DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's the one doin' the talkin' here — I'm just the voice it rides into your ears. March 24, 1892. Galveston, Texas.
Robert and Alberta McGuire welcome a daughter into the world, and they name her Jessie May. Nobody standing in that room could have known what that name would one day mean to a courtroom, a sorority, a school district, and a whole city. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
By 1909, Jessie May McGuire is graduating from Central High School — not just graduating, mind you, but graduating as valedictorian. She then makes her way to Howard University, and it's there, in 1913, that something remarkable happens. She becomes one of twenty-two founding members of a new organization called Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
Twenty-two women. That's it. That's the whole founding class.
And that sorority would go on to become one of the most important Black sororities in America. Twenty-two people. You think about that number the next time something starts small.
After Howard, McGuire Dent came back to Galveston — back to Central High School, in fact — this time as girls' dean and Latin teacher. In 1924, she married Thomas Dent, and together they had one child, Thomas Henry Dent, Jr. Now, a lesser story might end right there.
But Jessie May McGuire Dent was not a woman who sat still. She was a member of Avenue L Missionary Baptist Church, the Red Cross, the NAACP, Galveston's Community Chest, the Colored Independent Voters League, and the Colored Teachers State Association of Texas. In 1941, she established what is now the Galveston Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta — the very sorority she helped found nearly three decades before.
And then came 1943. The case was called Jessie McGuire Dent, et al vs. The Board of Trustees of the Public Free Schools of the City of Galveston, Texas, et al.
Say that whole thing out loud sometime. There's a weight to it. This was the second case filed by the NAACP in Texas demanding equal pay for African American teachers, deans, secretaries, and principals.
The court ruled — ruled — that the Galveston School District must pay African Americans equally. And here's the detail that cuts deepest: the ruling held regardless of whether the employee had been educated in segregated schools. The system that had separated them could not then be used as a reason to pay them less.
Jessie May McGuire Dent died on March 12, 1948, and she is buried in Lakeview Cemetery. But a city does not forget a woman like that. The Galveston Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta named their scholarship for Galveston County High School graduates after her.
And in 1999, Galveston named its recreation center — built right on the site of her family home — in her honor, in recognition of her contributions to the city and to equality for African Americans. Born in Galveston. Buried in Galveston.
And woven into Galveston in ways that outlasted her by decades and are still counting.
What the marker says
Born in Galveston on March 24, 1892 to Robert and Alberta (Mabson) McGuire, Jessie May McGuire Dent was an important Galveston Civil Rights figure. In 1909, she graduated as valedictorian from Central High School. While a student at Howard University, she became one of the 22 founding members of Delta Sigma Theta sorority in 1913. Delta Sigma Theta would become one of the most important black sororities in America. After graduating from Howard, McGuire Dent returned to Central High School as girls’ dean and Latin teacher. She married Thomas Dent in 1924, and they had one child, Thomas Henry Dent, Jr. McGuire Dent was an active member of the Galveston community, belonging to Avenue L Missionary Baptist Church, the Red Cross, NAACP, Galveston’s Community Chest, the Colored Independent Voters League and the Colored Teachers State Association of Texas. In 1941, she established what is now the Galveston Almunae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta. McGuire Dent is most known for the 1943 case Jessie McGuire Dent, et al vs. The Board of Trustees of the Public Free Schools of the City of Galveston, Texas, et al. The case was the second to demand equal pay for African American teachers, deans, secretaries and principals filed by the NAACP in Texas. The court ruled that the Galveston School District must pay African Americans equally, regardless of whether the employee was educated in segregated schools. McGuire Dent died March 12, 1948, and is buried in Lakeview Cemetery. In honor of her contributions to the sorority, education and community, the Galveston Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta named their scholarship for Galveston County High School graduates after her. In 1999, Galveston named its recreation center, on the site of her family home, in honor of McGuire Dent for her contributions to the city and equality for African Americans. (2020)