ArchiveThis page holds a collection of documents relating to the changes implemented at the University of Texas after SB-17, and details on initiatives and organizations in place before the bill. This collection is unfortunately not comprehensive, but can help piece together the story of the dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion at UT.
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Photo: https://thedailytexan.com/2024/04/08/students-stage-notourtexas-demonstration-following-dcce-dissolution-staff-layoffs/
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Description of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE), an office that was renamed (Division of Campus and Community Engagement) and then shut down. This archived description also notes the different centers and initiatives previously run under the DDCE.
HornsLink description of the DDCE, stating its original purpose for the student and campus community.
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Hornslink description of the Multicultural Engagement Center, an office originally under the DDCE that included six university-sponsored student organizations and was shut down with little-to-no notice in January.
Official list of witnesses who testified for and against the adoption of Senate Bill 17 in the Senate hearing on April 6, 2023.
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Copy of the entire text of Senate Bill 17.
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The University of Texas System's original working guidance plan released after SB-17 was signed into law.
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Video Transcript: An Introduction to the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at UT Austin, UT DCCE
March 21, 2013
Current Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64Ceo2ydUL4
Description: “Learn about the mission and many facets of The University of Texas at Austin's Division of Diversity and Community Engagement. Produced by our friends at You Plus Media.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “We first have to understand our history. The University of Texas at Austin was a university that segregated its student population by law. Now frame it with the historic Brown vs. Board of Education case, it said separate is inherently unequal. It is unlikely that a child, that person, can fully participate in our democratic society without a quality education. And it’s just now that we’ve been able to address those issues in some meaningful ways. Of course, Brown stood for the case that had overturned state sponsored segregation. It said, perhaps the most important function of state and local government is education. And so we cannot afford, if we want to stay a viable place, without educating the whole population. The supreme court, back in 2003, states that diversity is a compelling interest. It reflects the growing ethnic and racial diversity of our country, and that’s particularly true here in Texas. We have the opportunity now to say to the community that, although we recognize the past, this is a new day, and we can now do things in the right way. What’s interesting about our division, what makes us unique, is that we span the entire university. There are no boundaries to our work.”
Melissa Chavez: “The University of Texas at Austin has undertaken many initiatives to ensure and increase the number of students who are first in their families to attend college. The University of Texas elementary school is key to this initiative. It’s not only a community engagement initiative, where we are increasing the number of underrepresented students into the college pipeline, but our school serves as a model of urban education for other schools across Texas, and across our nation.”
Dr. Robert Jensen: “If you look at contemporary America, and Austin is no different, one sees inequality, social inequality, economic inequality, and one of the missions of the university is to address that.”
Vive Griffith: “Creating opportunity for adults to not just pursue an education, but to model the importance of education for their children.”
Lorena Elias “Free Minds Student,”: “I do it for my kids. It is possible. It’s never too late.”
Denisa Gandara “Undergraduate Senior”: “Since I’ve been here I’ve met students from all sorts of backgrounds.”
Ronnie Walker “Undergraduate Freshman”: “Who ever thought that a guy like me would be at the University of Texas at Austin.”
Hector de Leon, Chair of DDCE Advisory Council: “The face of Texas is changing and as the face of Texas changes the face of this student body has to change.”
Denisa Gandara: “I really can’t imagine what my life would be like if I hadn’t come to UT.”
Dr. Victor Saenz: “We hope to use alumni, we hope to use other positive role models within our university community and extended community.”
Dr. Robert Jensen: “We may not have the answer today to how to create a more just world, in terms of the distribution of wealth or race and gender, but we do know how to make the world better on the ground where we live.”
Stephani Wolfe, director of SSD: “So, our office is here to ensure that students with disabilities are able to gain equal access to higher education. The biggest barrier is those attitudinal barriers and the beliefs that people hold about students with disabilities.”
Dr. Leonard Moore: “What we do in the DDCE, what we try to do in my office, we try and personalize the university.”
Ixchel Rosal, director of GSC: “We’ve had a number of students who have talked about feeling like they didn’t belong on campus until they found the GSC. But I think even more profoundly for them was that they weren’t judged for what they were going through.”
