DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Longview Womack High School in Gregg County. Now, some schools just hold classes. Others hold a whole community together.
And the story of what stood on Gum Street in Longview — and then later at Boyd and Luckett Streets — is that kind of story. It started in 1930. Longview Negro High School opened its doors on Gum Street, serving as a secondary school for African-Americans.
For the families of Longview, that building meant something. It meant their children had a place to learn, to grow, to become. Then came 1946.
The school was destroyed by fire. Now, you might think that was the end of the story. It wasn't.
A new school rose up — sixteen rooms — built at Boyd and Luckett Streets. Sixteen rooms. That's not a patch job.
That's a statement. And the story kept building. Around 1959 or 1960, the school's name changed.
It would now carry the name of an outstanding teacher — Mrs. Mary C. Womack.
The marker doesn't tell us everything about her, but the fact that an entire school was renamed in her honor tells you something that words alone can't quite finish. Leading this school through the years were two principals the marker calls dedicated — Leslie J. White and J.
L. Everhart. Both men were eventually recognized by the East Texas Black Educators Hall of Fame.
Not just remembered — recognized. That's a distinction worth noting out here on the road. But there's a harder turn coming in this story.
When a federal desegregation order was issued, the school was closed. And later, it was torn down. Gone from the landscape.
But not from the record. Because despite the challenging times — and the marker uses those exact words, challenging times — Longview Womack High School educated and developed its African-American students into valuable contributors to society. From Gum Street to Boyd and Luckett, through fire and closure and the long weight of history, that school did its job.
And that's the kind of thing a marker can point to, but only the people who walked those halls truly know.
What the marker says
BUILT IN 1930 ON GUM STREET, LONGVIEW NEGRO HIGH SCHOOL SERVED AS A SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS. IN 1946, IT WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE, AND A NEW 16-ROOM SCHOOL WAS BUILT AT BOYD AND LUCKETT STREETS. THE SCHOOL'S NAME CHANGED CA. 1959-1960 TO HONOR AN OUTSTANDING TEACHER, MRS. MARY C. WOMACK. LESLIE J. WHITE AND J. L. EVERHART SERVED AS THE SCHOOL'S DEDICATED PRINCIPALS AND WERE BOTH RECOGNIZED BY THE EAST TEXAS BLACK EDUCATORS HALL OF FAME. WHEN A FEDERAL DESEGREGATION ORDER WAS ISSUED, THE SCHOOL WAS CLOSED AND LATER TORN DOWN. DESPITE THE CHALLENGING TIMES, LONGVIEW/WOMACK HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATED AND DEVELOPED ITS AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS INTO VALUABLE CONTRIBUTORS TO SOCIETY.