H.R. No. 124
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The 75th anniversary of Texas Southern University
provides a fitting opportunity to celebrate the legacy of educator
and civil rights activist Heman Marion Sweatt, whose fight to be
admitted to law school led to the establishment of TSU in 1947; and
WHEREAS, Born in Houston on December 11, 1912, Heman Sweatt
received his bachelor's degree from Wiley College in Marshall and
later attended the University of Michigan; after pursuing several
occupations, he took a job as a mail clerk in Houston and became the
local secretary of the National Alliance of Postal Employees; his
efforts to oppose the discriminatory practices of the post office,
where Blacks were systematically excluded from holding supervisory
positions, inspired his interest in studying law, but at the time,
there were no law schools in the state that admitted African
Americans; heeding the advice of civil rights activist and attorney
William J. Durham, he decided to apply to The University of Texas
School of Law and agreed to serve as the plaintiff in a lawsuit if
his admission was denied on the basis of race; and
WHEREAS, In February 1946, Mr. Sweatt and members of the
NAACP met with T. S. Painter, the president of The University of
Texas at Austin, to formally request admission to the law school;
despite Mr. Sweatt's qualifications, he was denied entrance when
the Texas attorney general upheld the state's policy of racial
segregation; in May of that year, Mr. Sweatt filed suit against
Painter and other officials, and in an initial ruling, the
presiding judge gave the state six months to offer an equal course
of legal instruction for African Americans; and
WHEREAS, That ruling prompted the Texas Legislature to pass a
bill in 1947 that provided for the establishment of four law schools
for Black students; it was decided that the Houston College for
Negroes, located in the city's Third Ward neighborhood, would be
the site of one of the new schools; the institution was acquired by
the State of Texas and initially renamed the Texas State University
for Negroes; it opened in September 1947 with an enrollment of 2,300
students and offered vocational, pharmacy, and arts and sciences
coursework in addition to law studies; its name was changed to Texas
Southern University in 1951, and TSU has steadily expanded its
educational mission through the decades; and
WHEREAS, Heman Sweatt's pursuit of equality did not end with
the establishment of TSU; he continued his legal efforts to gain
admission to the UT School of Law, and in June 1950, the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Sweatt v. Painter that Black law
students were not offered substantial quality in educational
opportunities; as a result, Mr. Sweatt and five other African
American students registered to attend UT in September 1950, ending
the era of segregation at the law school; during his long struggle
for justice, he and his family had endured threats of violence, and
he faced further hostility after enrolling; the stress took a
physical and emotional toll that affected his studies, and in the
summer of 1952, he left law school and returned to Houston; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sweatt went on to earn a master's degree from
the Atlanta University Graduate School of Social Work in 1954, and
he was subsequently employed by the NAACP and the National Urban
League and taught at Atlanta University; his involvement in civil
rights issues included working on voter registration drives and
establishing programs for southern Blacks migrating to northern
states; he passed away on October 3, 1982, at the age of 69; and
WHEREAS, Heman Sweatt's determined efforts to fight racial
injustice led to the establishment of TSU and helped secure more
equitable educational opportunities for Black students, and his
extraordinary contributions will continue to resonate long into the
future; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
Legislature hereby honor Heman Marion Sweatt on the occasion of the
75th anniversary of Texas Southern University and pay tribute to
the life and legacy of this civil rights pioneer.
Dutton
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 124 was adopted by the House on March
8, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House