Thomas J. Rusk Elementary School, in Nacogdoches, Texas, houses a carved stone dedication plaque in its gymnasium s entryway. It reads This gymnasium is dedicated to the White children of Nacogdoches. In those days, Nacogdoches was unapologetically segregated. It was a matter of not only custom but also of law.
In respect to segregation, Nacogdoches was little different than other communities in the Jim Crow South. Its location in Texas, however, helped to obscure this fact. While the US Supreme Court ended segregation in public schools on May 17, 1954, Nacogdoches schools were...