Dallas Fashion Project

Items

• Detailed analysis of Civil Rights Act of 1964
  The document is a point by point analysis of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
• Austin American, “Shivers Says Order Sound”
  This article acts as a link to the national and state level politics. Eisenhower reveals in a press conference that he did know the circumstances on Mansfield and Shivers continues to stand by his actions during the crisis. This can be used to show how papers in Austin reported the political actions taken during the crisis.
• Palmer Hutcheson Telegram to Allan Shivers 1956-09-02
  Telegram from Texas attorney Palmer Hutcheson to Gov. Shivers referring to Tennessee Gov. Clement's efforts to desegregate schools peacefully and to the effigy hung at Mansfield High School.
• Austin American, “Put Clamps On Mob: Allan’s Act Draws Fire By NAACP”
  This article shows how the Austin American paper continued to report the aftermath of Mansfield because it still remained relevant. This also describes the NAACP view on Shivers actions and the court orders.
• Telegram Early Northrup to Allan Shivers 1956-08-31
  Telegram suggesting the governor and attorney general ban the NAACP from operating in Texas for instigating riots.
• Austin American, “Mob Threaten In Three States”
  This newspaper compares the events in Mansfield to two other fights for integration in across the country, the two being located in Clinton, Tennessee, and Sturgis, Kentucky. The article reports the actions of NAACP attorney L. Clifford Davis, stating that no Negro students will be registered at Mansfield because of the threat of mob violence. The article also mentions the account of Reverend Clark who was escorted from the grounds after attempting to make peace with the mob. This article reports the most violent and controversial accounts of the crisis at Mansfield in order to compare its situation with those in Clinton and Sturgis which are arguably more violent.
• Telegram Joe Pool to Allan Shivers 1956-08-31
  A telegram from State Representative Joe Pool asking Governor Shivers to call a special legislative session to outlaw the NAACP in Texas. Many citizens around the state shared the Governor’s opinion that the Mansfield crisis was instigated by the NAACP and actions needed to be taken to ensure they did not have their way. Rep. Pool also suggested strengthening segregation and marriage laws and the consideration of interposition in light of court rulings in favor of integration.
• Austin American, “Race Unrest Quieter in Texas Cities”
  Following Augusts 30th and 31st Austin Newspapers still continued to print articles about the state of Mansfield. It had been two days since the mob had formed outside Mansfield high school but the newspaper believes that there will be more demonstrations on September 4th the first day of class. In conjunction with this, the Newspaper discuses that story of Lloyd G. Austin resident of Riverside Forth Worth just 20 miles away from Mansfield. Violence erupts outside Austin’s home when a mob forms and begins to throw bottles at the house. Austin fires a shot from his home and police arrive shortly armed with tear gas and other weapons. The crowd quickly dispersed once police officers arrive. Since both of these stories are covered in the same article we can infer that this newspaper continues to report the most violent accounts of the crisis.
• Telegram Dwight Eisenhower to Allan Shivers 1952-10-03
  A telegram from Dwight Eisenhower to Allan Shivers thanking him for a speech in Eisenhower's favor and support in his presidential campaign. In addition the telegram invites Shivers to Eisenhower's birthday at San Antonio.
• 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 school district, J. A. Gooch receives permission from the U.S. Supreme Court justice Sherman Minton to request a delay of integration. Gooch sent a copy of the story of the controversy at Mansfield along with a petition to Judge Hugo Black in order to receive a delay of court order. This petition was one of the last means left in order for the school board to lawfully no allow Negro on campus.
• Austin American, “Mob Turns Home but Hate Remains”
  The mob that gathered outside Mansfield high school did not want Negros to register but they also did not want “outsiders” to intervene with their protest. Many mob members felt that the “outsiders” such as the NAACP were the cause of all of this trouble. Irwin Frank, a witness, reports the violence that occurred when assistant district attorney Grady Hight appeared on scene. Hight was reported to have made a comment regarding the mob and a scuffle broke out. Hight was escorted away by a Texas Ranger before any harm was done. Frank also mentions how two news reporters were driven away for being “outsiders” even though both of the men were from the area. Frank includes his personal account of himself being driven off the road by two citizens of Mansfield who wanted to make sure that he wasn’t “some damn instigator from out of town”. Newspaper articles found in Austin give detailed account of the violence that occurred in order to maintain relevance. The article also ran in The Dallas Morning News.