Dr. Robert Jensen: “The most important part of DDCE is lending the status, the prestige, and the human resources of the university to these community groups who are often struggling.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “Our goal in teaching and learning is to extend that classroom into the community.”
Dr. Shannon Speed: “Community engagement for us means connecting university resources to community purposes through collaborative partnerships.”
Vive Griffith: “Free Minds is one of the ways the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement is reaching out to populations historically underserved by higher education.”
Dr. Shannon Speed: “Those partnerships are mutually enriching. So that both the university and the community partners bring something to the table. And those knowledges come together to address critical social issues.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “Teaching and learning extends beyond the laboratory and the like and that our community is an essential part of what we do.”
Dr. Leonard Moore: “We realize that there is tremendous value in having people of all races, all nationalities, all colors, all religions, as a part of your organization.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “Exploring in a meaningful way differences, and what brings us together, what keeps us apart; we create new knowledge.”
Dr. Leonard Moore: “We want to make sure the University of Texas is reflective of the demographics of the state.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “It really does start with the faculty.”
Vive Griffith: “My name is Vive Griffith, I’m the director of the Free Minds Project.”
Dr. Robert Jensen: “Im Bob Jensen, and I’m a professor and faculty fellow with the DDCE.”
Dr. Leonard Moore: “Leonard Moore, I’m a professor with the history department.”
Dr. Victor Saenz: “Victor Saenz, I’m an assistant professor in the college of Education.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “I love diversity, I have been doing this work for many years.”
Dr. Victor Saenz: “These issues of diversity, of difference have to be constantly addressed. Purposeful and intentional mentoring is going to ultimately equip them to fulfill these roles and responsibilities that we expect of an increasingly diverse democracy that we all sort of inhabit.”
Melissa Chavez: “It is in the public school system that we secure and maintain this democratic way of life.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “The mission is simple, yet powerful: To serve the people of Texas.”
Dr. Leonard Moore: “The next generation of leaders across the state will come from UT. We need to make sure that we are preparing the next generation of leaders to go fulfill that responsibility.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “To educate the next generation of leaders who will go back and serve their communities.”
Hector de Leon: “If we’re going to truly promote a world-class university, if we’re going to do what the constitution of Texas calls for, we’re going to have diversity.”
Melissa Chavez: “We are a diverse group of individuals, united in our understanding that if we support one another, we can make huge and significant differences in students’ lives.”
Ronnie Walker: “And as they say: “What starts here, changes the world.””
Description: “Learn about the mission and many facets of The University of Texas at Austin's Division of Diversity and Community Engagement. Produced by our friends at You Plus Media.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “We first have to understand our history. The University of Texas at Austin was a university that segregated its student population by law. Now frame it with the historic Brown vs. Board of Education case, it said separate is inherently unequal. It is unlikely that a child, that person, can fully participate in our democratic society without a quality education. And it’s just now that we’ve been able to address those issues in some meaningful ways. Of course, Brown stood for the case that had overturned state sponsored segregation. It said, perhaps the most important function of state and local government is education. And so we cannot afford, if we want to stay a viable place, without educating the whole population. The supreme court, back in 2003, states that diversity is a compelling interest. It reflects the growing ethnic and racial diversity of our country, and that’s particularly true here in Texas. We have the opportunity now to say to the community that, although we recognize the past, this is a new day, and we can now do things in the right way. What’s interesting about our division, what makes us unique, is that we span the entire university. There are no boundaries to our work.”
Melissa Chavez: “The University of Texas at Austin has undertaken many initiatives to ensure and increase the number of students who are first in their families to attend college. The University of Texas elementary school is key to this initiative. It’s not only a community engagement initiative, where we are increasing the number of underrepresented students into the college pipeline, but our school serves as a model of urban education for other schools across Texas, and across our nation.”
Dr. Robert Jensen: “If you look at contemporary America, and Austin is no different, one sees inequality, social inequality, economic inequality, and one of the missions of the university is to address that.”
