Documenting HBCU Funding in Texas in 1897

[African Americana]: [Texas]:

[Manuscript Document in Which the Texas Legislature Appropriates Funds for a Black College].

Austin: 1897. [1]p., on Texas House of Representatives 25th Legislature letterhead, with engraved view of Capitol building at top left. Old folds, minor toning. Very good. Item #5151

An informative manuscript document recording budget expenditures for three Texas institutions of higher learning in 1897, one of which, Prairie View A&M University, remains an important HBCU. Here, an unknown official of the 25th Texas Legislature records line-item budget amounts for "Sam Houston Normal" in Hunstville (now Sam Houston State University), "A&M College" (Texas A&M University in College Station), and "Prairie View State Normal" (the aforementioned Prairie View A&M University). Sam Houston Normal was founded through legislation signed by Governor Oran M. Roberts on San Jacinto Day, April 21, 1879. The college's purpose was to train teachers for the public schools of Texas. It was the first teacher-training school in the southwestern United States, and is known today as Sam Houston State University.

Here, the Legislature earmarks almost $30,000 for Sam Houston, with a note that this is "all they asked for." Texas A&M, the oldest public institution of higher learning in the state, is given just over $65,000 for five line items, including a new $30,000 "Mess Hall." The third and final entry here concerns Prairie View State Normal (now Prairie View A&M University), which was established by Article 7 of the Texas Constitution of 1876. In that year two former slaves, State Senator Matthew Gaines and State Representative William H. Holland, crafted legislation for the creation of a state-supported "Agricultural and Mechanical" college. The legislation stated that "Separate schools shall be provided for the white and colored children, and impartial provisions shall be made for both." This legislation made Prairie A&M the first state-supported institution of higher learning for African Americans in Texas and the second oldest public institution of higher learning in the state. In 1890, the school was brought under the umbrella of the Texas A&M system through the second Morrill Act. Today it is the largest HBCU in Texas and the third largest HBCU in the United States. It is a member of the Texas A&M University System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

It is interesting to note that though the charter for Prairie View called for "impartial provisions," and the Morrill Act in 1890 stipulated that funding for separate colleges for "white and colored students...be equally divided," the present document memorializes a deficiency in funding for Prairie View by comparison to both of the other colleges listed here. Prairie View is allotted only $12,850 comprised of three line item expenditures designated as "Maintenance [of] 46 students," "Agricultural & Mech[anical] Dept.," and "Girls Industrial" (this latter item extended just $350). The President of both of the latter institutions is listed here as "L.S. Ross." Lawrence Sullivan "Sull" Ross (1838-1898) served as the President of Texas A&M from 1891 to 1898, and therefore also ran Prairie View State Normal during those years. Ross took over the A&M system following his two terms as governor between 1896 and 1891. He is honored today as the namesake of Sul Ross University in Alpine, and his statue at Texas A&M has caused controversy over recent years due to his service in the Texas Rangers, and more pointedly, the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. The present manuscript document provides a snapshot, but an important one, regarding funding for African-American education in Texas in the late-19th century.

Price: $550