DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say, right here in Taylor County. Pull over and listen a minute, because this one's got some weight to it. The story of the Mexican-American and Americanization School in Abilene is not a short story, and it is not a simple one.
It is, in the plainest terms, the story of a community that kept reachin for something that kept gettin moved just a little further down the road. Let's start at the beginning. The Republic of Texas, back in 1839 and 1840, established laws governing a system of schools.
A fine idea, as ideas go. But as those institutions took shape, Mexican American students often were segregated, running headlong into racial, social, and economic discrimination, ideological differences, and political tensions. That is the marker's language, and it earns every word.
For a stretch of time in Abilene, private and parochial schools, in addition to the public schools attended by Anglos, were what served Mexican American children. That was the arrangement until the turn of the twentieth century. Then, by 1910, a public school was established specifically for Mexican American children, covering grades one through six.
Progress, of a kind. But here is the part that sticks with you. The facilities for Mexican American children in Texas cities like Abilene often were inferior to those maintained for Anglos.
Equipment and materials were substandard. That is not an editorial. That is what the marker says, plain as daylight.
An Americanization school opened in 1920. In 1936, it was relocated to 541 North 8th Street, and it remained in operation until 1948. Some Mexican American students in Abilene did attend the Anglo schools closest to their homes.
Some. Then Sam Houston School opened in 1949, and it served Mexican American students until 1979. Thirty years of a community anchored to one address, one institution, one stretch of neighborhood.
Mexican American students from this neighborhood attended integrated elementary schools during that period. Now, attitudes and philosophy, those things do not change overnight. The marker tells us they began to change in the late twentieth century, as Abilenians of Mexican American descent achieved higher levels of education and became active participants in community life, and as other Abilenians became aware of the vital importance of Texas' diverse heritage.
In 1979, Sam Houston School became a district-wide student achievement center. That is where the marker lands, and it is the right place to land. A school that once marked the boundary of what Mexican American children in Abilene were allowed to reach became, in time, a center for achievement, wide open to the whole district.
The road was long, and it was not always fair. But Abilene kept walkin it.
What the marker says
From its earliest days, education for Mexican Americans in Texas has varied from none at all to apparent equality. The Republic of Texas in 1839 and 1840 established laws governing a system of schools. As these institutions took shape, Mexican American students often were segregated, encountering racial, social and economic discrimination, ideological differences and political tensions. Private and parochial schools, in addition to the public schools attended by Anglos, served Mexican Americans in Abilene until the turn of the 20th century. By 1910 a public school was established specifically for Mexican American children in grades one through six. An "Americanization" school opened in 1920; it was relocated to 541 North 8th Street in 1936 and remained in operation until 1948. Facilities for Mexican American children in Texas cities like Abilene often were inferior to those maintained for Anglos; equipment and materials were substandard. Some Mexican American students in Abilene attended the Anglo schools closest to their homes. Sam Houston School opened in 1949 and served Mexican American students until 1979. Mexican American students from this neighborhood attended integrated elementary schools. Attitudes and philosophy began to change in the late 20th century as Abilenians of Mexican American descent achieved higher levels of education and became active participants in community life, and other Abilenians became aware of the vital importance of Texas' diverse heritage. Sam Houston School became a district-wide student achievement center in 1979. (1999)