African American Studies Commons^™

"What, To A Prisoner, Is The Fourth Of July?": Mumia Abu-Jamal And Contemporary Narratives Of Slavery, Luis Omar Ceniceros

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Writing from a specifically Black postmodern perspective, former death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal composes his multimedia slave narrative as a postmodern Neo-slave narrative. From the Atlantic slave-trade to the United States prison-industrial complex, from Quobna Ottobah Cugoano to Mumia Abu-Jamal, the slave narrative exists as a critique against oppressive State powers and a collective affirmation of interiority and embodied significance. For Abu-Jamal, his incarceration is indicative of an ever-pervasive capitalist power-structure that in the past has, in the present is, and in the future will control designated groups of made marginalized masses in order that preeminent capitalist beneficiaries preserve elite …

Textbooks, Teachers, And Compromise: The Political Work Of Freedmen Education, Ashley Marie Swarthout

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

After the end of the Civil War, Northerners flooded into the South in order to participate in the education of freedmen. While many, perhaps most, of the individuals who worked in freedmen education had the best interests of the freedmen in mind, freedmen education in of itself was inherently political; therefore, all contributors to freedmen education were also sponsors of Southern Reconstruction politics. It is my argument that the aid organizations (particularly the American Missionary Association and the American Freedmen's Union Commission), the writers and printers of freedmen-specific textbooks (the American Tract Society and Lydia Maria Child), and the teachers …

Border Physician: The Life Of Lawrence A. Nixon, 1883-1966, Will Guzmán

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation centers on the life of Dr. Lawrence Aaron Nixon, an African American physician and civil rights activist who lived in El Paso, Texas from 1910 until his death in 1966. Born in Marshall, Texas in 1883, Lawrence Nixon graduated from Wiley College in 1902 and Meharry Medical College in 1906. He then established a medical office in Cameron, Texas in 1907, but due to the racial climate and violence of central Texas he moved west to El Paso in hopes of a better life.

Although several historians have mentioned Dr. Nixon in their works, they have tended to …

Making Africans And Indians: Colonialism, Identity, Racialization, And The Rise Of The Nation-State In The Florida Borderlands, 1765-1837, John Paul A. Nuño

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Florida Borderlands from 1765 to 1837 was a fluid space in which established colonial and Indigenous social, political, and economic systems were in dialogue with emerging discourses associated with the market economy, nationalism, and race. Utilizing British, Spanish, and United States government documents, diplomatic correspondence, and slave claims, this work traces the racialization of diverse Indigenous and African populations. Older colonial powers and nascent nation states sought to create political and social space between individuals within these categories in an effort to better control their labor, movement, and economic status. Consequently, Seminoles and Africans resisted and adapted, depending on …

Interview No. 1642, Louis Baudoin

Combined Interviews

He believes that his father being stationed in Oklahoma for a time during World War II where Coach Don Haskins is from helped convince his parents to accept his decision to go to Texas Western College; he describes how it was close to his family, had just created a Liberal Arts department and had a strong engineering program. Describes Don Haskins’ approach to basketball as simple, stressing proficiency in basic drills rather than relying on complicated plays; he describes practices as brutal and repetitive but that the team’s success on the court proved Don Haskins right. Mr. Baudoin believed at …

Interview No. 1644, Harry Flournoy

Combined Interviews

He was recruited by Coach Don Haskins from Indiana; his mother felt Coach Haskins would be a good mentor; he received good treatment from everyone in El Paso; he describes Coach Haskins practices as tough but stated that Haskins warned them in advance. Mr. Flournoy felt that at the time that the 1965-66 team was good and an improvement from the last year, but did not know whether they would make it to the NCAA Championship. He describes the poor treatment and racism he and other black players experienced from some of the crowds, as well as at restaurants and …

Interview No. 1652, Togo Railey

Combined Interviews

Togo Railey discusses his recruitment and experience playing for the Texas Western College basketball team. As a basketball player in Austin High School, he had two influential coaches who influenced his decision to attend Texas Western College. While in high school, he recalls the presence of Texas-Western’s basketball coach, Don Haskins, who actively promoted basketball in El Paso and was always looking for recruits. He discusses his admiration for Coach Haskins who he describes as well mannered, a taskmaster, and basketball enthusiast. Railey also describes his first impressions of the Texas-Western basketball team, who he knew would perform well because …

Interview No. 1645, Don Haskins

Combined Interviews

He played basketball at Oklahoma A&M; he played with the Artesia Travelers in the National Industrial Basketball League; he went to a coaching clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico where Texas Western Head Coach George McCarty convinced Don Haskins to complete his degree; explains that in the interim he took a job coaching basketball and driving the school bus in Benjamin, Texas and later Hedley, Texas. Mr. Haskins recalls that while he was coaching at Dumas, Texas, George McCarty Dean from Texas Western College recruited him to be head coach. Mr. Haskins addresses his reputation as a tough coach by stating …

