Black and Chicano Civil Rights at UT: Research by Undergraduate Students

Civil Rights below the UT Tower In Fall 2018, undergraduate students in “The Civil Rights Movement from a Comparative Perspective,” a History Department research and writing seminar, undertook groundbreaking research projects about the University of Texas’s own civil rights history from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Professor Laurie Green asked students to consider that both African American and Mexican American students formed organizations, protested discrimination, and pressed for changes in the curriculum, social life, and composition of the student body at the university at the same time. Both groups of students often faced similar issues, struggling to find their place at a large, predominately white university when they represented only around 2% of the entire student body.

The DDCE is pleased to share the research summaries from Dr. Green’s class which offer different perspectives on common challenges.

Civil Rights rally at UT

May 8, 2019

The Interplay Between Print Newspapers in 1968

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By Patrick Lee Introduction History is punctuated by transformative events with potential to radically restructure its trajectory, from the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 to the Kent State Massacre of 1970. The meaningthat these events come to embody—that is, how these events are signified, how the… read more

February 22, 2019

Black Student Culture on a White Campus: The Role of Black Greek Letter Organizations

By Katharina Lutz White Greek-letter organizations have been present on American college campuses since 1776 when the first one, Phi Beta Kappa, was founded at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. The first attempts at establishing black Greek-letter organizations, however, were not made until the very beginning… read more

January 25, 2019

Education and Chicano Liberation

By Marla G. López Chicana/o Students During the civil rights period, many groups saw education as a way to liberate and redefine their places within American society. These were also elements of motivation found in the Chicana/o movement. In Texas, the demand for space in academic study and increased educational opportunities… read more

January 25, 2019

Can You Find the Impact of Black Educators in Higher Education?

by Alexis Maxie “To Geneva… A fine, black sister, who’s really got it together! Thanks for your help in making “our” dream a reality… THE AFRO AMERICAN PLAYERS, INC.” This “fine, black sister” 1 spoken of was none other than Dr. Geneva Gay. In the 1970s Dr. Gay was appointed… read more

January 25, 2019

Interracial Relationships amid the Civil Rights Movement

By Megan Corley Introduction My project is about how fear of miscegenation impacted African American students at the University of Texas between the years 1957 and 1968. My project focuses on three sections of student life at the University of Texas: theatre and drama, athletics, and housing. Each of… read more

December 17, 2018

The GI Bill and How it Changed the 40 Acres

History of the GI Bill The creation of the GI Bill of Rights was a landmark social program in the US which drastically changed class structure in America and expanded the opportunity for higher education to black, Latino, and working-class white troops. Understanding why this bill was created and how… read more