SAN ANTONIO -- The civil rights movement in San Antonio progressed like no other big city in the Deep South. Thanks to strong community leadership and a diverse population, the integration of African Americans living in San Antonio came with less violence.
- San Antonio largely avoided violence during civil rights movement
- Inequalities challenged by peaceful protest
- Most of Bexar County segregated prior to the civil rights movement
The first black settlers of San Antonio first staked ground on land they knew would soon be welcoming to all, even before the battle of the Alamo.
"It's not coincidental that African-American history exists on Alamo Plaza," said Everett Fly. "If it were not to be included in the story, it would be a false and incomplete story."
Fly is a landscape architect from San Antonio who has been unveiling the deep history of the first free black settlements in communities across the United States. In San Antonio, that history dates all the way back to the early 1800s when blacks owned land adjacent to where the Alamo Plaza is today.
"Mr. [Felipe] Elua owned this property before the battle was ever fought," said Fly as he pointed on the boundary lines on a tour in downtown San Antonio. "When the battle was fought, obviously Mr. Elua was in cannon range and rifle range. He moved with several other families to Nacogdoches."
After the war, blacks, Mexicans, Anglo-Americans, and Native Americans all settled within pockets of Bexar County.
Up until the civil rights movement, most of the communities were segregated.
"I was simply told, 'We can't go in that building, we're not welcome,'" said Fly as he pointed up at the historic Woolworth building.
However, things took a vast turn when young African Americans peacefully began demanding change at lunch counter sit-ins during the civil rights movement.
"They caused a non-violent desegregation of all seven of the lunch counters that were spread out at the five and dimes along Houston and Commerce streets, and they did it without confrontation," said Nettie Patricia Hinton, a community activist.
It's a glimpse of history that began on the streets next to the Woolworth building, just a block away from the Alamo.
"This is an important landmark architecturally, but it's also an important landmark socially and culturally," said Fly.
Before integration, donut bakery staff would only sell blacks donuts if they ate it outside of the Woolworth building. However, thanks to the non-violent resilience, history was made San Antonio. So much so that Jackie Robinson was quoted in the New York Times saying San Antonio should be a model city for integration.
A group of people participating in a donut giveaway to commemorate a peaceful integration moment in San Antonio wear T-shirts with reaction from Jackie Robinson (Spectrum News)