others, the State Fair of Texas is a place where people from all walks of life come together year after year to make memories and celebrate all things Texan.

Craft went on to cultivate strong relationships with State Fair officials, and her memorial service was held at the Hall of State in Fair Park in 1985. Craft's home in South Dallas is now one of only three house museums in the nation honoring a major female figure from the civil rights movement, located at 2618 Warren Avenue. Craft lived in this home for 50 years. Both Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr. visited here to discuss the future of the civil rights movement. In addition to that national landmark, Dallas has named a park, recreation center, and post office after Craft.

In 2018, the State Fair of Texas established the annual Juanita Craft Humanitarian Awards to honor and commemorate her legacy. Each year, these awards celebrate individuals following in her footsteps, advocating for civil rights and positive change in the community.

Although Craft passed away in 1985, her legacy holds strong, and the young people she mentored continue as adults to work toward a complete and just society.

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Celebrating Juanita Craft's Texas-sized Legacy | State Fair of Texas

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Born in 1902, Juanita Craft was an American civil rights activist, politician, and icon, best known for her tireless efforts advocating for racial justice and equality. Not only did Craft demand rights for Black citizens, but for all minorities - the poor, the sick, the young, and the elderly.

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Sweatt v. Painter is Ruled

* Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 (1950) was decided on this date in 1950.

This was a U.S. Supreme Court case that successfully challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine of racial segregation established by the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson. The case was influential in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education four years later.

The case involved a Black man, Heman Marion Sweatt, who was refused admission to the School of Law of the University of Texas, whose president was Theophilus Painter, on the grounds that the Texas State Constitution prohibited integrated education. The state district court in Travis County, Texas, instead of granting the plaintiff a right of mandamus, continued the case for six months.

This allowed the state time to create a law school only for Black students, which is established in Houston, rather than in Austin. The 'separate' law school and the college became the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University (known then as "Texas State University for Negroes").

The trial court decision was affirmed by the Court of Civil Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court denied writ of error on further appeal. Sweatt and the NAACP next went to the federal courts, and the case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Robert L. Carter and Thurgood Marshall presented Sweatt's case.
To Become a Political Scientist To Become a Lawyer

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Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 (1950) was decided on this date in 1950. This was a U.S. Supreme Court case that successfully challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine of racial segregation established by the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson. The case was influential in the landmark case of Brown v.

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d. joe williams intergates collegiate sports (1953)

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d. joe williams intergates collegiate sports (1953)

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Story Links EDINBURG - The University of Texas-Pan American Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is saddened to learn that former Broncs baseball player and cross country and track & field athlete D. Joe Williams, who in 1954 became the first African American to participate in college athletics in the State of Texas, passed away on Dec. 15 at the age of 77.

A member of the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame, as well as the Texas and El Paso Baseball Hall of Fames, Williams broke the color barrier as the center fielder for the 1954 Broncs baseball team, hitting .262 to help the team to the Big State Conference Championship. Williams also won a pair of individual conference championships with the track & field team, taking the titles in the 880-yard and one-mile runs.

Williams joined the Broncs after competing at Booker T. Washington High School in McAllen, a segregated school that existed from 1941-57, where he stole 26 bases as a position player and went 10-3 with 78 strikeouts as a pitcher. This led to him getting scouted by the St. Louis Browns in 1953.

Born in Dobbin on March 4, 1936, Williams moved to McAllen as a child, where he picked up baseball at the age of 10. He became one of the first African Americans to play in the Junior League in the late 1940s, where he hit over .400 as a first baseman and once pitcher a one-hitter with one eye closed due to injury. He also played in a semi-pro Negro League at the age of 16.

After finishing his time at what was then known as Pan American College, Williams coached at Charlie Brown High School in West Columbia for five years before moving to the El Paso area, where he was a teacher and coach for 47 years at Fabens, Socorro and Tornillo High Schools. He led Fabens to three district titles in five years, advancing to the regional finals each time. He coached several players who went on to play in the Mexican League and in minor league baseball.

During his time at Fabens, Williams formed, coach and played for a semi-pro baseball team, the Viejos, for whom Williams was a two-time All-Star. He led the league in strikeouts in 1979, his second to last season as a player. Williams also played fast-pitch softball, where he was an outstanding pitcher. After his playing career was over, Williams spent time as an umpire at several levels of baseball.

Williams was an original member of the Board of Directors for the El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame, and at one point, served as the president.

