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23-02-2025
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Caprock Chronicles: Overcoming early Lubbock's shameful treatment of Black residents, Part 2
Editor's Note: Jack Becker is the editor of Caprock Chronicles and is a Librarian Emeritus from Texas Tech Editor's Note: Jack Becker is the editor of Caprock Chronicles and is a Librarian Emeritus from Texas Tech University. He can be reached at Today's article about early Lubbock's treatment of Black residents is the second of a two-part series by frequent contributor Chuck Lanehart, Lubbock attorney and award-winning history writer, and Professor Dwight McDonald, Director of Community Engagement at Texas Tech University School of Law. This series alludes to language that is no-doubt painful for many, but aims to show our community's past and efforts to pursue a better future. More: Caprock Chronicles: Overcoming early Lubbock's shameful treatment of Black residents, Part 1 Following the 1920s, Lubbock continued to mistreat its African American residents until long after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s did away with Jim Crow segregation laws. Segregation was the norm in Lubbock at the time, even as African Americans began to create their own ecosystem. Dr. Joel P. Oliver, the first African-American physician in Lubbock arrived in the 1930 , but left shortly after his arrival. Dr. Joseph A. Chatman arrived in Lubbock in 1939 and later established a hospital in what is now the Chatman Hill neighborhood, as was explored in a March 25, 2018 Caprock Chronicles article. By the early 1940's, Lubbock had its first African-American dentist, Dr. C.H. Lyons. More: Chatman dedicates life underserved community As Lubbock continued to grow, so did its Black population. By the 1950s, African Americans had physicians, dentists, a hospital, pharmacy, schools and stores, but they were not included in mainstream white society. However, the winds of change were blowing in the Hub City. With the Brown v Board decision of 1954, desegregation/integration became the law of the land, and the Lubbock Independent School District (LISD) 'desegregated' in 1955, but the LISD plan consisted of having students attend their neighborhood schools. This solution did not address the true intent of the Brown decision, because African Americans and the schools they attended were still relegated to one side of town, thus not desegregated at all. School busing was offered as a solution. Beginning in 1971, the white majority waged—and lost—a major federal court battle against school busing. Texas Tech University, which was chartered as Texas Technological College in 1923 for 'white students,' did not admit a Black student until 1961. Lubbock resident T.J. Patterson—among many others—was denied entrance due to his race. In the spring of 1961, Patterson's aunt, Lucille Graves, became the first African-American student admitted to Tech. Eight other African-American students from Dunbar High School were admitted in the Fall of 1961. Black litigants in Lubbock began using the courts to accelerate the integration of Lubbock. In the 1970s, Gene Gaines' wife died, and he wanted to bury her at the front of the Lubbock City Cemetery. At the time, the cemetery was segregated. Gaines was told his wife must be buried in the Black section. He was unsuccessful in his attempt to get the policy changed, but it caused him to look at the larger picture of how the city's decision-makers were elected. He realized no minorities held elected offices in Lubbock. Three years after becoming the first African American to graduate from the Texas Tech University School of Law in 1973, Gaines sued the City of Lubbock to force Lubbock to use single-member district voting instead of the at-large system. The at-large system diluted minority votes, thereby preventing any minority representation in any elected office. The litigation dragged on for years, but in 1982, the City of Lubbock was ordered to establish single-member districts. Shortly thereafter, African-American newspaper publisher T.J. Patterson was elected to the City Council, as was explored in a Feb. 20, 2021 Caprock Chronicles article. More: Caprock Chronicles: The lawsuit that won diversity in Lubbock leadership: Jones vs. the City Part 2 Despite all the obstacles, many distinguished members of Lubbock's Black community have seen great success over the years, including Charles Quinton Brown Jr., the 21st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first African American to lead a branch of the United States Armed Forces; McKinley Sheppard, the first African American elected as Justice of the Peace in Lubbock; Terry Cook, internationally renowned opera singer; recording artist/educator Virgil Johnson; Mae Simmons, former Principal at Isles Elementary School; Eric Strong, Director of TTU Upward Bound Program; C.B. 'Stubbs' Stubblefield, culture catalyst/barbeque entrepreneur; and professional athletes Jerry Gray, Dennis Gentry and Jarrett Culver. Alfred and Billie Caviel had the unique distinction of being the first African-American couple to own and operate a pharmacy in the United States when they opened Caviel Pharmacy on the corner of Avenue A and 23rd Street. The pharmacy was opened in 1960 and was family owned until it closed in 2009. Billie Caviel became the first Black person elected to the LISD School Board, as was explored in a July 4, 2020 Caprock Chronicles article. More: From Pharmacy to Canvas: Caviel's Pharmacy becomes a center of cultural heritage and art Today, Lubbock is a far cry from racist editor James Lorenzo Dow's Lubbock. LISD and Texas Tech are happily integrated. African Americans are progressing in the Lubbock community, where they hold leadership positions in city government, universities, boards and committees throughout Lubbock. There are still racial issues that we as a community continue to work through, but we should all be proud of the growth and progress Lubbock has made. We should not become complacent. We should continue to be mindful of the fact there is still work to be done, but we certainly are not what we used to be. This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Caprock Chronicles overcoming Lubbock past treatment of Black people, 2
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16-02-2025
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Caprock Chronicles: Overcoming early Lubbock's shameful treatment of Black residents, Part 1
