Kenneth Pressley discusses his memories of the scene at Mansfield High School in 1956, including an effigy that was hanging.
Kenneth Pressley discusses his memories of the scene at Mansfield High School in 1956.
Kenneth Pressley discusses his memories of the scene at Mansfield High School in 1956, including the hanging effigy. "It was a different world back then," Pressley said.
UNT Oral History
2015-04
Kenneth Pressley discusses the events he witnessed at Mansfield High School in 1956.
Kenneth Pressley discusses the events he witnessed at Mansfield High School in 1956.
Kenneth Pressley discusses the events he witnessed at Mansfield High School in 1956 during the attempt to integrate the school. He says now it seems like "it's just a part of history."
UNT Oral History
2015-04
Kenneth Pressley discusses why he thinks some Mansfield residents were upset about the integration efforts of 1956.
Kenneth Pressley discusses why he thinks some Mansfield residents were upset about the integration efforts of 1956.
Kenneth Pressley discusses why he thinks some Mansfield residents were upset about the integration efforts of 1956 during an oral history interview.
UNT Oral History
2015-04
Mansfield African American Oral History Project excerpt on integration efforts
An excerpt from the Mansfield African-American Oral History Project about part of what led to community action toward integration.
The excerpt discusses part of what led to integration efforts in Mansfield. Deacons of the Bethlehem Baptist Church thought if they were paying taxes in the town and had to pay for their children to ride the buses to Fort Worth to school, there must be a way that they could attend a school near their homes.
Mansfield African American Oral History Project, "Courage, Grace and Tenacity" section, page 32
1995-12 (when interviews were conducted)
Texas Rangers pose in front of effigy at Mansfield High School
Texas Rangers stand in front of Mansfield High School, where an effigy of an African American hangs above the front door.
On August 31, 1956 segregationists gathered at the Mansfield High School to prevent African American students from registering for the upcoming school year. The same day Governor Allan Shivers dispatched Texas Rangers to Mansfield as a sign to maintain law and order. The memorandum instructed Colonel Garrison to “arrest anyone, white or colored, whose actions are such as to represent a threat to the peace" (see footnote below). The first day of school and final day of registration was Tuesday, September 4. Captain Crowder dispatched a total of nine Texas Rangers on site that Tuesday morning as a precautionary measure for crowd control (see footnote below). No African American students registered or attended Mansfield High School in 1956.
Bibliography: Robyn Duff Ladino, Desegregating Texas Schools: Eisenhower, Shivers, and the Crisis at Mansfield High (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996), 102, 111
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
1956
Texas Ranger in Mansfield
The Texas Rangers were deployed to Mansfield.
Governor Allan Shivers ordered Texas Rangers to be dispatched in an effort to maintain order at the school as segregationists gathered to protest the federal court order to integrate students in 1956. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) viewed the use of the Texas Rangers as an attempt to maintain segregation. Leaders of the NAACP saw the governor’s actions as contrary to the Supreme Court order. Governor Shivers blamed the problem at Mansfield on the NAACP and commented that “the paid agitators ought to be put in jail” (see footnote). The back and forth exchanges between both sides indicated the divisive nature of the integration issue as Mansfield became a battleground that challenged the “separate but equal” law when the NAACP filed Jackson v. Rawdon on October 7, 1955.
Bibliography: Robyn Duff Ladino, Desegregating Texas Schools: Eisenhower, Shivers, and the Crisis at Mansfield High (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996), 117-118.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
1956
Press Memorandum Allan Shivers 1956-04-12
Press memorandum
Shivers philosophy on states’ rights stressed the need to assert the power of the people in contrast to the growth of the federal government. The federal government had been acting against the wishes of many Texans which pressured Shivers to reaffirm his strong stance on states’ rights.
"Press memorandum Shivers 1956-04-12," Box 523, Texas Governor Allan Shivers, Texas State Library and Archives Commission at Austin.
1956-04-12
Allan Shivers to The Advisory Committee on Segregation 1956-02-23
Letter
Shivers reaffirming his support for the interposition proposal and an amendment to the U.S Constitution clarifying and strengthening the Tenth Amendment.
"Allan Shivers to The Advisory Committee on Segregation 1956-02-23," Box 523, Texas Governor Allan Shivers, Texas State Library and Archives Commission at Austin.
1956-02-23
Press Memorandum Allan Shivers 1956-02-23
Press memorandum
Shivers proposed a referendum to Texas voters on the question of interposition by means of a constitutional amendment.
"Press memorandum Shivers 1956-02-23," Box 532, Texas Governor Allan Shivers, Texas State Library and Archives Commission at Austin.
1956-02-23
Ft. Worth Star Telegram 1956-09-06
Newspaper article
Continued coverage of the mob at Mansfield and offers a picture of the effigy hanging above the front doors of the high school.
"More About Mansfield." Fort Worth Star Telegram (Fort Worth, U.S.A.), Sept. 6, 1956.
Fort Worth Star Telegram
1956-09-06