DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of the story the official marker puts down for William Rubio Carbajal, right there in Goliad County. Pull over if you need to — this one deserves your full attention. William Rubio Carbajal was born in May of 1915, and if you're keeping count, he was the ninth generation of his family to be born in Texas.
Nine generations. His ancestors had served in the American Revolution, the Texas Revolution, the Civil War, the Indian Wars, and World War I. Roots don't get much deeper than that in this state.
And yet, when young William came of age and wanted nothing more than a proper education, the doors weren't exactly thrown open for him. He attended a segregated public school in the city of Goliad — the Mexican School, they called it. That school ended with the seventh grade.
The whole operation fit inside a single room, twenty by thirty feet, with up to sixty children packed inside. Sixty children. When seventh grade was done, that was supposed to be that.
But William had a principal named Frank Wallace, and Frank Wallace believed William should go on to the high school — the whites-only high school. That belief was not a small thing to hold in that time and place. With Wallace's support, William went before the school board and asked permission to attend.
His request was denied. Now, a lesser family might've let that be the end of it. The Carbajals were not that family.
They kept fighting, and in 1932 they reached out to the San Antonio chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens — LULAC. LULAC responded by forming the Goliad chapter, which, I'll note, still exists today. The LULAC council, Frank Wallace, and the Carbajal family took the fight all the way to the Texas Board of Education in Austin.
And the Board granted William the right to attend Goliad High School. Granted him the right. On paper.
Because then came three days — three days of William waiting on the steps of that school before they finally allowed him to enter. Let that sit with you a moment. The Texas Board of Education had spoken.
The battle had been won in every official sense. And still, he waited on those steps. When they finally let him in, William Rubio Carbajal did not shrink.
He excelled in his studies. He participated in school plays. He made all-district on the football team.
And in 1935, William became the first Mexican American to earn a high school diploma from Goliad High School. The ninth generation of a Texas family. A door shut in his face, then shut again, then held open by a principal who believed in him, a family that would not quit, and an organization that came to Goliad because it was asked.
Three days on the steps — and then a diploma. That's not just one man's story. That's a whole county learning what justice is supposed to look like.
What the marker says
WILLIAM RUBIO CARBAJAL THE FIRST MEXICAN AMERICAN TO ATTEND AND GRADUATE FROM GOLIAD HIGH SCHOOL WAS WILLIAM RUBIO CARBAJAL. THE EFFORT TO GET HIM ADMITTED TO THE HIGH SCHOOL AND RECEIVE THE SAME EDUCATION AS ANGLO AMERICANS WAS AN IMPORTANT STRUGGLE FOR MEXICAN AMERICANS IN GOLIAD COUNTY AND IN TEXAS. WILLIAM WAS BORN IN MAY OF 1915, AND WAS THE NINTH GENERATION OF HIS FAMILY TO BE BORN IN TEXAS. HIS ANCESTORS HAD SERVED THE U.S. MILITARY IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, TEXAS REVOLUTION, CIVIL WAR, INDIAN WARS AND WORLD WAR I. WILLIAM ATTENDED A SEGREGATED PUBLIC SCHOOL IN THE CITY OF GOLIAD. THE MEXICAN SCHOOL ENDED WITH THE SEVENTH GRADE AND CONSISTED OF A SMALL 20 X 30 FOOT ROOM WITH UP TO SIXTY CHILDREN IN ATTENDANCE. WILLIAM'S PRINCIPAL, FRANK WALLACE, BELIEVED HE SHOULD GO ON TO THE HIGH SCHOOL EVEN THOUGH IT WAS FOR WHITES ONLY. WITH THE SUPPORT OF WALLACE, WILLIAM ASKED PERMISSION FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD TO ATTEND THE HIGH SCHOOL. HIS REQUEST WAS DENIED. THE FAMILY CONTINUED TO FIGHT AND ASKED FOR ASSISTANCE FROM THE SAN ANTONIO CHAPTER OF THE LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS (LULAC) IN 1932. LULAC RESPONDED BY FORMING THE GOLIAD CHAPTER WHICH STILL EXISTS TODAY. THE LULAC COUNCIL, FRANK WALLACE AND THE CARBAJAL FAMILY BROUGHT THE FIGHT TO THE TEXAS BOARD OF EDUCATION IN AUSTIN WHICH GRANTED HIM THE RIGHT TO ATTEND GOLIAD HIGH SCHOOL. THREE DAYS OF WAITING ON THE STEPS OF THE SCHOOL PASSED BEFORE THEY FINALLY ALLOWED HIM TO ENTER. WILLIAM EXCELLED IN HIS STUDIES, PARTICIPATED IN SCHOOL PLAYS AND MADE ALL-DISTRICT ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM. IN 1935, WILLIAM BECAME THE FIRST MEXICAN AMERICAN TO EARN A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA FROM THE GOLIAD HIGH SCHOOL.