\n\n\"Being in Texas, there was really nowhere else to go to continue studying architecture,\" said Chase, now an architect in Houston. \"At the time there were no African Americans at UT, but for me, it was not a matter of being first. It was a matter of furthering my education.\"
\n\nHeman Sweatt, a postman from Houston, paved the road to admissions for Chase in 1946. Sweatt applied to UT School of Law and was initially rejected, but with the help of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, filed suit against UT President T.S. Painter, the Board of Regents, the UT registrar and law school dean, citing a violation of the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.
\n\nA month after Sweatt filed the suit, the 126th District Court in Texas issued an order that allowed the University to bar Sweatt if it established \"a course of legal instruction substantially equivalent\" to that of the UT law school for blacks. Later that year, the University, in conjunction with Texas A&M University, created a law school for blacks in Houston staffed with two black attorneys. That school later became Texas Southern University, a predominantly black university. Sweatt, however, didn't feel the swiftly established university would offer him a comparable education, and carried his suit to the appeals court.
\n\nIn 1950, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that Sweatt and four other blacks be allowed to register at the UT law school. It would take another four years before the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education would abolish segregation in schools throughout the country.
\n\nAfter attending the law school for a few months, Sweatt wrote an article in The Daily Texan describing his experience.
\n\n\"For the first time, I felt human, at least on my way to being accepted, no longer a creature in a cage to be jeered,\" he wrote. \"The American Flag means a lot more to me now.\"
\n\nBut the joy was short--lived as reports about racial hostility and Sweatt's health problems began to surface. He left the University by the end of his first year after suffering from ulcers and undergoing an appendectomy. He later earned a master's degree in social work from Atlanta University.
\n\nUpon withdrawing from the University, he told reporters, \"I really wanted to be a lawyer.\"
\n\nIn 1952, the same year Sweatt left the University, Chase graduated with a master's degree in architecture. But just like Sweatt, Chase said his experience at the University also involved incidents of hate.
\n\n\"There were some who welcomed me with open arms and others who couldn't care less,\" Chase said. \"I don't recall anything worse than letters or cat calls. We ran into people who didn't care anything for me, but I knew that. You didn't have to write a letter for that.\"\n\nHe also remembers incidents in which students showed interest in knowing him socially.\n\n\"Students would come over to my desk and invite me to have coffee with them,\" he said. \"Those types of things were quite impressive.\"\n\nBut, as one of only six blacks at the University, the obstacles extended beyond gaining admission. Until 1957, there were no on-campus dormitories available to blacks. \n\nChase also said his social life at the University was \"non--existent\" since most organizations and off--campus establishments were still segregated.\n\n\"My wife and I just formed friendships with people in East Austin, and that was basically the social life that we had,\" he said.\n\nHe credits those at the University who embraced his efforts, such as the architecture school dean and several professors, for helping him adjust.\n\n\"It couldn't have been possible without some people who really cared and did everything they could to make things at least seem better,\" he said. \"If it weren't for this group of people, I might be telling a very different story today.\"\n\n\n\nIntegration beyond admissions\n\nIn 1956, the University granted ad-mission to its first black undergraduates, and 104 enrolled that year. But as integration on campus became more prevalent, it introduced a new slew of problems for minority students. Many organizations were reluctant to accept blacks as members, and acceptance was often met with resistance. \n\nIn 1957, when Barbara Smith, a black music student, was cast opposite a white male in the University production of \"Dido and Aeneas,\" she received threatening phone calls and was withdrawn from the production by UT President Logan Wilson. Logan said he insisted on Smith's removal for her safety and to avoid negative public reaction.\n\nMost blacks were assigned to the \"D\" Dorm, which according to Overcoming: A History of Black Integration at the University of Texas at Austin by Almetris Duren, the student committee on integration commented: \"Negro students must now stay in the cheapest University owned and operated dormitories available.\" After many protests, the University integrated its dorms in 1964. \n\n\"The whole University of Texas is integrated in every aspect,\" said Board of Regents Chairman W. W. Heath, following the decision.\n\nThroughout the 1960s, blacks continued to make progress as more organizations admitted black members, black studies courses developed and minority recruitment programs surfaced. In 1965, the 40 Acres club started admitting blacks, and three years later, \"The Negro and American Culture\" class was introduced in the American studies program.