Rio Grande Trails & Tales

The history of Black El Paso spans more than a century and a half, rooted in the convergence of military service, the arrival of transcontinental railroads, and pioneering civil rights activism.

1. Post-Civil War and Frontier Era (1860s–1880s)

• Late 1860s: Following the Civil War, the local population of people of color began to grow. The establishment of military installations like Camp Concordia in 1868 brought African Americans to the region.
• The Buffalo Soldiers: Units of the all-Black 25th Infantry and other Buffalo Soldier regiments were stationed at frontier posts in West Texas, maintaining telegraph lines, escorting stagecoaches, and helping secure the borderlands.
• 1880–1881: Before the railroads completely transformed the township, a foundational group of Black settlers established a permanent enclave. With the arrival of major lines like the Southern Pacific, Texas and Pacific, and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, dozens of African American railroad workers, mechanics, and middle-class families moved to the city.
• 1883: Andrew Morelock organized the first school for Black children in the area, which eventually evolved into the historic Douglass School in South El Paso.

2. Early 20th Century, Segregation, and the Great Migration (1900s–1940s)

• Early 1900s: While early neighborhoods like Segundo Barrio housed diverse communities of Mexican, Chinese, and Black residents, strict Jim Crow segregation took deep root across public facilities, transit systems, and businesses. El Paso famously served as the transition point where passengers traveling through Texas were forced into the Jim Crow car.
• 1914: Mrs. L.A. Woods passed away as one of the wealthiest Black property owners in El Paso, with a downtown estate at Mesa and Mills valued significantly at the time.
• The 1920s & Great Migration: As part of the westward wave of the Great Migration, Black populations expanded into emerging neighborhoods on the city’s outskirts, such as Lincoln Park (near the modern Eastside).
• 1924 (Dr. Lawrence A. Nixon’s Voting Rights Challenge): Dr. Lawrence A. Nixon, a prominent El Paso physician, walked up to a Democratic Party primary polling place at 2317 Texas Avenue on July 26, 1924, and demanded to vote. After being turned away due to a Texas statute barring Black voters from primaries, he launched a historic legal battle. Nixon v. Herndon and his subsequent Supreme Court challenges laid the foundational groundwork that ultimately dismantled the white primary system nationally in the 1940s.
• 1947: Marshall McCall broke barriers as El Paso’s first African American United States postal worker.

3. Civil Rights Era and Post-War Growth (1950s–1960s)

• 1950s: Black community life flourished along corridors like Alameda Avenue, featuring Green Book-listed businesses like the Hotel Daniel and lively Chitlin’ Circuit entertainment venues.
• September 1955: The first group of African American students—including William Milner, Mabel Butler, and others—enrolled at Texas Western College (now UTEP), integrating the campus.
• 1956: Formal segregation of public transportation and municipal facilities officially came to an end in El Paso.
• 1966 (Texas Western National Championship): Though sports history was made on the national stage, the legendary 1966 Texas Western College men’s basketball team—featuring the first all-Black starting lineup to win an NCAA national basketball final—brought immense pride to El Paso’s local community.

4. Modern Era and Local Leadership (1970s–Present)

Preserving the Heritage: Cultural anchors like the McCall Neighborhood Center (located on E. Wyoming Ave.) and archival initiatives like the Still We Rise: El Paso’s Black Experience exhibition at the El Paso Museum of History have worked to map, archive, and celebrate the deep-seated history of Black El Pasoans who shaped the borderland.

Civic Milestones: Over the subsequent decades, Black leaders assumed major institutional roles in El Paso. Jethro Hills served as an early African American city representative, Donald Williams became a local judge, and Major General Dana J.H. Pittard took command as the first African American post commander of Fort Bliss. Later, figures like Greg Allen served as the long-tenured Chief of the El Paso Police Department.