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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The African Americans who served in the Texas |
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Legislature between 1868 and 1900 and in the Constitutional |
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Conventions of 1868-1869 and 1875 represent a significant part of |
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the state's history, and it is vital that we honor their important |
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legacy; and |
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WHEREAS, Following emancipation in June 1865, Black Codes |
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were passed by several cities in Texas to restrict the rights of |
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African Americans; it was not until 1867, with the intervention of |
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Congress and the U.S. military, that African Americans began the |
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transition to freedom in earnest; and |
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WHEREAS, Numerous African American men went on to become |
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Reconstruction leaders and important members of the Republican |
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Party; African American delegates to the Constitutional Convention |
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of 1868-1869 included Stephen Curtis, Wiley W. Johnson, Ralph Long, |
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James McWashington, and Benjamin O. Watrous, and these individuals |
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played an active role in committees and in presenting significant |
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resolutions; the Constitutional Convention of 1875, organized by |
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the Democrats to undo the Constitution of 1869, had fewer African |
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American delegates but still involved Bird Davis, Melvin Goddin, |
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Lloyd Henry McCabe, and William Reynolds, among others; and |
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WHEREAS, George Thompson Ruby, a leading delegate to the |
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Constitutional Convention of 1868-1869, went on to become one of |
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the most influential senators in the 12th and 13th Legislatures; |
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Matthew Gaines and Walter E. Ripton also served as senators during |
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the 1870s, and Senator Walter Moses Burton represented parts of |
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Southeast Texas for nearly a decade; and |
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WHEREAS, Many other African American men were elected as |
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state representatives; among them were David Abner, Sr., Richard |
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Allen, Edward Anderson, Alexander Asberry, Houston A. P. Bassett, |
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Thomas Beck, Edward Brown, D. W. Burley, Silas Cotton, Goldstein |
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Dupree, Robert J. Evans, Jacob E. Freeman, Harriel G. Geiger, |
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Bedford A. Guy, Nathan H. Haller, Jeremiah J. Hamilton, William H. |
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Holland, Mitchell Kendall, Robert A. Kerr, Doc C. Lewis, Elias |
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Mayes, David Medlock, John Mitchell, Henry Moore, Robert J. Moore, |
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Sheppard Mullens, Edward Patton, Henry Phelps, Meshack R. Roberts, |
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Alonzo Sledge, Robert Lloyd Smith, Henry Sneed, James H. Stewart, |
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James H. Washington, Allen W. Wilder, Benjamin Franklin Williams, |
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Richard Williams, and George W. Wyatt; and |
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WHEREAS, These dedicated public servants made great strides |
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in education for African Americans, and they advocated tirelessly |
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for civil rights; by the late 1870s, however, their gains in the |
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political arena were threatened by a new wave of racial |
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intolerance; the 25th Legislature in 1897 would be the last that |
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included an African American member for seven decades; and |
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WHEREAS, A framed composite in honor of the state's early |
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African American political leaders hangs in the Capitol South |
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Lobby, but the photographs of several individuals are missing, and |
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thus our tribute to them remains incomplete; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby direct the State Preservation Board to initiate an effort to |
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obtain missing photographs of early African American political |
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leaders who are honored in a composite in the Capitol South Lobby; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the State Preservation Board be directed to |
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ensure that the composite is included on Capitol tours; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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forwarded to the executive director of the State Preservation Board |
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as an expression of the sentiment of the Texas Legislature. |