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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Lions Municipal Golf Course in Austin has been |
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awarded an official Texas Historical Marker by the Texas Historical |
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Commission; and |
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WHEREAS, Known by its nickname, "Muny," the Lions Municipal |
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Golf Course was created by the Austin Lions Club in 1924 on land on |
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Enfield Road owned by The University of Texas; in 1936, the course's |
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lease was transferred to the City of Austin; and |
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WHEREAS, Throughout its first 27 years, Muny was a segregated |
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golf course despite its proximity to Clarksville, which was then a |
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predominantly African American neighborhood; and |
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WHEREAS, After the Sweatt v. Painter United States Supreme |
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Court decision desegregated portions of The University of Texas in |
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1950, the Austin City Council, prodded by Councilmember Emma Long, |
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desegregated the course in the spring of 1951, and Muny became the |
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first desegregated municipal golf course in the South; and |
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WHEREAS, To commemorate this historic event, the Travis |
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County Historical Commission applied for an official marker in |
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2008, and the effort drew broad support from such sponsors as Save |
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Muny, Ebenezer Baptist Church, First Evangelical Free Church, First |
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Baptist Church of Austin, Mt. Olive Baptist Church, St. James |
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Episcopal Church, Congregation Beth Israel, Congregation Kol |
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Halev, the Texas Civil Rights Project, Huston-Tillotson |
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University, the Austin Black Lawyers Association, First Unitarian |
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Universalist Church of Austin, and the Austin chapter of the NAACP; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The approval of a historical marker for the Lions |
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Municipal Golf Course provides a fitting opportunity to recall and |
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celebrate the important role Muny played in the civil rights |
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movement in the Capitol City; and |
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WHEREAS, Both the Austin City Council and the Travis County |
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Commissioners Court unanimously passed resolutions supporting the |
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application for a historical marker for Muny; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the approval of a Texas Historical |
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Marker at Lions Municipal Golf Course in Austin and extend to all |
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those involved in this worthy endeavor sincere congratulations for |
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their hard work and success. |