\n\nThough Longhorn athletics opened to blacks in 1963, the basketball team didn't integrate until 1968, and the football team integrated in 1970. \n\nDuring the 1970s, black enrollment rose from 326 in 1972 to more than 1,000 by the end of the decade. Although black retention rates still trailed behind those of whites, the number of blacks at the University continued to rise steadily to almost 2,000 in 1996. \n\n\n\nHispanic enrollment\n \nWhile Hispanics had never been officially segregated on campus, their status improved following the civil rights movement in the 1960s.\n\n\"From the very early years of the Uni-versity there were Mexican Americans that were enrolled,\" said Thomas Russell, a former professor who taught a class titled \"History of Racial Discrimination at the University\" at the law school. \n \n\"In one of the first graduating classes at UT there was a Hispanic man. There has always been a Hispanic presence in the community. But the numbers didn't become substantial until the late '60s when the University made a serious effort to attract Hispanics to the University.\"\n\nHe said Hispanic students typically went unnoticed by their white counterparts, because they didn't pose an economic threat - racial discrimination eliminated them from most jobs that appealed to white students. This attitude, however, shifted in the 1960s.\n\n\"As job opportunities opened up for Hispanic students so that they could get jobs outside their Hispanic neighborhoods, the number of Hispanic students increased and white students noticed them,\" Russell said. \n\nThe number of Hispanic students has steadily increased in 1970s into the 1990s, partially due to the implementation of affirmative action by the University. \n\nAsian--American enrollment\n\nIn the 1970s, Asian enrollment at the University reflected the rise in Asian immigration spurred by the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965. \n\n\"The Act opened the door for people from Asia, and from other countries,\" said Arthur Sakamoto, an associate professor of sociology and an affiliate of the Asian--American studies program. \"Most of those immigrants' children were born after 1965 and came to college age in the 1980s, and it's been a steady increase of Asian--Americans since then.\" \n\nThe exact number of Asian-Americans enrolled during the decade is unknown because it was illegal to compile student's ethnicities until 1972. Throughout most of the 1970s, the number of Asian--American students climbed to nearly 500. It was in the 1980s that the Asian--American population jumped to more than 2,000.\n\nAs the influence of Asian--Americans on campus grew, students demanded an Asian--American studies program. The University opened the Center for Asian American Studies in fall 1999, and it became an official program in fall 2000.\n\n\n\nA look back\n\nFifty years after Chase's historic graduation, he is still involved with the University through the Chancellor's Committee and the Ex--Students' Association. He said he is proud of the racial progress he has seen. But he still doesn't consider his achievement extraordinary.\n\n\"I don't think I necessarily did anything so outstanding,\" he said. \"I really don't. I was a victim of the times ... I'm very proud of the degree I ended up with, but I know a lot of things that have happened that are bigger.\"
\n\nHe also remembers incidents in which students showed interest in knowing him socially.
\n\n\"Students would come over to my desk and invite me to have coffee with them,\" he said. \"Those types of things were quite impressive.\"
\n\nBut, as one of only six blacks at the University, the obstacles extended beyond gaining admission. Until 1957, there were no on-campus dormitories available to blacks.
\n\nChase also said his social life at the University was \"non--existent\" since most organizations and off--campus establishments were still segregated.
\n\n\"My wife and I just formed friendships with people in East Austin, and that was basically the social life that we had,\" he said.
\n\nHe credits those at the University who embraced his efforts, such as the architecture school dean and several professors, for helping him adjust.
\n\n\"It couldn't have been possible without some people who really cared and did everything they could to make things at least seem better,\" he said. \"If it weren't for this group of people, I might be telling a very different story today.\"
\n\n
\n\nIntegration beyond admissions
\n\nIn 1956, the University granted ad-mission to its first black undergraduates, and 104 enrolled that year. But as integration on campus became more prevalent, it introduced a new slew of problems for minority students. Many organizations were reluctant to accept blacks as members, and acceptance was often met with resistance.
\n\nIn 1957, when Barbara Smith, a black music student, was cast opposite a white male in the University production of \"Dido and Aeneas,\" she received threatening phone calls and was withdrawn from the production by UT President Logan Wilson. Logan said he insisted on Smith's removal for her safety and to avoid negative public reaction.
\n\nMost blacks were assigned to the \"D\" Dorm, which according to Overcoming: A History of Black Integration at the University of Texas at Austin by Almetris Duren, the student committee on integration commented: \"Negro students must now stay in the cheapest University owned and operated dormitories available.\" After many protests, the University integrated its dorms in 1964.
\n\n\"The whole University of Texas is integrated in every aspect,\" said Board of Regents Chairman W. W. Heath, following the decision.
