rate spikes Monday morning.
>> From KPRC, 2, this is
Houston newsmakers with
Marshall. Good Morning.
Welcome to Houston Newsmakers
and welcome to Doctor James
Douglas. Former president
provost, Texas, Southern
University.
>> Former TXU law school dean,
the immediate past president
of NAACP. The list I could go
on, but it’s good to see you.
I was good to see you do it.
We’re going to continue to
have a conversation. We
started here about Black
History Month and the civil
rights in Houston and in
Texas. And when to talk to you
about that, you are the
immediate past president of
Houston chapter of the NAACP.
What led you to get into this
fight for civil rights? I
guess my father, my father was
active in the NAACP has acted
and movement.
>> I have no idea to explain
my father other than
>> he very is there active
person. I asked him was that
he said.
>> I know. I just did. My father was very involved with
father was very involved with
the Boy Scouts asked was how
did how did you get from 5th Wat, how did you get into pot
Wat, how did you get into pot
and then the Boy Scouts and he
said I I don’t know. I just
got involve so my father would just a community activist and
just a community activist and
so. That that that made me
want to follow in his
footsteps.
>> And that the way it is sometimes too, how one seed is
sometimes too, how one seed is
planted in the goes into
something else. The NAACP has
been known for its fight for
equality in this community. What challenges have you faced
What challenges have you faced
in that process you born in.
44 in Onalaska, you know,
segregated. I’m sure because I
I look for the pictures from
schools in that area. I didn’t
see anything. There wasn’t
second. So you have all of you
in a degree in math. You work
on NASA projects when that dean of the school and at T S
dean of the school and at T S
U several related law degrees.
How do you go from that beginning to being the head of
beginning to being the head of
the NAACP, not here is still.
People always ask for them us
to really push you haul And then and I always tell him no.
then and I always tell him no.
>> Now found out that they did
push the brothers insisted,
but it didn’t push me. But he
told me a story. And the story was of his life. Why grew up
was of his life. Why grew up
on a farm. wanted to go to
pray. You got to ask you want
to go to Prairie view. His
father, they kept talking him out of going to school, you
out of going to school, you
know, stay this year. Have me
bring in the crops is my
grandfather with the farm. And so ultimately. 2 or 3 years
so ultimately. 2 or 3 years
down the road, he said I might
as get started. I mean, forget
about college and start my own family. And so he did. But he
family. And so he did. But he
told us, but rather the sistas
he made a promise to himself.
He was going provide an opportunity any of these kids
opportunity any of these kids
to go to college. So we all
went to college. He made sure
that. And so it was it was he is. I guess, planning med seed
is. I guess, planning med seed
there early in life that waist
belt, a college experience in a degree very, very important
a degree very, very important
and been successful in life.
>> And that’s served you well
throughout about the time that
the 60’s came along, that sect in your wheelhouse. You’re
in your wheelhouse. You’re
young man, you’re getting into
the you knew what was going
on. So now we’re in the city
of Houston in the 60’s. This city didn’t experience the
city didn’t experience the
same kind of overt kind of
craziness that was going on in
the rest of COVID. It did
then. And I think one of
things that
>> probably influence being and most people don’t realize
and most people don’t realize
is and the 5th is. gods. Was a
white neighborhood. And my parents moved into does White
parents moved into does White
neighborhood. I once asked my
father. What made you decide
to move into a white neighborhood. And he said I
neighborhood. And he said I
never thought about you. Mama
found his house like Told me she wanted me to buy it. So I
she wanted me to buy it. So I
purchased that that that had a
lot to do with my get involved
in civil rights because I’m I’m living in a in a white
I’m living in a in a white
neighborhood. I am about 4
blocks from best to Rawls
Elementary school. I can go to
best the roles of men school.
Not that I wanted to go
because I started at But I
knew I couldn’t go to best
surrounds and then to the bus
to It do So I I experience
then bused out of my
neighborhood. Because black
business Ross was a white
school. also the white. Okay.
So you could do that.
>> That’s but but as as other
cities were in the headlines
with dogs and hoses and all
that kind of stuff. Houston
was not in that same was not
in that same category. And I think what? What separated
think what? What separated
Houston? What does I’d be
like? New York, a St. Louis to
Chicago, a loss and is.
>> All these major cities. According to Houston, to be a
According to Houston, to be a
major city, you had to have
professional athletic teams
and Houston wanted profession, athletic teams and they would
athletic teams and they would
toll. You continue serving
nation. We can bring a major
league baseball team. He used.
And so that was one of the impetus for them integrating,
impetus for them integrating,
you know, public accommodation
fact, it was an audit to get a
major league baseball team and become, quote, in this big
become, quote, in this big
city. United States
>> We want too far removed. I
know in the 40’s we want too
far removed from some of the
history of the state, which is quite frankly uncomfortable to
quite frankly uncomfortable to
talk about as it relates to
There are a lot of lynchings
that were going it.
Segregation was certainly
throughout the state. That was
pretty rampant, depending on which source you look at
which source you look at
either. The Texas Historical
Association of the Chicago
Tribune of the NAACP, there
were between 400 and more than 600 lynchings in Texas between
600 lynchings in Texas between
18. 82 in 94 1942, it was so
normal lives in some places in
Dallas we have a picture of
large crowds that came out to
see lynchings. You seen those as well. Large crowds come out
as well. Large crowds come out
to see lynchings. This is a
guy being hung from the is
Allen Brooks from the L to
sign in Dallas. In 1910,
people coming out just in
their Sunday finest to come
out and see that. So that shows how far we’ve had to
shows how far we’ve had to
come. Kim Burrell. I know that I’ve been blessed. In 1956. At
I’ve been blessed. In 1956. At
12 years old. On the form. I
spent the summers with my on
the farm.
>> My grandmother says. You want to go to the doctor with
want to go to the doctor with
me. the doctors in Livingston,
which is about 13, 14 miles
away that we go to the doctor. I’m from Houston. All my
I’m from Houston. All my
doctors had been African
American, but it turns out is
a white doctor. get to the
building. There’s a sign on
the front. a thing of pointing to the rear. That said, call
to the rear. That said, call
it. So that’s how my
grandmother I you know, I don’t send him back home. How
don’t send him back home. How
would you he’s okay. I don’t
in the back room. So I went
and I said no white waiting
room and no one said to me. But on the way home, my
But on the way home, my
grandmother said. I can bring
you back to town. And I what
are you talking about? The
sacking bring you back to town. He said this why people
town. He said this why people
don’t care to a little bar.
She said they will hang you. I couldn’t forgive myself and
couldn’t forgive myself and
your parents could forgive me.
If I let these white people
hang you so you can come back
to town for the story of
things and how they have
evolved, how this affected your life.
your life.
>> I we’re going to continue
this conversation specifically
about the Houston chapter of
the NAACP. Some things that
happened while you are in in
control, in the presidency there and what’s going on from
there and what’s going on from
this point forward. So thank
you again for being here.
We’re going continue our