In September 1954, Thelma White, valedictorian of Douglas High School, applied to enroll at Texas Western College just months after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. Despite the landmark decision, Texas segregation laws at the collegiate level remained in place, and White was denied admission because of her race.
At the time, African American students seeking a four-year degree in Texas were largely limited to Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M. White’s lawsuit, backed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), ultimately led to Texas Western’s desegregation in 1955.
The ruling opened the doors for the first 12 African American students to enroll, making Texas Western College, now the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), the first desegregated public college in Texas.
Despite the ruling of Judge R.E Thomason, making White the first black student to be admitted into an all-white college, White would decide against attending. She instead chose to enroll at New Mexico A&M, later NMSU.
Retired UTEP history professor, Charles Martin, Ph.D., who has written frequently about the integration of college sports and the desegregation of Texas Western, added that another reason for her decision, included avoiding backlash from the lawsuit.
“Most of [the students] said that they got along pretty well. Of course, Thelma White did not enroll because she felt there might be some retribution against her for filing the lawsuit [that] led to the integration,” Martin said. “So, she stayed at New Mexico State, and she had ties in New Mexico State after having gone there [her] first year.”
However, with the support of El Paso’s NAACP members, Texas Western would admit twelve other African American students for the fall semester of 1955. Joe Atkins, Bernice Bell, Mabel Butler, Sandra Campbell, John English, Marcellus Fulmore, Silverlene Hamilton, Margaret Jackson, Leonard McNeece, William Milner, Clarence Stevens and Mildred Parrish Tutt.
White and these twelve other students would open the door for broader change, including the admission of non-white faculty and athletes, preparing the way for many of UTEP’s major academic and cultural milestones in the years that followed.
Without UTEP’s integration, many of their future accomplishments couldn’t have come to pass, much like their victory at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in 1966. A point of pride for UTEP.
The integration of the Texas Western’s basketball program would begin in the 1956-1957 school year with Charles Brown and his nephew Cecil Brown. Both of whom became some of the first black athletes to receive scholarships to a previously all white university.
“Charles Brown and Cecil. [I] mentioned Charles Brown because he was the first one to play on varsity. He was the first black basketball player in any major historically white college in the south. Charles Brown had been in the military, and so he was older when he came in, he was an all-star player for the conference, so he had a big impact,” Martin said.
A decade later Texas Western would climb their way to the top of the national collegiate basketball rankings. Making history on March 19, 1966, in College Park, Maryland as Coach Don Haskins led his team to victory. Achieving an NCAA title after starting five African American players in the championship game.
A win for the university and for civil rights, the Miners’ championship helped spark a shift as college teams throughout the South began recruiting black athletes, ending years of segregation in collegiate sports.
“Texas Western built up its athletic reputation through aggressive recruiting of black athletes, which the big‑time schools in the state of Texas like A&M, were very reluctant to do.” Martin said.
Despite its significance, the story of Texas Western’s role in integrating collegiate athletics isn’t as widely known among current students. Mina Tavakoli, a UTEP student, said she’d been unaware of UTEP’s role in the desegregation of Texas universities until being asked about it.
“I didn’t know about it, which is really surprising,” Tavakoli said. “Had I known that, I think I would have been bragging about it. Knowing UTEP desegregated earlier than other universities makes me really proud.”
The story of Texas Western’s desegregation remains central to the university’s identity, even as many students continue to learn it for the first time.
Jewel Ocampo is a Staff Reporter and may be reached at [email protected]
