The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 95, July 1991 - April, 1992 Page: 35
598 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Steadfast in Hzs Intent
a table became their customary gathering spot. Some of the blacks
refused to attend, insisting that to segregate themselves at the table
undermined their role in the desegregation of the university. Hargis,
emerging as a leader among black undergraduates by virtue of his
longer tenure on campus, dismissed their protest. He understood the
important support provided by the meetings; if nothing else, he and
the others at the table would at least see some friendly faces and gain
some relief from enforced isolation.'7
The surveys noted that fraternity members were more intransigent
than any other male students in opposing integration. It was not until
the spring of 1958 that many social organizations at the University of
Texas accepted black students, and the fraternities and sororities re-
mained closed even then. Hargis was convinced that Greek organiza-
tions provided a distinct advantage to their members, both socially and
academically, as support networks. Along with Norwood, he worked to
establish a chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, the national black fraternity,
at the university. They obtained a charter from W. Charles Akins, a
founding member of the chapter at Huston-Tillotson College, a pre-
dominantly black school in east Austin. Hargis persevered even after
Norwood withdrew. Although university administrators admonished
him to "'make haste slowly and carefully,"' and refused initially to rec-
ognize the group as a fraternity, it continued to function as a "pre-
fraternal colony," Alpha Upsilon Tau Club. The members could not af-
ford to buy or rent a house, so they met at the table in the Student
Union. For Hargis's achievement in organizing a chapter at the univer-
sity, Alpha Phi Alpha at Huston-Tillotson elected him "Alpha Man of
the Year." "
Although he was forced to organize his own fraternity, Hargis did
integrate other university organizations. He joined the student chapter
of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in 1956. Remarkably,
though the surveys indicated that Protestant groups at the university
generally had not accepted integration, Hargis served from 1957 to
"7Holtzman, "Attitudes of College Men," 559-569, James G. Kelley, Jean E. Ferson, and
Wayne H. Holtzman, "The Measurement of Attitudes Toward the Negro in the South,"J]ounal
of SoczalP Pychology, XLVIII (Nov , 1958), 305-317; Young, Benson, and Holtzman, "Change in
Attitude," 131 (quotation), 132-133, Hargis to R. B. M ,June 20, 1985, interview.
'2Cactus, MCMLXXXIII, 547; W. Charles Akins to R. B M, Feb. 25, 1987, conversation,
Hargis to R. B M., June 20, 1985, interview; Haywood to R. B M., Apr. 9, 1987, conversation,
"Biographical Information on 'V I.P' Texas Exes. John W. Hargis"; Wright (ed.), "A Study of
Desegregation," III-7, III-14; Linda Lewis to R. B M , Feb 25, 1987, conversation; Jack Hol-
land to McCown, June 26, 1958 (1st and 2nd quotations), General Files, "Desegregation"
(UT COR)
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 95, July 1991 - April, 1992, periodical, 1992; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117153/m1/63/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.