Series
Local Issue
Episode Number
30
Episode
Integration: Two Towns in Texas
Producing Organization
KUHT-TV (Television station : Houston, Tex.)
Contributing Organization
University of Houston (Houston, Texas)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/516-x34mk66d46
NOLA Code
LOCI
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Description
Episode Description
The episode explores attitudes toward school integration in two Texas towns - Crosby and La Marque. When the federal ruling came in 1964 to integrate the public school system, Southern blacks saw it as an opportunity to better themselves through education, but many southern whites viewed it as an infringement upon a way of life that had existed for more than 100 years. Some of the conflict was eased in 1964-65 when the federal government issued its Freedom of Choice ruling which allowed children to attend schools of their own choosing. This plan was agreeable to many residents. However, agencies responsible for overseeing school desegregation said progress was not being made quickly enough. So in some 100 Texas school districts, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) demanded that school boards submit new plans for desegregation or face the loss of all federal aid and possible court action by the Department of Justice. The towns of Crosby and La Marque were among those directed to comply with the HEW demands. La Marque complied with the HEW demands. There has been a re-zoning of the school districts, and school children are being transported by bus from one are to another in order to balance the schools racially. At first there was dissent from the white communities; however, it appears that this attitude has changed to a willingness to accept the new system dictated by the HEW. Crosby's white community defied the HEW demands and has vowed to fight the ruling at the risk of losing federal funds, as well as facing charges in federal court. The white majority in Crosby says it will continue to comply with the Freedom of Choice ruling but refuses to go along with the plan to bus children out of their neighborhoods. The deadline for submitting to the HEW plan or facing federal action was November 1967. The episode looks at the attempts of these two Texas towns to arrive at a solution to this conflict. It documents the state of confusion existing after an investigation by federal agencies, as well as the feelings of the townspeople after an integration plan is submitted. In areas where a plan has been agreed upon, the program studies the economic and social effects or implications it has upon the town. INTEGRATION: TWO TOWNS IN TEXAS is a National Educational Television presentation, produced by its Houston affiliate station, KUHT. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
Series Description
In this series several of National Educational Televisions affiliated stations take a close look at controversies in their own areas that may greatly affect the entire nation. Each of the local problems is presented from the points of view of those who have been involved in it, or who have watched its gradual development. The 32 half-hour episodes that comprise this series were originally recorded on videotape. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
Broadcast Date
1968-09-15
Asset type
Episode
Topics
Education
Social Issues
Local Communities
Race and Ethnicity
Public Affairs
Media type
Moving Image
Embed Code
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Credits
Director: Bauer, James L.
Executive Producer: Weston, William
Producer: Bauer, James L.
Producing Organization: KUHT-TV (Television station : Houston, Tex.)
AAPB Contributor Holdings
University of Houston
Identifier: ID 1997-006, AV Shelving (University of Houston)
Format: 16mm film
Duration: 0:29:32
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Citations
Chicago: “Local Issue; 30; Integration: Two Towns in Texas,” 1968-09-15, University of Houston, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 28, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-x34mk66d46.
MLA: “Local Issue; 30; Integration: Two Towns in Texas.” 1968-09-15. University of Houston, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 28, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-x34mk66d46>.
APA: Local Issue; 30; Integration: Two Towns in Texas. Boston, MA: University of Houston, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-x34mk66d46