Lobos, Blue Devils, and Mustangs presents: Episode 16
1979: A Part of History and Not Even Realizing It
In 1970, Longview ISD schools were one of the last in the
state to integrate. It was a trying and
difficult process, and there were many on both sides who did not embrace the
change. In the summer of 1970, some of the school buses at the bus barn were
dynamited and set on fire as a response to the upcoming busing of students to
different schools in order to “integrate” them. Some schools, mostly black,
were closed to set up the integration process. Womack High School, Janie
Daniels Northside Elementary School, and Rollins Elementary School were closed
down. The black middle school became Hudson Pep Elementary. Black principals, teachers,
and coaches at these schools were relocated and transferred to other schools.
And of course, students, mainly black students, had to be shifted to different
schools in order to “integrate” them.
I put the term “integrate” in quotes on purpose because
the term means to “bring (people or groups with particular
characteristics or needs) into equal participation in or membership of a social
group or institution.” Whether many of us choose to admit or
realize it or not, this actually did not happen for a long time. Sure, Longview
schools now had a mixture of black and white kids at every school within the
district, but to say that everyone was treated equally and the same would be a
joke. There were many administrators and teachers whom, although they now had
to educate black students as well as white students, still felt and believed in
racism and were prejudiced toward their black students. Many black students
during this time felt ostracized by their white peers and many were believed to
be trouble-makers just because they were black. There were many who weren’t
even given the same opportunities as some of their classmates because “they
weren’t smart enough” or “they were a behavior issue” or anything else to take
the place of “because you’re black and I don’t like you”. I’ve spoken to relatives,
friends, and co-workers who attended Longview High School during the early 70s
and who also attended Longview schools when it was still segregated. Many of them wish integration HADN’T taken
place. And they were black. They felt they were treated way better in their
black schools than they were when they started going to integrated schools.
Many avenues which would have been open to them had they remained at Womack or
Hudson were closed to them once they started attending Longview High School and
Foster Middle School. Again, whether we choose to admit it or not, everybody
didn’t receive a fair and equal education during that time because of the circumstances
and people involved in the integration process. And it’s a shame.
Where am I going with all this and what
does all this have to do with me and my classmates? I’ve earlier said that when
I was in the first grade (1974-75), I attended East Ward Elementary (now
Everhart). My family lived on E. Young Street at the time. I was only very
vaguely aware that my next door neighbor who was the same age as me and in the
same grade had to get up early in the morning to ride the bus to a different
school called Mozelle Johnston Elementary. And I had absolutely no idea that I
was supposed to attend the same school. But somehow, someway, my momma got some
strings pulled and I was able to stay at East Ward. East Ward was literally right
around the corner from my house; Mozelle might as well have been in a different
town as far north as it was- actually it was outside the Longview city limits.
I was able to avoid attending Mozelle that year, but ironically five years
later, I was not able to do the same with the middle school right next door to
Mozelle.
From 1974 to 1979, I was not aware of
how many of my classmates had to attend elementary schools which were way
across town or nowhere near their home, when there were one or two (and
sometimes more) elementary schools that were closer. I was also not aware that
many of these classmates who had to do this were black. How can one live on 15th
St. and have to attend South Ward or Bramlette, when GK Foster and East Ward
were right there? How can one live on Young Street and have to go to Mozelle or
Valley View, both of which were on the north side of town? How can students who
lived across the river in Lakeport be sent to Bramlette, when Jodie McClure was
closer? And how can one say this is beneficial for our students/children when
they are probably going somewhere where they are not totally accepted? To be
sure, the 1970s were a traumatic time for most black students (and parents) in
Longview because many adjustments had to be made just so your child got a fair
education (or so you hoped or thought). It was also traumatic to some white students
and their parents who weren’t used to being around black people period. And this was a result of the integration
process which started in 1970.
In 1979, the integration process was
still taking place and causing some difficulties for some of us, including
myself. Before school ended, representatives from Foster came to Jodie McClure
and spoke to us 5th graders about attending Foster next year. We
filled out schedules and various other forms, and we all basically assumed we’d
all be attending Foster. Nobody from Forest Park or Judson came to our school.
So, when the summer ended and it was time to go to registration, my momma took
me to Foster to get registered.
I will never forget Mr. Newhouse, who
either was the principal there or one of the assistant principals, looking for
my name and saying, “He’s not listed here. Are you sure he’s supposed to attend
school here?” My momma looked like she couldn’t believe this was happening, and
told him yes. Then he asked where did we live, and she told him, and he got a
real uncomfortable look on his face and said, “I think he’s supposed to go to
Judson.” Now, honestly I had never heard of Judson Middle School until I had
met Keith Taylor over the summer and he had told me that was the school he was
going to. (Even though he lived out there in Fox Hill on the southwest side of
town- go figure.) I had absolutely no idea where Judson was, but obviously my
momma did, for she then said, “We’re going to the hill and see about this.”
