It is a fact that generations of Latino children have experienced a segregated education in the United States. In this sense, the Blackwell National Historic Site will shed light on this often-neglected injustice in the country’s history.

This month, on September 20, the bill was passed in the House of Representatives that makes the old Blackwell school in Murfas, TX, a National Historic Site, eliminating the final obstacle of Congress, and the bill can proceed without interruption so that President Joe Biden's signature.

According to a publication by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), “Once this landmark legislation is signed into law by the President, a half-acre school campus in West Texas will become one of the first national park sites dedicated to interpreting modern Latino history”.

“First introduced in 2020 by former Representatives Will Hurd and Filemón Vela of Texas, the Blackwell School National Historic Site Act has proved an example of rare bipartisan agreement amid challenging conversations about racism across the country. The final bill was championed by Representatives Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23) and Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Alex Padilla (D-CA)”, according to the same publication.

The NPCA and Blackwell School Alliance have worked for years with West Texas communities and advocates across the country to honor the stories of Mexican American students who have been segregated from their white counterparts and sent to “Mexican schools” throughout the American Southwest.

The proposed Blackwell School National Historic Site in Marfa, Texas, would protect one of the last remaining “Mexican schools” in good condition, ensuring that the experiences and history that have taken place there are never forgotten. The NPCA led the process of new national parks dedicated to several stories, including the "Amache National Historic Site", the Birmingham National Civil Rights Monument and the Stonewall National Monument. The entire national park system should tell the full American story, which includes stories like Blackwell school among others.

As Theresa Pierno, President and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, said: “The message that Mexican American students received when they stepped through the doors of the Blackwell School was simple: you are second-class citizens. They were given hand-me-down furniture and outdated textbooks. They were told to bury their native language and leave it behind. They were threatened with punishments if they disobeyed. The odds were stacked against them, but many Blackwell students persevered and even saw their school as a place of joy. Today, Congress stood up for those same students and sent a different message: you matter, and your powerful stories will not be brushed aside or forgotten. Instead, America’s greatest storyteller, the National Park Service, should teach visitors from around the world about this little-known chapter of our country’s history”.

Mario Rivera, a former Student at Blackwell School and a founding member of the Board of the Blackwell School Alliance, said: “Having access to education was lifesaving for people in my hometown. Marfa was a poor, rural community: some of us missed weeks of school to pick cotton or moved back and forth for our families to follow work. Our teachers taught us, and sometimes disciplined us, too. We played sports, sang in the choir, and looked forward to our junior high graduation, just like they did at the other school across the railroad tracks”.

According to NPCA’s publication, Daniel Hernandez, board member of the Blackwell School Alliance, stated, “As a descendant of Blackwell alumni, it’s both exciting and incredibly humbling to be so deeply involved in efforts to preserve the Blackwell School and the collective memory it represents for students who truly experienced segregation in Texas and across the country. This designation validates the experience of these students who lived through a difficult chapter in our nation’s history — an experience that deserves deeper study and greater awareness. I’m immensely proud that our nation’s newest venue for examining difficult history will reside in Marfa, Texas”.

About the National Parks Conservation Association: “Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.5 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations”. For more information, visit www.npca.org.

About the Blackwell School Alliance: “The Blackwell School Alliance and its partners preserve and restore historic resources associated with the Blackwell School; interpret and commemorate the era of segregated Hispanic education; and serve the Marfa, Texas, community culturally, historically, and educationally for the benefit of all Marfa residents and visitors, now and into the future”. For more information, visit www.theblackwellschool.org.