Vive Griffith: “Creating opportunity for adults to not just pursue an education, but to model the importance of education for their children.”
Lorena Elias “Free Minds Student,”: “I do it for my kids. It is possible. It’s never too late.”
Denisa Gandara “Undergraduate Senior”: “Since I’ve been here I’ve met students from all sorts of backgrounds.”
Ronnie Walker “Undergraduate Freshman”: “Who ever thought that a guy like me would be at the University of Texas at Austin.”
Hector de Leon, Chair of DDCE Advisory Council: “The face of Texas is changing and as the face of Texas changes the face of this student body has to change.”
Denisa Gandara: “I really can’t imagine what my life would be like if I hadn’t come to UT.”
Dr. Victor Saenz: “We hope to use alumni, we hope to use other positive role models within our university community and extended community.”
Dr. Robert Jensen: “We may not have the answer today to how to create a more just world, in terms of the distribution of wealth or race and gender, but we do know how to make the world better on the ground where we live.”
Stephani Wolfe, director of SSD: “So, our office is here to ensure that students with disabilities are able to gain equal access to higher education. The biggest barrier is those attitudinal barriers and the beliefs that people hold about students with disabilities.”
Dr. Leonard Moore: “What we do in the DDCE, what we try to do in my office, we try and personalize the university.”
Ixchel Rosal, director of GSC: “We’ve had a number of students who have talked about feeling like they didn’t belong on campus until they found the GSC. But I think even more profoundly for them was that they weren’t judged for what they were going through.”
Dr. Robert Jensen: “The most important part of DDCE is lending the status, the prestige, and the human resources of the university to these community groups who are often struggling.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “Our goal in teaching and learning is to extend that classroom into the community.”
Dr. Shannon Speed: “Community engagement for us means connecting university resources to community purposes through collaborative partnerships.”
Vive Griffith: “Free Minds is one of the ways the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement is reaching out to populations historically underserved by higher education.”
Dr. Shannon Speed: “Those partnerships are mutually enriching. So that both the university and the community partners bring something to the table. And those knowledges come together to address critical social issues.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “Teaching and learning extends beyond the laboratory and the like and that our community is an essential part of what we do.”
Dr. Leonard Moore: “We realize that there is tremendous value in having people of all races, all nationalities, all colors, all religions, as a part of your organization.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “Exploring in a meaningful way differences, and what brings us together, what keeps us apart; we create new knowledge.”
Dr. Leonard Moore: “We want to make sure the University of Texas is reflective of the demographics of the state.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “It really does start with the faculty.”
Vive Griffith: “My name is Vive Griffith, I’m the director of the Free Minds Project.”
Dr. Robert Jensen: “Im Bob Jensen, and I’m a professor and faculty fellow with the DDCE.”
Dr. Leonard Moore: “Leonard Moore, I’m a professor with the history department.”
Dr. Victor Saenz: “Victor Saenz, I’m an assistant professor in the college of Education.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “I love diversity, I have been doing this work for many years.”
Dr. Victor Saenz: “These issues of diversity, of difference have to be constantly addressed. Purposeful and intentional mentoring is going to ultimately equip them to fulfill these roles and responsibilities that we expect of an increasingly diverse democracy that we all sort of inhabit.”
Melissa Chavez: “It is in the public school system that we secure and maintain this democratic way of life.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “The mission is simple, yet powerful: To serve the people of Texas.”
Dr. Leonard Moore: “The next generation of leaders across the state will come from UT. We need to make sure that we are preparing the next generation of leaders to go fulfill that responsibility.”
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent: “To educate the next generation of leaders who will go back and serve their communities.”
Hector de Leon: “If we’re going to truly promote a world-class university, if we’re going to do what the constitution of Texas calls for, we’re going to have diversity.”
Melissa Chavez: “We are a diverse group of individuals, united in our understanding that if we support one another, we can make huge and significant differences in students’ lives.”
Ronnie Walker: “And as they say: “What starts here, changes the world.””
Transcript: Division of Diversity and Community Engagement Integration Page; Timeline
Current Link: https://community.utexas.edu/integration/timeline/
Timeline Text:
August 1, 1885: The First Attempt to integrate the University of Texas
In 1885 an African American man applied for admission. The school denied him admission based solely on his racial identity.
