Texas History
Fort Burrows
18.2 - The Civil Rights Movement
READ pgs 435 - 439
Main Idea:
African and Mexican Americans won important Civil Rights in the 1950s and 1960s.
Vocabulary:
civil rights - rights due to ALL United States citizens under the Constitution
primary election - is one in which voters choose the candidates
segregation - separation of people by their race
G.I. Forum – group formed to fight against unfair treatment of Mexican-Americans
Setting the Scene: Sweatt v. Painter 1950
Heman Marion Sweatt wanted to attend the law school at the University of
Texas. He met all of the qualifications. Yet the school rejected him. It denied him
entry because he was African American.
The Texas Constitution required separate schools for white and black students.
They were called “separate but equal” systems, but the schools for African Americans
were not equal. In Sweatt’s case, he did not have the option to attend a law school for
African Americans. There was no such school in the state.
Texas officials realized they were in violation of the state constitution. They
quickly created a separate law school. The school did not have its own books. It did
not have its own teachers. It was “separate” from the University of Texas law school.
But was it EQUAL ?
African Americans in Texas
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Began fighting for their civil rights
1912, The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).
The 1st Texas Chapter formed in Houston. They led the fight to fight laws that
kept African Americans from ‘voting’
As late as the 1940s, African Americans were not allowed to vote in Democratic
primary elections
They could vote only in the Republican primaries and in Texas during the 194050s What would be the use? Democratic Always Won!!!!!!
An African American dentist, Lonnie Smith, wanted to end this unfair practice,
Smith v. Allwright, (1944)
In Sweatt v. Painter (1950), the Supreme Court ruled that all law schools and other
graduate schools had to allow African Americans
Texas provided a school for them to attend, NOT BOOKS
In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court outlawed segregation
in public places like schools
Many Texans resisted this change and the ruling was not always enforced
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Texas History
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 It took another ten years for all the schools in Texas to comply with the ruling
 1965 was the 1st year whites and blacks attended school together
In 1966, Joe Lockridge of Dallas and Curtis Graves of Houston were the 1 st
African Americans to hold seats in the Texas Legislature since Reconstruction
African Americans also won cases that gave them rights to
1) sit on juries
2) live in white neighborhoods
3) sit where they wished on buses and trains 4) serve on police forces
Mexican Texans - Timeline
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1921, Mexican Americans organized the Orden Hijos de America
( Order of Sons of America ) to fight for Civil Rights
1927, this group helped place Mexicans on juries in Nueces County for the 1st time
1948, Dr. Hector Garcia and many Mexican Americans founded the G.I. Forum
This group protested against a whites-only funeral home
 Mexican-Texan family wanted to bury their WWII son
 Native Texan Senator L B J, Stonewall, Texas, had the Mexican Texan
Soldier buried at Arlington National Cemetery
1949, District Court ruled in Delgado v. Bastrop ISD, made it illegal to deprive
Hispanic students equal facilities, services, and education
1954, Hernandez v. Texas, U.S. Supreme Court declared it illegal to bar Mexican
Americans from juries
1960, Mexican Texans formed the ‘Viva Kennedy’ campaign that helped Kennedy
win the vote in Texas
By 1969, schools began offering to teach Spanish language classes
Henry B. Gonzalez
 May 3, 1916 – November 28, 2000
 1953, San Antonio City Council
 1956-1961, Wins a seat in the Texas
Senate
 1958, Ran for Governor; finished 2nd
in the Democratic Primary
 1961, Native Texan from San
Antonio; became the 1st Mexican
Texan to represent Texas in the U.S.
House of Representatives
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Texas History
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The Civil Rights Movement Timeline
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1927 – Mexican Americans win the right to sit on juries in Nueces County
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1944 – White Primaries are Prohibited
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1948 – Segregation of Hispanic schoolchildren is prohibited
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1950 – The University of Texas Law School is required to admit African Americans
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1954 – Segregation in schools is prohibited
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1961 – Texans Elect their 1 Hispanic Representative to the U.S. House
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1964 – Civil Rights Act
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1965 – Voting Rights Act
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1966 – Joe Lockwood of Dallas and Curtis Graves
Both African Americans
Elected to the Texas House of Representatives
Key Court Decisions
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Smith v. Allwright
Stopping African & Mexican Americans from voting in Primaries is illegal
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Sweatt v. Painter
Blocking African Americans from attending State Law Schools is illegal
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Brown v. Board of Education
Having separate public schools for Whites and African Americans is illegal
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Delgado v. Bastrop I.S.D.
Hispanic schools that are of poorer quality than White students is illegal
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Hernandez v. Texas
Barring Mexican Americans from serving on juries is Illegal
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Texas History
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National Civil Rights Movement
 MLK - Martin Luther King - civil rights leader during the 1960s
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html
One Person, One Vote
 By the 1960s, Texas towns had only 30 percent of the state’s population. Yet they
elected more than half the State’s Senators. This meant that a vote cast in a rural
town was worth more than a city vote
 Texas courts implemented a “one person, one vote” system. This gave city and
rural voters more equal amounts of power in government
Civil Rights and Voting Acts
 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 sought the end of segregation and job discrimination
 It also sought to end discrimination based on race, religion, gender, or national
origin
 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 protected the rights of all voters
 Both Acts were passed by LBJ
1.
What document promises civil rights to all United States citizens ?
A. Declaration of Independence
B. U.S. Constitution
C. Civil Rights Charter
D. Texas Constitution
2.
Which court ruling outlawed segregation in schools ?
A. Smith v. Allwright
B. Delgado v. Bastrop ISD
C. Brown v. Board of Education
D. Sweatt v. Painter
3.
What are the elections called in which voters choose candidates that will run for
office ?
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4.
Which group created the G.I. Forum ?
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5.
Which Civil Rights group was founded in 1912 to work for African Americans ?
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