Interview No. 1646, Tyrone Bobby Joe Hill

Combined Interviews

He was originally from Michigan but was playing at a junior college in Iowa where Don Haskins saw him play and recruited him; he was not familiar with the city or school, he was surprised by the size and warm weather; he mentions that Jim Barnes and Nolan Richardson showed him around town and people were friendly. He describes his initial impression of Don Haskins was that he was nice, but at practice found out that he was very disciplinarian; he mentions that he thought the 1965-66 team was good, but they had a quiet confidence; he addresses the story …

Interview No. 1650, Eddie Mullens

Combined Interviews

Eddie Mullens describes his career as a publicity director for the Texas Western College basketball team. When Coach Don Haskins first invited him to the campus, George McCarty, the athletic director, offered him a job. Mullens did not take the job at first due to the low pay, until he was called back days later with the offer of a higher salary. He believed Texas Western had a great team but did not foresee that it would make it to the national competition. Mullens is credited with giving nicknames to the team members such as Jim Barnes who he called …

Interview No. 1651, Richard Myers

Combined Interviews

Richard Myers discusses his background and experience playing for the Texas Western College basketball team that won the 1966 NCAA championship. As a native of Kansas, he discusses his optimistic first impressions of El Paso, coach Haskins, and his team. While his team attained notoriety for having five all-star African American players, Myers notes that their placement was due to their abilities, not because of their skin color. The media was responsible for placing such a heavy emphasis on his teammates’ skin color as the season progressed. He maintains that his team was not racially discriminated against as they travelled. …

Interview No. 1653, Nevil Shed

Combined Interviews

Nevil Shed discusses his experience playing for the Texas Western College basketball team. He discusses his initial prospects of working in the fast food industry but then decided it was not a career path he wanted to follow. Shed was recruited into Texas Western College basketball team thanks to a recommendation made by a former player of the team who recommended him to Coach Don Haskins. He then describes his first impressions of El Paso, its mountains, and its friendly atmosphere. Unlike other college campuses, he enjoyed that people talked to him to ask how he was doing. Coach Haskins …

Interview No. 1648, David Lattin

Combined Interviews

David Lattin describes his recruitment into the Texas Western College basketball team. He began as a student at Tennessee State but was unhappy there and then later transferred to Texas Western College. Mr. Lattin describes positive experiences with his new team and coach, Don Haskins. He also describes hardships and fears he encountered in the team; since he played alongside others who were taller than him, Lattin feared that someday the ball would go over his head when it was passed to him. Lattin became less weary of this as he began to build trust amongst his team members. Another …

Interview No. 1649, Jean H. Miculka

Combined Interviews

Jean H. Miculka begins by describing how he attained his job as an assistant coach for the Texas Western College basketball team. He describes his first impressions of the team as promising since the freshmen consistently beat the varsity students. As a coach, he confronted various challenges that emerged as Texas Western gained notoriety; they confronted various teams who placed all their efforts in trying to defeat them. Nevertheless, it was his team’s ability to score points and to cripple the others’ defense that overcame this challenge. He never felt discrimination whenever his team played against others from the Southwest …

Interview No. 1641, Jerry Armstrong

Combined Interviews

Mr. Armstrong briefly explains how he got recruited from high school to play basketball for Coach Don Haskins; he explains that his desire to leave Missouri was to see a different part of the country; he describes the campus, climate, and friendliness of locals in El Paso and Texas Western College. Mr. Armstrong describes Don Haskins personality on and off the court as demanding but fair; he describes the 1965-66 team as very good and confident; he mentions how teams in the western U.S. did not receive the same coverage as eastern college teams at the time. Mr. Armstrong recounts …

Interview No. 1643, Willie Cager

Combined Interviews

He describes how he had to finish up courses in New York and later in El Paso in order to attend Texas Western College; he goes over how local recruiters selected him based on his basketball ability. Mr. Cager mentions that he had to adjust to the desert but that he had no real culture shock due to the diversity of his native New York City. He recounts having to adjust to Coach Haskins due to him stressing defense where he focused more on offense; he states that he was versatile and could play guard, forward, or center; he explains …

Interview No. 1647, Moe Iba

Combined Interviews

Moe Iba was an Assistant Coach for the 1965-66 Texas Western College basketball team that won the 1966 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament; Don Haskins played for his father at Oklahoma A&M; Mr. Haskins hired him out of college; he mentions that he did not know if they would go to NCAA Championships but freshman from the previous year were now eligible to play for the varsity team and Bobby Joe Hill was getting better giving him confidence in the 1965-66 team. Addresses statement that Don Haskins called the 1966 team the worst team at the beginning of the …

Interview No. 1623, L.A. Gladstone

Combined Interviews

He describes professors that influenced him during these early years, as well as his adaptation to speaking English. He returned to El Paso in 1956 to practice medicine. He worked as an intern at Thomason Hospital for several years. He also discusses being interview by Steven Spielberg in association with the movie Schindler's List and a museum built in Hollywood to house the stories of Holocaust survivors. Dr. Gladstone also discusses his courtship with his wife during his med school years in Dallas, and life in the fraternity. After returning to El Paso, Dr. Gladstone served as physician for a …