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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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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.