• Allan Shivers to Rep. Joe Pool 1956-09
  Shivers’ response to State Representative Joe Pool. The Governor denied the request for a special session of the legislature to consider outlawing the NAACP’s practices in Texas for the moment.
• Allan Shivers to Robert Hayes 1956-09
  A letter from Allan Shivers to Robert "Bob" Hayes thanking him for his support during the Mansfield Crisis. Shivers views the majority of responses to his Mansfield decision as favorable.
• Civil Rights Act of 1960
  The act extended the authority of the Commission on Civil Rights and addressed education for the children of military families. It did not address the desegregation of public schools across the nation, so towns like Mansfield could keep their public schools segregated.
• The Dallas Morning News, “Ike Backs Action in Mansfield Row”
  This article supports our narrative that Dallas is publishing news about Mansfield from a national level and can aid to the bridge between national and state level coverage.
• The Dallas Morning News, “Dallas Legal Test Ground For NAACP Court Actions”
  This article supports our narrative Dallas was focused on the situation in Mansfield in a larger context. The author mainly focuses on Dallas but also mentions Fort Worth and Houston.
• The Dallas Morning News, “Justice Black to Get Mansfield’s Petition”
  Justice Black was expected to rule on a court order enjoining black students from attending Mansfield High School after the crisis took place. This article supports our narrative that the Dallas Morning News also focused on the legality of the crisis at Mansfield.
• Dallas Morning News, "Writer Finds Hate Ruling Actions of Mansfield Mob"
  Newspaper article by reporter Irwin Frank detailed a version of the events that transpired at Mansfield on August 31, 1956. The AP article ran September 1, 1956 in the Dallas Morning News and indicated the segregationists were hostile to the Assistant District Attorney as well as reporters on scene to cover the event. Frank also reported on non-protesters and indicated a friendlier side to existing relationships within the community.
• Civil Rights Act of 1957
  Attorney General authored the act to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate incidents in which citizens were deprived of their right to vote. However the act allowed states to continue literary tests and other prerequisites. It also did not address the desegregation of public schools. The act was so weak that Congress later passed the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
• The Dallas Morning News, “Mob Mills at School To Wait for Negroes”
  This article gives the account of how the morning of the August 30th, the first day that the mob assembled, played out. This supports our narrative that the coverage in Dallas is more detailed and focused on violence.
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “Mansfield School Plea Up For Hearing Today”
  This article supports our narrative that Forth Worth was reporting on the case of Mansfield before that crisis had occurred. Reportage focused on the court hearings as well as the protest going on within Mansfield.
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram September 1, 1956 coverage of Mansfield desegregation crisis
  The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's coverage of the Mansfield mob on September 1, 1956 included several other stories related to the desegregation crisis. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) sent telegrams to the U.S. Attorney General asking for protection for the African American children wanting to enroll at Mansfield High School. Gubernatorial candidate W. Lee O'Daniel used the mob scene in Mansfield as a campaign stop, and an Associated Press reporter covering the events was stopped by two men in a vehicle wanting to "make sure you weren't some instigator from out of state."
• San Antonio Register, "Tennesseans, Texans Stage Anti-Integration Outbreak”
  This can be used to support our argument that black newspapers were more focused with putting Mansfield into a larger context by including it in an article about the actions in Clinton.
• Heman Sweatt attends class
  Heman Sweatt became the first African American student to attend the University of Texas in 1950. His case, Sweatt v. Painter, brought early legal success to the NAACP in Texas after the Supreme Court declared the "separate but equal" doctrine UT tried to enforce did not give black law students the same educational opportunities as whites. However, this success was short-lived. Years later, the NAACP would battle the courts again over the desegregation of primary and secondary schools.
• Ku Klux Klan march in Texas
  A parade of Klansmen march through the streets of Beaumont, Texas, in 1922. Because of increased Klan activity around the state, many chapters of the NAACP closed their doors in fear of retribution or harm.