October 1, 1939: The Second Attempt to Integrate the University of Texas
In October 1939 George L. Allen, the Austin district manager for the Excelsior Life Insurance Company registered to attend a business psychology and salesmanship class. When he arrived on the first day of class, he stunned the students and administrators. No such defiance or challenge to the unwritten, yet enacted regulations of racial discriminatory policy of the school had ever taken place, but to the disbelief of Allen, UT allowed him to take the class, completely undermining Allen and the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) plan to use the opportunity to sue the state.
November 17, 1948: Hazel Scott
Representatives of the Campus Guild at the University of Texas congratulate Hazel Scott, a nationally recognized African American pianist, for refusing to perform before a segregated audience at Gregory Gym.
May 6, 1950: Sweatt V. Painter Decision (listed as may 6, but Oyez says june 5)
Supreme Court decision to legislate that qualified black students must be admitted to graduate study in public universities. Sweatt v. Painter proved to challenge 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.
July 1, 1950: The First African Americans are Admitted to UT Graduate Programs
African Americans were admitted to the Law School and to graduate programs not offered at Texas Southern or Prairie View. Cafeteria food service was available to all students.
August 1, 1950: The First African American Applies for On Campus Housing
The first African American applicant for dormitory housing was Dudley D. Redd, a graduate student. Due to the policy of the time, there were no spaces available to him.
August 1, 1950: First UT Graduate Students
Heman Sweatt and George Washington Jr. become first black UT Law School students (Washington was first black to graduate from UT Law School); John Chase becomes the first black admitted to graduate school in the school of architecture.
January 1, 1953: Cora Eiland Hicks
Mrs. Cora Eiland Hicks became the first African American to hold a position higher than a clerk at The University of Texas in 1953.
R.M. 531 - San Jacinto Dormitory East
Dr. Wilson was authorized to designate specific dormitories for graduate men and graduate women of color. On June 3, 1953, one African American male graduate student was permitted to live in San Jacinto Dormitory East with three white male students.
August 1, 1953: August Novel Swain
August Novel Swain becomes first African American to receive a master’s degree from the School of Social Work at The University of Texas.
May 17, 1954: Brown v. Topeka Board of Education
Supreme Court makes decision that all children, regardless of color, must be admitted to public schools.
May 9, 1956: UT Dorms Integrated
The University of Texas’s Inter-Co-op Council voted unanimously to accept African American students in cooperative housing.
July 8, 1956: Austin Public Schools
The Austin Chapter of the NAACP draws up petitions asking for the “immediate abolition” of segregation in Austin public schools.
August 1, 1956: First UT Undergraduate Students
UT admitted the first black undergraduates for fall enrollment and John Hargis becomes the first undergraduate admitted.
May 8, 1957: Barbara Conrad Smith
University of Texas student Barbara Smith (today Barbara Conrad Smith is removed from the lead role in the opera “Dido and Aeneas” because she is black.
January 1, 1959: Night Hawk Restaurant Integrates The Drag
Most of the restaurants and services conveniently located on the Drag (Guadalupe Street) were only open to white patrons. After numerous sit ins and protests from both white and students of color, the Night Hawk made headlines as the first establishment to open its doors to all patrons. Harry Akins, owner of the Night Hawk Restaurant was “instrumental in the desegregation of most of Austin’s major restaurants.”
April 28, 1960 - January 1, 1961: Student Protests
White and African American students from several area colleges picket businesses on Congress Avenue urging “integration of lunch counters and conduct three demonstrations against the segregated Texas Theater, the State/Paramount Theater and the Varsity theater on the main campus. A year later as a result of student efforts the Texas and Varsity Theaters located on the Drag near The University of Texas campus integrate under a newly adopted integration policy.
January 1, 1961: Breaking Boundaries
Donna Guess becomes the first black student selected for the UT Orange Jackets, a junior women’s honorary society.
