88R10395 JRI-D
 
  By: Dutton H.R. No. 124
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         WHEREAS, The 75th anniversary of Texas Southern University
  provides a fitting opportunity to celebrate the legacy of educator
  and civil rights activist Heman Marion Sweatt, whose fight to be
  admitted to law school led to the establishment of TSU in 1947; and
         WHEREAS, Born in Houston on December 11, 1912, Heman Sweatt
  received his bachelor's degree from Wiley College in Marshall and
  later attended the University of Michigan; after pursuing several
  occupations, he took a job as a mail clerk in Houston and became the
  local secretary of the National Alliance of Postal Employees; his
  efforts to oppose the discriminatory practices of the post office,
  where Blacks were systematically excluded from holding supervisory
  positions, inspired his interest in studying law, but at the time,
  there were no law schools in the state that admitted African
  Americans; heeding the advice of civil rights activist and attorney
  William J. Durham, he decided to apply to The University of Texas
  School of Law and agreed to serve as the plaintiff in a lawsuit if
  his admission was denied on the basis of race; and
         WHEREAS, In February 1946, Mr. Sweatt and members of the
  NAACP met with T. S. Painter, the president of The University of
  Texas at Austin, to formally request admission to the law school;
  despite Mr. Sweatt's qualifications, he was denied entrance when
  the Texas attorney general upheld the state's policy of racial
  segregation; in May of that year, Mr. Sweatt filed suit against
  Painter and other officials, and in an initial ruling, the
  presiding judge gave the state six months to offer an equal course
  of legal instruction for African Americans; and
         WHEREAS, That ruling prompted the Texas Legislature to pass a
  bill in 1947 that provided for the establishment of four law schools
  for Black students; it was decided that the Houston College for
  Negroes, located in the city's Third Ward neighborhood, would be
  the site of one of the new schools; the institution was acquired by
  the State of Texas and initially renamed the Texas State University
  for Negroes; it opened in September 1947 with an enrollment of 2,300
  students and offered vocational, pharmacy, and arts and sciences
  coursework in addition to law studies; its name was changed to Texas
  Southern University in 1951, and TSU has steadily expanded its
  educational mission through the decades; and
         WHEREAS, Heman Sweatt's pursuit of equality did not end with
  the establishment of TSU; he continued his legal efforts to gain
  admission to the UT School of Law, and in June 1950, the
  U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Sweatt v. Painter that Black law
  students were not offered substantial quality in educational
  opportunities; as a result, Mr. Sweatt and five other African
  American students registered to attend UT in September 1950, ending
  the era of segregation at the law school; during his long struggle
  for justice, he and his family had endured threats of violence, and
  he faced further hostility after enrolling; the stress took a
  physical and emotional toll that affected his studies, and in the
  summer of 1952, he left law school and returned to Houston; and
         WHEREAS, Mr. Sweatt went on to earn a master's degree from
  the Atlanta University Graduate School of Social Work in 1954, and
  he was subsequently employed by the NAACP and the National Urban
  League and taught at Atlanta University; his involvement in civil
  rights issues included working on voter registration drives and
  establishing programs for southern Blacks migrating to northern
  states; he passed away on October 3, 1982, at the age of 69; and
         WHEREAS, Heman Sweatt's determined efforts to fight racial
  injustice led to the establishment of TSU and helped secure more
  equitable educational opportunities for Black students, and his
  extraordinary contributions will continue to resonate long into the
  future; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
  Legislature hereby honor Heman Marion Sweatt on the occasion of the
  75th anniversary of Texas Southern University and pay tribute to
  the life and legacy of this civil rights pioneer.