Bill Text: TX HR1215 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Recognizing April 22, 2023, as Blackwell School Day at the State Capitol.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-05-06 - Reported enrolled [HR1215 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HR1215-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 1215 |
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WHEREAS, The Blackwell School Alliance secured designation | ||
of the Blackwell School in Marfa as a National Historic Site in | ||
October 2022; and | ||
WHEREAS, Opened in 1909, in an era of de facto segregation of | ||
Mexican Americans, the school served local students until 1965, a | ||
year after passage of the Civil Rights Act, when Marfa integrated | ||
its schools; the faculty was largely White, and children could be | ||
punished harshly for speaking Spanish, even though for some, it was | ||
not only their native language, but their only language; the school | ||
was supplied with hand-me-down books and other equipment from Marfa | ||
Elementary, the school for Whites; and | ||
WHEREAS, Alumni of Blackwell School learned in 2006 that the | ||
school district planned to tear down or sell the nearly century-old | ||
one-room adobe schoolhouse; they began organizing to save the | ||
structure, forming the Blackwell School Alliance in 2007; joined by | ||
other community advocates, they cleaned up the building and | ||
fundraised to make repairs; they went on to seek recognition for the | ||
school from the Texas Historical Commission, which was granted in | ||
2010; nine years later, their efforts led to its inclusion in the | ||
National Register of Historic Places; and | ||
WHEREAS, The members of the alliance have worked tirelessly | ||
to document and preserve the school's history, partnering with | ||
universities, state agencies, private foundations, the City of | ||
Marfa, and individuals; in addition, they have garnered support | ||
from elected officials, and in 2021, a bipartisan group of | ||
representatives filed the Blackwell School National Historic Site | ||
Act; it easily passed both chambers of Congress, and President Joe | ||
Biden signed it into law on October 17, 2022, authorizing the | ||
designation of the site as a unit of the National Park Service; and | ||
WHEREAS, Today, the Blackwell School is one of the very few | ||
National Historic Sites devoted specifically to the commemoration | ||
of Latino heritage; the original school building functions as a | ||
museum and community center, with a replica classroom featuring | ||
rows of old desks; moreover, the Blackwell School Alliance has | ||
assembled a wealth of artifacts, from trophies, sports uniforms, | ||
photographs, and old letters to the wooden paddle once used to | ||
discipline children; the site also includes the 1927 Band Hall; and | ||
WHEREAS, Through their hard work and many years of grassroots | ||
advocacy, the members of the Blackwell School Alliance have ensured | ||
lasting protection of an authentic setting to commemorate and | ||
interpret the Mexican American experience, the culture of the | ||
borderlands, and the sometimes painful history of progress in our | ||
society; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby recognize April 22, 2023, as Blackwell School | ||
Day at the State Capitol and commend the Blackwell School Alliance | ||
for its outstanding contributions. | ||
Morales of Maverick | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 1215 was adopted by the House on May | ||
6, 2023, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||