Editor's Note: Jack Becker is the editor of Caprock Chronicles and is a Librarian Emeritus from Texas Tech University. He can be reached at Today's article about early Lubbock's treatment of Black residents is the first of a two-part series by frequent contributor Chuck Lanehart, Lubbock attorney and award-winning history writer, and Professor Dwight McDonald, Director of Community Engagement at Texas Tech University School of Law. This series alludes to language that is no-doubt painful for many, but aims to show our community's past and efforts to pursue a better future. It has been suggested that the history of America is the history of slavery. Perhaps the suggestion is overstated, but there is no question the shameful institution has impacted the economy, social structure and political landscape of our country for centuries. Lubbock was not settled until well after slavery was abolished, but like other places in the South, much of community was guilty of treating its Black residents disgracefully. Little is known of the Black population in the village of Lubbock—first settled in about 1890—until it was incorporated as a city in 1909. The year before, 30-year-old James Lorenzo Dow had purchased what was called the Lubbock Avalanche newspaper. Dow was a racist, as was evidenced by his writings. In his editorials and news reports, he began a long, ugly campaign against African Americans. None lived in Lubbock in 1909, and Dow intended to keep it that way. On Oct. 28, 1909, Dow warned 'If one or two are allowed to come, others will follow. (Black people) are like Johnson grass when it comes to taking root and increasing in a town.' He called Black people 'kinky headed [racial slur] that the Lord made for no other purpose save to be servants of mankind.' Despite Dow's efforts, a few Black people did arrive in Lubbock. Dow's rants continued. In January of 1910, he wrote: 'There is strong sentiment against the advent of the [racial slur] into Lubbock and those that are slipping them in for servants are going to wake up some fine morning and find out that they have made a mistake. . . . This is white man's country, and it should not be polluted by a lot of worthless [racial slur]. But Black people continued to come to Lubbock, and Dow was concerned they would be allowed to live among the white community. In 1919, he wrote, "People are not going to stand for negro [sic] neighbors, and if there is not regulation made by the proper authorities there is liable to be regulations of a private nature, which should be avoided if possible. . . What are we going to do with the negroes [sic]?" By 1920, 63 Black people lived in the city, and another 89 lived in Lubbock County. Those in Lubbock were relegated to neighborhoods on the east side of the railroad tracks. Housing conditions were horrendous. Black people lived in dugouts, tents and shacks, and all toilet facilities were outdoors. The city provided no utilities, streets were dirt, and water was carried from various nearby wells. Early Black Lubbock residents were excluded from almost every segment of white society other than employment as laborers. Women worked as housekeepers and did laundry for white residents and men were employed as porters, cooks and janitors. Despite the wretched living conditions, Lubbock's Black population developed a semblance of culture. Small churches were established as early as 1917, mostly in members' homes, and in 1918, the first Black church building was that of Mt. Gilead in the 1600 block of Avenue A. Education for Black children was a problem. An early school board member claimed white education progressed because 'there were very few [racial slur] . . . in the community.' A successful segregated school system for Black people was developed in spite of many white roadblocks. In the 1920s, African Americans began to settle in Lubbock in numbers, but the decade saw the zenith of Ku Klux Klan activities in the area. In 1922, the newspaper reported members of the local Klan became involved directly with the Black community. [racial slur] town was about the busiest place in all the city last Tuesday evening when, it is reported, about a dozen and a half masked and gunned Klansmen entered that section of the city, left a few warnings to the dusky citizens . . . In the 1896 case of 'Plessy v. Ferguson,' the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Louisiana state law that allowed for 'equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races.' Similar statutes—known as 'Jim Crow laws'—were ubiquitous across the South. Segregation was the law of the land in Texas—and in Lubbock—until the mid-1960s and later. Thus, the Lubbock City Council passed a Jim Crow ordinance in 1923, providing 'no negro [sic] or persons of African descent or containing as much as one eighth Negro blood shall own property or reside thereon in any part of this city, except that part lying south of 16th Street and East of Avenue C.' Black people in Lubbock were allowed in movie theaters but relegated to the balconies. In restaurants, separate eating places were afforded in rear areas of kitchens. Payment of a poll tax—often an exorbitant expense for Blacks—was required for the privilege of voting. The racial prejudice among early Lubbock's white community was evidenced by the City Council's passage of Jim Crow segregation laws and virulent editorials against Black people in the Lubbock newspaper. In 1925, Editor Dow published the following rant: 'There are a few worthy colored people in this city, and we appreciate them in their place: but as a whole, the majority of them are worthless, shiftless, undependable, and a menace to society, and should be invited to change their way of living or change their place of abode.' Dow's racist attitude toward Blacks in Lubbock influenced official action. An example was the 1925 highway department's relocation of the Slaton Highway, which initially went through the Black community. There was concern that travelers entering the city would have a bad impression of the community. At the newspaper's insistence, the highway was relocated several miles around the Black homes. When a bus service opened in 1926, the city ordinance granting the franchise provided, "it shall not be necessary for the franchise to carry persons of African descent, and he shall not carry them in a bus wherein white persons are invited to ride.' In 1926 Dow sold his newspaper to a competing firm, the Evening Journal, which was subsequently published as the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and the tone would begin to change. Part two of this series will be published next Sunday. This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Caprock Chronicles overcoming Lubbock past treatment of Black people