January 1, 1962: Opening Up Student Activities
Gwen Jones becomes the first black elected to Student Assembly, meanwhile, Ervin S. Perry enters the School of Engineering to become the first black Ph.D. student in engineering at UT and first full-time professor employed by UT. That same year, Ed Guinn joined the Longhorn Band opening the doors for other members of color.
August 2, 1962: MLK Support
Black students at The University of Texas extend an invitation to Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. to assist them with the full integration of all university facilities, including dormitories and intercollegiate athletics.
January 1, 1965: James Means
In 1965, native Austinite James Means (son of local activist Bertha Means) suited up to become the first black varsity letterman at UT as a member of the Track and Field Team. That same year, Anitha Mitchell became the first woman of color to earn a medical degree from UT's Medical Branch in Galveston. But students weren't the only ones experiencing change; in the fall of 1965 the 40 Acres Club (the faculty club) was desegregated.
May 1, 1965: Changing Tradition
The Cowboy Minstrel Show votes out black-face in its annual performances.
August 1, 1965: Football Remains Segregated
Although UT Athletics is integrated in 1965, the football team would remain without color until the end of the decade. Inacting the traditional "gentlemen's agreement" recruiting practices were left up to coaches. Many coaches in the south looked to their neighbors to see when and if to change practices. In many cases, Southern schools that had Black players on their team would concede to the wishes of the home team on whether or not they'd play their Black players.
August 6, 1965: Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub.L. 88–352, 78 Stat. 241, enacted July 2, 1964) is a landmark piece of civil rights legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public.
August 6, 1965: Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the American Civil Rights Movement on August 6, 1965, and Congress later amended the Act five times to expand its protections. Designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Act allowed for a mass enfranchisement of racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South.
January 1, 1968: Wilhelmina Delco
Wilhelmina Delco (wife of one of the first African American UT School of Education students, Exalton Delco) becomes the first black elected to the Austin School Board in 1968.
August 1, 1968: Diversity in the Classroom
In 1968 UT offered its first course in African American History, “The Negro in American Culture." The following year, Henry A. Bullock became the first black tenured professor (teaching in the history department). That same year, the Ethnic Studies Center was approved by the Board of Regents and the Dept. of Black History and African American Studies was founded.
August 1, 1970: Football is Tackled
A cultural and social symbol of The University of Texas at Austin, the football program recruits and provides scholarship to its first African American player, Julius Whittier.
January 1, 1971: Austin Makes Strides
Berl Handcox is elected to Austin City Council, becoming the first black in 86 years, Federal Judge Jack Roberts ordered closing of Anderson High School and Kealing Jr. High and busing of black students to predominantly white schools.
January 1, 1971: UT Continues Diversity Efforts
Alvin Matthews of Green Bay Packers is appointed first black football coach at UT and second in Southwest Conference; Ida Powell becomes the first black woman enrolled in LBJ School of Public Affairs; and black students obtain a shuttle bus route from campus to East Austin.
November 1, 1973: Roosevelt Leaks
One year after UT welcomed its first black football letterman, Roosevelt Leaks came to Texas. Although he sat out his freshman year, he becomes an unstoppable force on the field. Leaks later became the first black All American from UT, played in the NFL and still holds the record for most rush yards in UT history.
January 1, 1974: Black Women Become Firsts in Texas
Harriett M. Murphy (one of the first African American women to attend UT Law School) becomes the first black appointed permanent judge; Barbara Jordan becomes the first black from Deep South elected to House of Representatives; 19th Street is renamed Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
January 1, 1974: Innervisions of Blackness
Innervisions of Blackness, a black choral group is formed.
August 1, 1974: Women Join the Game
Rod Page becomes the first head coach for Texas Women's Basketball. Featured on the roster is Texas' first African American basketball player, Retha Swindell from Duncanville, Texas a math scholar.
September 1, 1977: Triumphs and Recognition
In 1977, standout football player Earl Campbell became the first UT football player to ever receive the coveted Heisman Trophy. Later that year, a campus library was named after Ervin Perry and Carlos Castaneda (former black and Hispanic professors, respectively), the Perry-Castaneda Library.
