University History

The story of integration at Texas State -- then Southwest Texas State College - is summarized in an upcoming digital exhibition.  It is not a simple story, as it involved a judge's order because school was founded in the Texas legislature as a school for white teachers.  Five young women simply wanted a chance to go to the college of their choice - and ended up making history.

Evidence in the archives shows that the college was preparing for the worst, given what happened at other schools ... but fortunately for everyone involved, the women were able to register and attend classes without violence or protests. For years we did not think there were any photographs of the event; Dr. Flowers stated clearly that he wanted the students to have as normal a college experience as possible.  Thus, the Archives was surprised to discover these images in a box of unidentified negatives from the 1960s.

To tell this story for class, we recommend telling the story about the students registering for classes in the Main Building. This ties the story to one location and allows you to focus on a specific set of facts.  (Telling the entire story of integration is far too big for this project.)