DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Now, if you want to talk about a home that changed the course of American history, let's talk about a house on San Bernard Street in Austin, Texas — and the two people who opened its door when it mattered most. Dr.
Lewis and Carolyn Mitchell were active members of the Rosewood community during the 1940s. Dr. Mitchell ran a dentistry practice on East 12th Street and served as the school dentist for Samuel Huston College and the Texas Blind, Deaf and Orphan School.
Mrs. Mitchell was a professor of education at Samuel Huston College and the director of the Department of Drama and Physical Education at Tillotson College. Two accomplished people, deeply rooted in their community.
And their home — well, their home was about to become something more than a residence. In 1946, a man named Heman Sweatt applied to the University of Texas Law School. His application was rejected.
The reason given was his race. That rejection set in motion what the marker calls benchmark legal proceedings — a civil rights case that would go all the way to the United States Supreme Court: Sweatt v. Painter.
The district court trial took place in Austin in May of 1947. And here is where the story draws tight. Sweatt's team of lawyers — which included a man named Thurgood Marshall, then serving as chief counsel for the NAACP — needed somewhere to stay.
Due to the Jim Crow laws of that time, they could not simply check into any hotel in Austin. They had to reside in the homes of community members. The Mitchells said come on in.
Under that roof on San Bernard Street, Marshall and his team held mock trials. They planned strategy. They interviewed their witnesses.
They prepared Heman Sweatt for his testimony. In the evenings, community members gathered there too — to discuss the issues of the day and to meet the well-known Marshall himself. That house was a courthouse, a campaign headquarters, and a community living room all at once.
The case ended in the United States Supreme Court with a victory — a ruling declaring that higher education institutions must be opened to African Americans. The marker says the Mitchells' hospitality in a predominantly African-American neighborhood contributed to the expansion of civil rights for all American citizens. Not some.
All. That's a big word. And it happened, in part, because two people in Austin, Texas, simply opened their door.
What the marker says
DR. LEWIS AND CAROLYN MITCHELL WERE ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE ROSEWOOD COMMUNITY DURING THE 1940s. DR. MITCHELL OWNED A DENTISTRY PRACTICE ON EAST 12TH STREET AND WAS THE SCHOOL DENTIST FOR SAMUEL HUSTON COLLEGE AND THE TEXAS BLIND, DEAF AND ORPHAN SCHOOL. MRS. MITCHELL WAS A PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION AT SAMUEL HUSTON COLLEGE AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION AT TILLOTSON COLLEGE. THEIR HOME WOULD PROVE TO BE THE CENTRAL LOCATION FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE LANDMARK SWEATT V. PAINTER CIVIL RIGHTS CASE. WHEN HEMAN SWEATT'S APPLICATION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS LAW SCHOOL WAS REJECTED DUE TO HIS RACE IN 1946, THE DENIAL SET IN MOTION BENCHMARK LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. THE DISTRICT COURT TRIAL TOOK PLACE IN AUSTIN IN MAY 1947. DUE TO THE JIM CROW LAWS OF THE TIME, SWEATT'S TEAM OF LAWYERS, WHICH INCLUDED FUTURE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE THURGOOD MARSHALL, HAD TO RESIDE IN THE HOMES OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS. THE MITCHELLS WELCOMED MARSHALL AND HIS TEAM INTO THEIR HOME ON SAN BERNARD STREET, WHERE THEY HELD MOCK TRIALS, PLANNED STRATEGY, INTERVIEWED THEIR WITNESSES, AND PREPARED SWEATT FOR HIS TESTIMONY. COMMUNITY MEMBERS ALSO GATHERED AT THE HOUSE IN THE EVENINGS TO DISCUSS CURRENT ISSUES AND INTERACT WITH THE WELL-KNOWN MARSHALL, THEN CHIEF COUNSEL FOR THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE (NAACP). SWEATT'S CASE ENDED IN THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT WITH A VICTORY, DECLARING THAT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS MUST BE OPENED TO AFRICAN AMERICANS. THE MITCHELLS" HOSPITALITY IN A PREDOMINANTLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOOD CONTRIBUTED TO EXPANSION OF CIVIL RIGHTS FOR ALL AMERICAN CITIZENS.