Black Leaders: Texans for Their Times Page: 181
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Texans for Their Times 181
with white students in the Galveston institution.62
For its part the NAACP had become increasingly resourceful in
attacking segregated education. Not only had the organization ar-
ranged Barnett's application to medical school, but it was also
searching for a qualified Negro to apply to the university's engineer-
ing school at the time of the Sweatt decision. Having learned of the
university's "atom smasher," they reasoned that the state would
have to duplicate the nuclear facility or admit the black student. In
neighboring Oklahoma the NAACP had even found a solution to the
physical isolation within the classroom. Association officials arranged
for a black student to enroll in the University of Oklahoma's
marching band.63
In practical terms the Sweatt decision compelled the University
of Texas and similar state institutions to admit Negroes to graduate
and professional schools. Accordingly, Horace Heath enrolled in the
government department for work on his Ph.D., and John Chase in a
graduate program in architecture during the summer session of 1950.
They were the University of Texas's first Negro students since
October, 1938, when George Allen registered by mail and attended
classes for two weeks before confused university officials decided to
remove him. University officials also changed Barnett's registration to
the University of Texas medical school.64
Sweatt heralded the Court's decision as a "milestone in the pro-
gress of democracy." He reiterated his intention to enroll in the
university in September "without malice toward anybody."
Speculating that he would ultimately practice law in Houston after
graduation, he expressed his desire to participate in other cases to
break down segregation. But first he would have to complete law
school. At age thirty-seven he was not only four and a half years older
than when he had first applied, but the ordeal of being the plaintiff
had weakened him physically and emotionally. When he had first fil-
ed the lawsuit, he had felt that he "could lick the world." Now he
regarded himself as a "complete emotional wreck."54
Amid the flashing lights of photographers' cameras, Sweatt
registered on September 19, 1950. From his first day on the Austin
campus, he experienced a mixed reception. While some professors,
such as Jerre Williams and Charles McCormick, befriended and en-
couraged him, others insulted him. The new dean, Page Keeton, first
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Barr, Alwyn & Calvert, Robert A. Black Leaders: Texans for Their Times, book, 2007; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth296839/m1/192/?q=1966+yearbook+north+texas+state+university: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.