Momma was not exactly happy about this- in fact, she was about as angry as I’ve
seen her up to that point. She went to the ESC building when it was on Court
Street and sitting on a large hill, and while I sat in the car, argued futilely
for my right to go to Foster. At that moment I had somewhat mixed feelings
about the whole situation- I had heard that Foster was a tough school filled
with bullies and kids who broke into your lockers and stole your stuff, but as
I would later learn the hard way, all middle schools were like that. Keith had
made Judson sound like it was a great school without all that, but seriously,
how did he know that?
When Momma finally came out, she started
driving northward. We got on Judson Road and I wondered just where in the world
were we going? We never went down Judson Road for anything back then, and Momma
was like, “You’re probably going to have to go to Judson. Let’s go and see what
it looks like and the atmosphere.” At first, I was like, “Ok”, but then as we
kept going on and on and on down Judson Road, I was like, “Where is this place?”
Then we passed the city limits sign and I was thinking I didn’t want to go to
Judson anymore; I’d take my chances with the bullies at Foster. By the time we arrived at Judson, I felt like
we had driven to Shreveport and back. It seemed as though we were not only in a
different town, but a different state as well. We got out and went into the
school cafeteria where registration was still taking place and I got to meet
the principal, Mr. Brent Taylor, the voice of the Longview Lobos. He seemed
really nice and his assistant principal, Mr. Gregory, also introduced himself
and he struck me as the type of principal who did all the dirty work, paddling
kids and whatnot, but really and truly, they both seemed friendly enough. I got
my schedule and saw some classes I had not signed up for, such as Choir, “Advanced
Math” and “Advanced English”, and I knew that those two classes were more than
likely hard classes that I probably wouldn’t like.
After all that, Momma and I left, and on
the way back home, during the next 20-30 minutes, I was at the first major crossroads
of my life and I had to make a decision. Momma said that I didn’t have to go to
Judson if I didn’t want to, and that I could go to Foster- but the only way I
could attend Foster was to use my grandparents’ address (who were living in Longview
at the time and whose home was in Foster’s so-called district) as my permanent
address. Unfortunately, the way Momma worded it made it seem that I would have
to live with my grandparents, and I did not want to do that. Rather than
explaining what she actually meant (just using their address, not living with
them), she wanted me to make a decision right then and there, and so I said
that I would go to Judson.
For the next three years, I would
develop a love-hate relationship with Judson; My 6th grade year wasn’t
too bad, but my 7th grade year was pure hell, and my 8th
grade year was somewhere in between. Sometimes I wish I had went to Foster. Or
even Forest Park, which I knew nothing of this school until we played them in
football. In fact, after the first couple weeks of school, in which my locker
got broken into twice, somebody stole my PE shorts and t-shirt, I had classes
with nothing but white kids who I didn’t know, and in which some 7th
and 8th graders had called me names I had never heard of, I was
wishing I was at Foster, thinking it couldn’t be no worse than this, even if
had to and could move in my grandparents. However, I had made my choice and was stuck
with it.
In many ways, looking back on this
period in my life, the choice was made for me. In 1979, after almost 10 years,
integration was still going on, and my classmates and I were a part of that. Why
would you send black kids who live out there near I-20 to Judson? Why would you
send those who lived across the river to Forest Park? And the only way to get
there is basically riding the school bus, which was 35-40% of the hell I
experienced. It was all done in the name of integration. I don’t recall seeing
any white kids who lived on the northside being bussed to attend Foster. And
for the most part, the white kids usually went to the school which was closest
to them. One notable exception were those white kids who attended Hudson PEP
and who lived on the northside, because Hudson PEP was the elementary school
for exemplary students. But other than
that, black students were the ones who had to be bussed and sent to different
schools not necessarily around the corner.
Did integration help or hurt? We may
never really know the answer to that question, unless we look at it
individually for each person. In some circumstances, it helped, in some, it
didn’t. I can’t say I totally enjoyed my three years at Judson, because I didn’t.
A lot of times I wished I was somewhere else. However, not all of it was bad. I
made some friends which have lasted to this very day. I got to do and take part
in some things in which I might not have had a chance to do anywhere else.
Plus, I did accomplish some of my goals I had back then. So I will end this
chapter by saying this, Integration should serve to create fellowship among all
the different races and help and create equal opportunities for all those
involved- When integration does more to hurt than help, then you’ve got a
problem.
Please feel free to comment below and share some of your experiences of that particular time!
