Pleasanton School Integration

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the story the official marker lays out on the side of the road in Atascosa County. Now, most tall tales start with something outsized — a monster catfish, a man who could outrun a horse. This one starts with something quieter, but don't let that fool you.

What happened in Pleasanton, Texas, is one of those stories that deserves to be told slow and careful, because it carried real weight for real people. It goes back to 1913, when the Pleasanton School District began educating African American children with the creation of the Abraham Lincoln School. For more than four decades, those children learned inside those walls.

And by 1955 — you start to see the edges of something changing — students from Lincoln School and white students were out on the same field doing football workouts together, schedulin' basketball games. Small steps. But steps.

Then 1956 arrives, and the African American citizens of Pleasanton had had enough of waiting. They felt the Lincoln School was inadequate, and they petitioned — formally, in writing — for improvements. That petition set a clock ticking.

By 1957, the school officials and residents of Pleasanton were running the numbers. A new school for African American students would cost money. And here's where it gets sharper: the district stood to lose state funding and accreditation if action wasn't taken.

They looked at the Lincoln School. They looked at each other. And all of them agreed — the way the marker tells it, all of them — that the current Lincoln School was not an acceptable option.

They chose integration, to take effect once a new high school and elementary school already under construction were finished. But Texas in 1957 was not a place where a school district could just decide a thing like that quietly. Opposition to integration across the state was very apparent.

The legislature had passed House Bill 65, which abolished the right of school trustees to integrate without a petition from the community and then a vote. You want to integrate? Fine.

Go get your petition. Hold your vote. Let the community decide.

So Pleasanton did exactly that. The community provided the petition. And on October 26, 1957, they held their vote.

The result: three hundred and forty-three in favor, eighty-eight against. By that margin, Pleasanton School District became the first integrated school under House Bill 65. First in the state to clear that particular legal hurdle and come out the other side.

Now — the marker takes care to tell you what happened next. On November 1, 1957, nine Black students walked into the new high school. Several media outlets were there, cameras and notepads ready, because everyone knew what was happening at other schools in other places.

They'd seen the news. But here's what those reporters recorded in Pleasanton: nothing. No incidents of violence.

None. The students were welcomed by their white classmates. Pleasanton High School was peacefully integrated, and the children of those African American families who'd petitioned and voted and waited — they were given the opportunity of a better education.

In a state where that kind of peace was far from guaranteed, in a year when the whole country seemed to be holdin' its breath, Pleasanton held a vote, opened a door, and nine students walked through it without a single incident to report. Sometimes the story worth tellin' is the one where nothing terrible happened — because somebody made sure of it.

What the marker says

Pleasanton School District began educating African American children in 1913 with the creation of the Abraham Lincoln School. By 1955, students from the Lincoln School and white students were participating in football workouts together and scheduling basketball games. However, in 1956 the African American citizens felt that the Lincoln School was inadequate and petitioned for improvements. In 1957, Pleasanton School officials and residents considered the cost of building a new school for African Americans and the possibility of losing state funding and accreditation if action was not taken. All agreed that the current Lincoln School was not an acceptable option, and opted to integrate once the new high school and elementary school under construction were completed. Opposition to school integration in Texas was very apparent and bills such as House Bill 65 abolished the right of school trustees to integrate without a petition from the community and then a vote. The community of Pleasanton provided the petition and held a vote on October 26, 1957. By a vote of 343 to 88, Pleasanton School District became the first integrated school under House Bill 65. On November 1, 1957, nine black students entered the new high school with several media outlets present to record the event. Unlike many other integrated institutions, the Pleasanton High School recorded no incidents of violence and the students were welcomed by their white classmates. Pleasanton High School was peacefully integrated and African Americans were given the opportunity of a better education for their children.