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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."
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.
Austin American, “Justice Minton Permits Mansfield Delay Petition”
The Austin American Newspaper also includes a detailed account of the court proceeds evolving Mansfield. On September 2nd the newspaper published an article that includes the fight for Mansfield to legally remain segregated. Attorney for the…
Mansfield students enter high school under the shadow of an effigy.
An effigy hangs above the entrance to Mansfield High School as students file in the building on August 30, 1956. The effigy was hung as a protest to integration efforts in Mansfield. The effigy remained for several days.
Students in front of Mansfield school bus
Five African American students who planned to enroll in Mansfield High School stand in front of a Mansfield Independent School District bus. Students include Gracie Smith, Hattie Neal, Floyd Moody, John Hicks, and Charles Moody. The segregated school…
Crowd with alligator
During the protest against desegregation at Mansfield High School, John Pyles held a baby alligator as a warning to any African American who appeared on the school grounds that they would be "gator bait."
Car painted with racial slurs
A car painted with racial slurs is parked near Mansfield High School on August 30, 1956. Several hundred white citizens protested the registration of black students at the school. The protest was in response to the decision in the lawsuit of…
Congestion of cars at Mansfield High School
A crowd assembled at the Mansfield High School grounds on August 31, 1956 to protest the registration of three African American students. The crowd included angry residents instructed to comply with a federal district court order. Heated exchanges…
Crowd at Mansfield High School
The Mansfield community gathered on school grounds on Thursday, August 30, 1956 to prevent three African American students from registering at the high school. The size of the crowd reported in newspapers ranged from 200 to 500 on both Thursday and…
Attempt to remove the effigy on the flagpole
An effigy prominently displayed from a flagpole on school grounds is hoisted in the early morning hours on Thursday, August 30, 1956. The citizens of the Mansfield community gathered on school grounds to protest court-ordered integration. Later in…