Nacogdoches Integration and Segregation, Then and Now

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 Supr