Overcoming early Lubbock’s shameful treatment of Black residents, Part 2

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Editor’s Note: Jack Becker is the editor of Caprock Chronicles and is a Librarian Emeritus from Texas Tech Editor’s Note: Jack Becker is the editor of Caprock Chronicles and is a Librarian Emeritus from Texas Tech University. He can be reached at jack.becker@ttu.edu. Today’s article about early Lubbock’s treatment of Black residents is the second of a two-part series by frequent contributor Chuck Lanehart, Lubbock attorney and award-winning history writer, and Professor Dwight McDonald, Director of Community Engagement at Texas Tech University School of Law. This series alludes to language that is no-doubt painful for many, but aims to show our community’s past and efforts to pursue a better future.

More: Caprock Chronicles: Overcoming early Lubbock’s shameful treatment of Black residents, Part 1

Following the 1920s, Lubbock continued to mistreat its African American residents until long after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s did away with Jim Crow segregation laws.

Segregation was the norm in Lubbock at the time, even as African Americans began to create their own ecosystem. Dr. Joel P. Oliver, the first African-American physician in Lubbock arrived in the 1930 , but left shortly after his arrival. Dr. Joseph A. Chatman arrived in Lubbock in 1939 and later established a hospital in what is now the Chatman Hill neighborhood, as was explored in a March 25, 2018 Caprock Chronicles article. By the early 1940’s, Lubbock had its first African-American dentist, Dr. C.H. Lyons.

More: Chatman dedicates life underserved community

As Lubbock continued to grow, so did its Black population. By the 1950s, African Americans had physicians, dentists, a hospital, pharmacy, schools and stores, but they were not included in mainstream white society. However, the winds of change were blowing in the Hub City.

With the Brown v Board decision of 1954, desegregation/integration became the law of the land, and the Lubbock Independent School District (LISD) “desegregated” in 1955, but the LISD plan consisted of having students attend their neighborhood schools. This solution did not address the true intent of the Brown decision, because African Americans and the schools they attended were still relegated to one side of town, thus not desegregated at all. School busing was offered as a solution. Beginning in 1971, the white majority waged—and lost—a major federal court battle against school busing.

Texas Tech University, which was chartered as Texas Technological College in 1923 for “white students,” did not admit a Black student until 1961. Lubbock resident T.J. Patterson—among many others—was denied entrance due to his race. In the spring of 1961, Patterson’s aunt, Lucille Graves, became the first African-American student admitted to Tech. Eight other African-American students from Dunbar High School were admitted in the Fall of 1961.

Black litigants in Lubbock began using the courts to accelerate the integration of Lubbock. In the 1970s, Gene Gaines’ wife died, and he wanted to bury her at the front of the Lubbock City Cemetery. At the time, the cemetery was segregated. Gaines was told his wife must be buried in the Black section. He was unsuccessful in his attempt to get the policy changed, but it caused him to look at the larger picture of how the city’s decision-makers were elected. He realized no minorities held elected offices in Lubbock.

Lucille Sugar Graves was the first African-American student admitted to Texas Tech in 1961.

Three years after becoming the first African American to graduate from the Texas Tech University School of Law in 1973, Gaines sued the City of Lubbock to force Lubbock to use single-member district voting instead of the at-large system. The at-large system diluted minority votes, thereby preventing any minority representation in any elected office. The litigation dragged on for years, but in 1982, the City of Lubbock was ordered to establish single-member districts. Shortly thereafter, African-American newspaper publisher T.J. Patterson was elected to the City Council, as was explored in a Feb. 20, 2021 Caprock Chronicles article.

More: Caprock Chronicles: The lawsuit that won diversity in Lubbock leadership: Jones vs. the City Part 2

Despite all the obstacles, many distinguished members of Lubbock’s Black community have seen great success over the years, including Charles Quinton Brown Jr., the 21st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first African American to lead a branch of the United States Armed Forces; McKinley Sheppard, the first African American elected as Justice of the Peace in Lubbock; Terry Cook, internationally renowned opera singer; recording artist/educator Virgil Johnson; Mae Simmons, former Principal at Isles Elementary School; Eric Strong, Director of TTU Upward Bound Program; C.B. “Stubbs” Stubblefield, culture catalyst/barbeque entrepreneur; and professional athletes Jerry Gray, Dennis Gentry and Jarrett Culver.

Alfred and Billie Caviel had the unique distinction of being the first African-American couple to own and operate a pharmacy in the United States when they opened Caviel Pharmacy on the corner of Avenue A and 23rd Street. The pharmacy was opened in 1960 and was family owned until it closed in 2009. Billie Caviel became the first Black person elected to the LISD School Board, as was explored in a July 4, 2020 Caprock Chronicles article.

More: From Pharmacy to Canvas: Caviel’s Pharmacy becomes a center of cultural heritage and art

Today, Lubbock is a far cry from racist editor James Lorenzo Dow’s Lubbock. LISD and Texas Tech are happily integrated. African Americans are progressing in the Lubbock community, where they hold leadership positions in city government, universities, boards and committees throughout Lubbock. There are still racial issues that we as a community continue to work through, but we should all be proud of the growth and progress Lubbock has made. We should not become complacent. We should continue to be mindful of the fact there is still work to be done, but we certainly are not what we used to be.