He is survived by his wife, Thelma, of 49 years, two children, Michelle (Roger) and Dejeaux, two grandchildren, Jaelisa and Camerin, and three great grandchildren, JaeSean, Jaelyn and A.J.

Support UTPA Baseball | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow the Broncs on Twitter | Follow the Broncs on Instagram | Follow the Broncs on YouTube

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First African American Collegiate Athlete in Broncs and State History Passes Away - UTRGV Athletics

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EDINBURG - The University of Texas-Pan American Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is saddened to learn that former Broncs baseball player and cross country and track & field athlete D. Joe Williams, who in 1954 became the first African American to participate in college athletics in the State of Texas, passed away on Dec.

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1955 dallas youth council protest of negro achivement day 

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1955 dallas youth council protest of negro achivement day 

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In 1955, the Texas State Fair in Dallas was segregated, a tradition that dated back to 1889 when planners first set aside a day for African Americans to attend the fair. Then called Colored People's Day, it was discontinued in 1910 and renamed Negro Achievement Day in 1936.

A collaboration between the Negro Chamber of Commerce and the State Fair Board, Negro Achievement Day featured a parade decked out with floats and fair Queens, the presentation of the Most Distinguished Negro Citizen Award, and high school and college football games. The day drew African American visitors from all over the state.

In 1953, the fair announced that African Americans could attend the fair on any day, but could only fully participate in the fair's enjoyments on Negro Achievement Day. Juanita Craft, NAACP Youth Council advisor for the Dallas branch, spearheaded a movement to end discrimination at the fair so that any person of any race could participate on any day they chose. Craft and members of the Youth Council decided to stage a boycott of the fair to draw attention to discriminatory practices. Teenagers, equipped with signs proclaiming "TODAY IS NEGRO APPEASEMENT DAY AT THE FAIR," picketed the parade that began at the local black high school. In an interview given in 1974, Craft remembered, "Those kids went to the starting point at Lincoln High School and boarded the floats right along with the queens and everybody else and rode down the streets saying, 'Stay out. Don't sell your pride for a segregated ride.' The kids were on top of people's houses along the route of the parade with megaphones telling about the segregated policy out there and to stay out."

When the parade reached the picket line at the entrance of the fair, participants turned and refused to enter. The picket line lasted throughout the day and into the night. While the Youth Council did not succeed in ending Negro Achievement Day, they were able to draw attention to the discrimination African Americans faced. The Youth Council was given an award by the NAACP for their well organized and peaceful demonstration. In later years, adults took over picketing the fair. Achievement Day (fair planners dropped the "Negro" in 1957) officially ended in 1961, followed by the full desegregation of the fair later in the '60s.

The boycott, and the majority of other civil rights activity in Dallas, was captured on film by photographer R. C. Hickman. Born in the East Texas town of Mineloa in 1922, Hickman moved to Dallas with his family in the 1930s. After attending Tillotson College in Austin, he served as an Army photographer in World War II, then returned to Dallas to work as a photographer for the Dallas Star Post. As the unofficial photographer of the African American community in Dallas in the 1950s, he captured pivotal moments in the city's civil rights history, including visits by Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall.

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NAACP Picket the Texas State Fair in 1955

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In 1955, members of the NAACP Youth Council formed a picket line to protest segregation at the Texas State Fair in Dallas.

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Mob blocked integration efforts at Mansfield High School in 1956

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Editor's note: Take a look back into The Dallas Morning News archives.Going back to school wasn't so simple for some decades ago. On Aug. 30, a...

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It's been 52 years, but Texas Western/UTEP basketball fans still can celebrate the historic NCAA Championship victory.

On March 19, 1966, the Miners made history by starting five black players in a national championship game against the heavily favored (at the time) Kentucky Wildcats.

However, looking back, most would argue that Texas Western was indeed the better team coming into the contest, but prejudice at the time placed the Miners in the underdog role.

You can celebrate their victory today, maybe not by taking a victory lap around campus, but by going down memory lane.

Here are four ways you can remember the 1966 team.

Re-read the stories

The El Paso Times has compiled a long list of stories, photos and videos over the years, from the original front page to interviews with members of the team.

Here are some of the gems to check out:

Watch Glory Road

If you're free for two hours, you can watch the 2006 movie "Glory Road."

The film stars Josh Lucas as the legendary Don Haskins, who has a brief cameo. If you're a fan of sports flicks, you might get a kick of seeing University of Texas at El Paso landmarks in the movie.