Timeline Text:
August 1, 1885: The First Attempt to integrate the University of Texas
In 1885 an African American man applied for admission. The school denied him admission based solely on his racial identity.
October 1, 1939: The Second Attempt to Integrate the University of Texas
In October 1939 George L. Allen, the Austin district manager for the Excelsior Life Insurance Company registered to attend a business psychology and salesmanship class. When he arrived on the first day of class, he stunned the students and administrators. No such defiance or challenge to the unwritten, yet enacted regulations of racial discriminatory policy of the school had ever taken place, but to the disbelief of Allen, UT allowed him to take the class, completely undermining Allen and the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) plan to use the opportunity to sue the state.
November 17, 1948: Hazel Scott
Representatives of the Campus Guild at the University of Texas congratulate Hazel Scott, a nationally recognized African American pianist, for refusing to perform before a segregated audience at Gregory Gym.
May 6, 1950: Sweatt V. Painter Decision (listed as may 6, but Oyez says june 5)
Supreme Court decision to legislate that qualified black students must be admitted to graduate study in public universities. Sweatt v. Painter proved to challenge 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.
July 1, 1950: The First African Americans are Admitted to UT Graduate Programs
African Americans were admitted to the Law School and to graduate programs not offered at Texas Southern or Prairie View. Cafeteria food service was available to all students.
August 1, 1950: The First African American Applies for On Campus Housing
The first African American applicant for dormitory housing was Dudley D. Redd, a graduate student. Due to the policy of the time, there were no spaces available to him.
August 1, 1950: First UT Graduate Students
Heman Sweatt and George Washington Jr. become first black UT Law School students (Washington was first black to graduate from UT Law School); John Chase becomes the first black admitted to graduate school in the school of architecture.
January 1, 1953: Cora Eiland Hicks
Mrs. Cora Eiland Hicks became the first African American to hold a position higher than a clerk at The University of Texas in 1953.
R.M. 531 - San Jacinto Dormitory East
Dr. Wilson was authorized to designate specific dormitories for graduate men and graduate women of color. On June 3, 1953, one African American male graduate student was permitted to live in San Jacinto Dormitory East with three white male students.
August 1, 1953: August Novel Swain
August Novel Swain becomes first African American to receive a master’s degree from the School of Social Work at The University of Texas.
May 17, 1954: Brown v. Topeka Board of Education
Supreme Court makes decision that all children, regardless of color, must be admitted to public schools.
May 9, 1956: UT Dorms Integrated
The University of Texas’s Inter-Co-op Council voted unanimously to accept African American students in cooperative housing.
July 8, 1956: Austin Public Schools
The Austin Chapter of the NAACP draws up petitions asking for the “immediate abolition” of segregation in Austin public schools.
August 1, 1956: First UT Undergraduate Students
UT admitted the first black undergraduates for fall enrollment and John Hargis becomes the first undergraduate admitted.
May 8, 1957: Barbara Conrad Smith
University of Texas student Barbara Smith (today Barbara Conrad Smith is removed from the lead role in the opera “Dido and Aeneas” because she is black.
January 1, 1959: Night Hawk Restaurant Integrates The Drag
Most of the restaurants and services conveniently located on the Drag (Guadalupe Street) were only open to white patrons. After numerous sit ins and protests from both white and students of color, the Night Hawk made headlines as the first establishment to open its doors to all patrons. Harry Akins, owner of the Night Hawk Restaurant was “instrumental in the desegregation of most of Austin’s major restaurants.”
April 28, 1960 - January 1, 1961: Student Protests
White and African American students from several area colleges picket businesses on Congress Avenue urging “integration of lunch counters and conduct three demonstrations against the segregated Texas Theater, the State/Paramount Theater and the Varsity theater on the main campus. A year later as a result of student efforts the Texas and Varsity Theaters located on the Drag near The University of Texas campus integrate under a newly adopted integration policy.
January 1, 1961: Breaking Boundaries
Donna Guess becomes the first black student selected for the UT Orange Jackets, a junior women’s honorary society.