\n\nThroughout the 1960s, blacks continued to make progress as more organizations admitted black members, black studies courses developed and minority recruitment programs surfaced. In 1965, the 40 Acres club started admitting blacks, and three years later, \"The Negro and American Culture\" class was introduced in the American studies program.\n\nThough Longhorn athletics opened to blacks in 1963, the basketball team didn't integrate until 1968, and the football team integrated in 1970. \n\nDuring the 1970s, black enrollment rose from 326 in 1972 to more than 1,000 by the end of the decade. Although black retention rates still trailed behind those of whites, the number of blacks at the University continued to rise steadily to almost 2,000 in 1996. \n\n\n\nHispanic enrollment\n \nWhile Hispanics had never been officially segregated on campus, their status improved following the civil rights movement in the 1960s.\n\n\"From the very early years of the Uni-versity there were Mexican Americans that were enrolled,\" said Thomas Russell, a former professor who taught a class titled \"History of Racial Discrimination at the University\" at the law school. \n \n\"In one of the first graduating classes at UT there was a Hispanic man. There has always been a Hispanic presence in the community. But the numbers didn't become substantial until the late '60s when the University made a serious effort to attract Hispanics to the University.\"\n\nHe said Hispanic students typically went unnoticed by their white counterparts, because they didn't pose an economic threat - racial discrimination eliminated them from most jobs that appealed to white students. This attitude, however, shifted in the 1960s.\n\n\"As job opportunities opened up for Hispanic students so that they could get jobs outside their Hispanic neighborhoods, the number of Hispanic students increased and white students noticed them,\" Russell said. \n\nThe number of Hispanic students has steadily increased in 1970s into the 1990s, partially due to the implementation of affirmative action by the University. \n\nAsian--American enrollment\n\nIn the 1970s, Asian enrollment at the University reflected the rise in Asian immigration spurred by the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965. \n\n\"The Act opened the door for people from Asia, and from other countries,\" said Arthur Sakamoto, an associate professor of sociology and an affiliate of the Asian--American studies program. \"Most of those immigrants' children were born after 1965 and came to college age in the 1980s, and it's been a steady increase of Asian--Americans since then.\" \n\nThe exact number of Asian-Americans enrolled during the decade is unknown because it was illegal to compile student's ethnicities until 1972. Throughout most of the 1970s, the number of Asian--American students climbed to nearly 500. It was in the 1980s that the Asian--American population jumped to more than 2,000.\n\nAs the influence of Asian--Americans on campus grew, students demanded an Asian--American studies program. The University opened the Center for Asian American Studies in fall 1999, and it became an official program in fall 2000.\n\n\n\nA look back\n\nFifty years after Chase's historic graduation, he is still involved with the University through the Chancellor's Committee and the Ex--Students' Association. He said he is proud of the racial progress he has seen. But he still doesn't consider his achievement extraordinary.\n\n\"I don't think I necessarily did anything so outstanding,\" he said. \"I really don't. I was a victim of the times ... I'm very proud of the degree I ended up with, but I know a lot of things that have happened that are bigger.\"
\n\nThough Longhorn athletics opened to blacks in 1963, the basketball team didn't integrate until 1968, and the football team integrated in 1970.
\n\nDuring the 1970s, black enrollment rose from 326 in 1972 to more than 1,000 by the end of the decade. Although black retention rates still trailed behind those of whites, the number of blacks at the University continued to rise steadily to almost 2,000 in 1996.
\n\nHispanic enrollment
\n \nWhile Hispanics had never been officially segregated on campus, their status improved following the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
\n\n\"From the very early years of the Uni-versity there were Mexican Americans that were enrolled,\" said Thomas Russell, a former professor who taught a class titled \"History of Racial Discrimination at the University\" at the law school.
\n \n\"In one of the first graduating classes at UT there was a Hispanic man. There has always been a Hispanic presence in the community. But the numbers didn't become substantial until the late '60s when the University made a serious effort to attract Hispanics to the University.\"
\n\nHe said Hispanic students typically went unnoticed by their white counterparts, because they didn't pose an economic threat - racial discrimination eliminated them from most jobs that appealed to white students. This attitude, however, shifted in the 1960s.
\n\n\"As job opportunities opened up for Hispanic students so that they could get jobs outside their Hispanic neighborhoods, the number of Hispanic students increased and white students noticed them,\" Russell said.
\n\nThe number of Hispanic students has steadily increased in 1970s into the 1990s, partially due to the implementation of affirmative action by the University.
\n\nAsian--American enrollment
\n\nIn the 1970s, Asian enrollment at the University reflected the rise in Asian immigration spurred by the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965.
\n\n\"The Act opened the door for people from Asia, and from other countries,\" said Arthur Sakamoto, an associate professor of sociology and an affiliate of the Asian--American studies program. \"Most of those immigrants' children were born after 1965 and came to college age in the 1980s, and it's been a steady increase of Asian--Americans since then.\"
\n\nThe exact number of Asian-Americans enrolled during the decade is unknown because it was illegal to compile student's ethnicities until 1972. Throughout most of the 1970s, the number of Asian--American students climbed to nearly 500. It was in the 1980s that the Asian--American population jumped to more than 2,000.
\n\nAs the influence of Asian--Americans on campus grew, students demanded an Asian--American studies program. The University opened the Center for Asian American Studies in fall 1999, and it became an official program in fall 2000.
\n\nA look back
\n\nFifty years after Chase's historic graduation, he is still involved with the University through the Chancellor's Committee and the Ex--Students' Association. He said he is proud of the racial progress he has seen. But he still doesn't consider his achievement extraordinary.
\n\n\"I don't think I necessarily did anything so outstanding,\" he said. \"I really don't. I was a victim of the times ... I'm very proud of the degree I ended up with, but I know a lot of things that have happened that are bigger.\"