The climax may even get you on your feet cheering.

The movie is currently available for streaming on HBO Go. You also can get it on Amazon Prime and YouTube, but it will cost you $2.99.

Read a book

Maybe you want to go more in-depth. Well, reading could be your best friend. Since the historic win, numerous books have been written about the 1966 champions.

Here are the top choices:

YouTube

Of course, in this day and age, just about everything is on the internet. If you would rather browse on your own, then go for it.

A quick search of "1966 national championship basketball" provides a huge selection of clips, such as this one with the historic starting lineup introductions:

You also can find news stories done on various anniversaries, interviews with some who played in the game and commentary from those who were inspired.

If you find any hidden gems, feel free to share with us.

No matter what you do today, the 1966 Texas Western Miners are a huge part of history - in El Paso and nationwide. The team is worth celebrating each year during the NCAA tournament.

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52 years ago: How to commemorate Texas Western's NCAA basketball championship

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It's been 52 years, but Texas Western/UTEP basketball fans still can celebrate the historic NCAA Championship victory. On March 19, 1966, the Miners made history by starting five black players in a national championship game against the heavily favored (at the time) Kentucky Wildcats.

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election of barbara jordan to the texas state senate 1967

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election of barbara jordan to the texas state senate 1967

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she was the first legislater

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Today's Wayback Wednesday honors the birthday of Barbara Jordan. Born on Feb. 21, 1936, in Houston's Fifth Ward, Jordan went on to become the first African-American woman to serve in the Texas Senate, the first woman to represent Texas in the House of Representatives and was nearly nominated to the United States Supreme Court by then-President Bill Clinton before her death in 1996.

Below you can listen to KUT's award-winning hour-long documentary on Jordan's life and legacy, "Rediscovering Barbara Jordan," which was produced in association with Public Radio International. Above, you can view photos from her life and the exhibit at the Capitol honoring her legislative career.

After two terms in the Texas Senate, Jordan was elected to the House of Representatives in 1972. In 1974, she vaulted into the national spotlight while serving as a member of the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate hearings, delivering a now-iconic speech (which you can watch below) ahead of President Nixon's resignation two weeks later.

After her time in Congress, she became the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention - a speech that was ranked among the top five speeches of the 20th century by rhetorical scholars in 1999.

Upon leaving Congress in 1976, Jordan began teaching at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin until she died.

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Wayback Wednesday: Rediscovering Barbara Jordan

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Today's Wayback Wednesday honors the birthday of Barbara Jordan. Born on Feb. 21, 1936, in Houston's Fifth Ward, Jordan went on to become the first African-American woman to serve in the Texas Senate, the first woman to represent Texas in the House of Representatives and was nearly nominated to the United States Supreme Court by then-President Bill Clinton before her death in 1996.

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Fast Facts

Recorded and roll call votes are normally taken by electronic device, except when the Speaker orders the vote to be recorded by other methods prescribed by the Rules of the House.

Beginning in 1844, innovation fashioned an information transformation in Congress. Six technologies revolutionized the way the House conducted business and disseminated information from the halls of the House of Representatives to constituents in their districts: telegraph, telephone, radio, electronic voting, television, and computer.

Samuel Morse sent the first telegraph message from the Capitol to Baltimore, MD. Later some of the Nation's first telephone lines were placed in Washington, D.C. The House was more cautious about embracing radio and television on the House Floor. Although special events were occasionally televised, the first broadcast of legislative proceedings did not take place until 1977. After 175 years of considering various systems, the House conducted its first electronic vote in 1973. The computer revolution spread around the world in the 1990s and the House of Representatives was quick to join in 1993 with the first Internet, e-mail constituent service. In the more than 150 years since Congress embraced electronic technology to facilitate the business of the House and communicate with the country each development has made the legislative process more accessible to Americans.

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Electronic Technology in the House of Representatives | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives

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Beginning in 1844, innovation fashioned an information transformation in Congress. Six technologies revolutionized the way the House conducted business and disseminated information from the halls of the House of Representatives to constituents in their districts: telegraph, telephone, radio, electronic voting, television, and computer. Samuel Morse sent the first telegraph message from the Capitol to Baltimore, MD.

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texas legislative black caucus formed 1973

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texas legislative black caucus formed 1973

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Formed 50 years ago, Congressional Black Caucus made presence felt by standing up to Nixon

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It didn’t take long for this group to make an impact.