January 1, 1962: Opening Up Student Activities
Gwen Jones becomes the first black elected to Student Assembly, meanwhile, Ervin S. Perry enters the School of Engineering to become the first black Ph.D. student in engineering at UT and first full-time professor employed by UT. That same year, Ed Guinn joined the Longhorn Band opening the doors for other members of color.
August 2, 1962: MLK Support
Black students at The University of Texas extend an invitation to Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. to assist them with the full integration of all university facilities, including dormitories and intercollegiate athletics.
January 1, 1965: James Means
In 1965, native Austinite James Means (son of local activist Bertha Means) suited up to become the first black varsity letterman at UT as a member of the Track and Field Team. That same year, Anitha Mitchell became the first woman of color to earn a medical degree from UT's Medical Branch in Galveston. But students weren't the only ones experiencing change; in the fall of 1965 the 40 Acres Club (the faculty club) was desegregated.
May 1, 1965: Changing Tradition
The Cowboy Minstrel Show votes out black-face in its annual performances.
August 1, 1965: Football Remains Segregated
Although UT Athletics is integrated in 1965, the football team would remain without color until the end of the decade. Inacting the traditional "gentlemen's agreement" recruiting practices were left up to coaches. Many coaches in the south looked to their neighbors to see when and if to change practices. In many cases, Southern schools that had Black players on their team would concede to the wishes of the home team on whether or not they'd play their Black players.
August 6, 1965: Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub.L. 88–352, 78 Stat. 241, enacted July 2, 1964) is a landmark piece of civil rights legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public.
August 6, 1965: Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the American Civil Rights Movement on August 6, 1965, and Congress later amended the Act five times to expand its protections. Designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Act allowed for a mass enfranchisement of racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South.
January 1, 1968: Wilhelmina Delco
Wilhelmina Delco (wife of one of the first African American UT School of Education students, Exalton Delco) becomes the first black elected to the Austin School Board in 1968.
August 1, 1968: Diversity in the Classroom
In 1968 UT offered its first course in African American History, “The Negro in American Culture." The following year, Henry A. Bullock became the first black tenured professor (teaching in the history department). That same year, the Ethnic Studies Center was approved by the Board of Regents and the Dept. of Black History and African American Studies was founded.
August 1, 1970: Football is Tackled
A cultural and social symbol of The University of Texas at Austin, the football program recruits and provides scholarship to its first African American player, Julius Whittier.
January 1, 1971: Austin Makes Strides
Berl Handcox is elected to Austin City Council, becoming the first black in 86 years, Federal Judge Jack Roberts ordered closing of Anderson High School and Kealing Jr. High and busing of black students to predominantly white schools.
January 1, 1971: UT Continues Diversity Efforts
Alvin Matthews of Green Bay Packers is appointed first black football coach at UT and second in Southwest Conference; Ida Powell becomes the first black woman enrolled in LBJ School of Public Affairs; and black students obtain a shuttle bus route from campus to East Austin.
November 1, 1973: Roosevelt Leaks
One year after UT welcomed its first black football letterman, Roosevelt Leaks came to Texas. Although he sat out his freshman year, he becomes an unstoppable force on the field. Leaks later became the first black All American from UT, played in the NFL and still holds the record for most rush yards in UT history.
January 1, 1974: Black Women Become Firsts in Texas
Harriett M. Murphy (one of the first African American women to attend UT Law School) becomes the first black appointed permanent judge; Barbara Jordan becomes the first black from Deep South elected to House of Representatives; 19th Street is renamed Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
January 1, 1974: Innervisions of Blackness
Innervisions of Blackness, a black choral group is formed.
August 1, 1974: Women Join the Game
Rod Page becomes the first head coach for Texas Women's Basketball. Featured on the roster is Texas' first African American basketball player, Retha Swindell from Duncanville, Texas a math scholar.
September 1, 1977: Triumphs and Recognition
In 1977, standout football player Earl Campbell became the first UT football player to ever receive the coveted Heisman Trophy. Later that year, a campus library was named after Ervin Perry and Carlos Castaneda (former black and Hispanic professors, respectively), the Perry-Castaneda Library.