{"id":169133,"date":"2026-02-18T03:39:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T03:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/169133\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T03:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T03:39:08","slug":"the-desegregation-of-texas-western-college-the-prospector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/169133\/","title":{"rendered":"The desegregation of Texas Western College \u2013 The Prospector"},"content":{"rendered":"

In September 1954, Thelma White, valedictorian of Douglas High School, applied to enroll at Texas Western College just months after the Supreme Court\u2019s 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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the time, African American students seeking a four-year degree in Texas were\u00a0largely limited\u00a0to Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M. White\u2019s lawsuit, backed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP),\u00a0ultimately led\u00a0to Texas Western\u2019s desegregation in 1955.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Retired UTEP history professor, Charles Martin, Ph.D., who has written\u00a0frequently\u00a0about the integration of college sports and the desegregation of Texas Western, added that another reason for her decision, included avoiding backlash from the lawsuit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMost 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,\u201d Martin said. \u201cSo, she stayed at New Mexico State, and she had ties in New Mexico State after having gone there [her] first year.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

However, with the support of El Paso\u2019s 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. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u2019s major academic and cultural milestones in the years that followed. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Without UTEP\u2019s integration, many of their future accomplishments\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0have\u00a0come to pass, much like their victory at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in 1966. A point of pride for UTEP.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The integration of the Texas Western\u2019s 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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCharles 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\u00a0was an all-star player for the conference, so he had\u00a0a big impact,\u201d Martin said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A win for the university and for civil rights, the Miners\u2019 championship helped spark a shift as college teams throughout the South began recruiting black athletes, ending years of segregation in collegiate sports.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTexas Western built up its athletic reputation through aggressive recruiting of black athletes, which the big\u2011time schools in the state of Texas like A&M, were very reluctant to do.\u201d Martin said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite its significance, the story of Texas Western\u2019s role in integrating collegiate athletics\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0as widely known among current students. Mina Tavakoli, a UTEP student, said\u00a0she\u2019d\u00a0been unaware of UTEP\u2019s role in the desegregation of Texas universities until being asked about it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know about it, which is really surprising,\u201d Tavakoli said. \u201cHad I known\u00a0that,\u00a0I think I would have been bragging about it. Knowing UTEP desegregated earlier than other universities\u00a0makes\u00a0me\u00a0really proud.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The story of Texas Western\u2019s desegregation\u00a0remains\u00a0central to the university\u2019s identity, even as many students continue to learn it for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jewel Ocampo is a Staff Reporter and may be reached at\u202f[email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n

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