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Original L. C. Anderson High School - Austin, Texas

A high school for African American students was organized in Austin, Texas as a part of the Robertson Hill School in 1889. Professor Hightower Theodore (H.T.) Kealing (the namesake of Kealing Junior High School) served as the first principal. In 1896, Professor Laurine Cecil (L.C.) Anderson, former principal of Prairie View Normal and Industrial College (now Prairie View A&M University) took over as principal and remained until 1928. In 1907, the high school moved into its own building on Olive Street and in 1909 was renamed after Principal Anderson's brother, Professor Earnest H. (E.H.) Anderson, himself a prominent educator. In 1913, Anderson High School moved into a larger location on 1607 Pennsylvania Avenue where it remained for 40 years. After L.C. Anderson passed away in January of 1938, Anderson High School was renamed to honor him. In 1953, L.C. Anderson High School opened at a new facility at 900 Thompson Street, with the old Pennsylvania Avenue location becoming the new location for Kealing Junior High School. Both schools were ordered closed in 1971 by a federal judge because they were found to be still racially segregated years after the landmark ruling of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.

The closing of the school was not a popular decision among the former students and community members because they felt that the school was integral part of the East Austin African American community. The Austin Independent School District (AISD) opened a new high school campus in Northwest Austin and named the school L. C. Anderson High School in honor of the East Austin High School. Today the former East Austin locations of the High School are often referred to as the "Original L. C. Anderson High School." On the East Austin location (Thompson Street) of L. C. Anderson High School, AISD has built a new school. The new school, Eastside Memorial Early College High School and International High School opens the summer of 2021. When the new Eastside Memorial Early College High School and International High School opens at 900 Thompson Street, the presence of L.C. Anderson High School in the new building will be unmistakable. In addition to several historical re-creations of the original structure, built in 1953, the new school will have dedicated community space and an exhibition gallery for the Original L.C. Anderson Alumni Association to host meetings and lead public tours.

The school will also feature three corridor displays devoted to capturing the lasting legacy of Austin’s only Black public high school during the segregation era. Architecture firm Perkins & Will, whose Austin studio designed the new facility, brought in exhibition and branding experts from its Atlanta studio to help the Alumni Association tell the century-long story of the high school until its closure in 1971. The design of the Legacy Walls documented in the black and gold school colors show Anderson’s commitment to the “pursuit of excellence” in photographs, the school song and mascot, a timeline that weaves together the history of the high school with the history of Black public education in Austin, and stories about the academics, arts, and athletics that made Anderson a strong community and educational force.

Reference: 1. https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/aushc/00634/ahc-00634.html 2. https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5507014678 3. https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/aushc/00238/ahc-00238.html 4. Florence Hawkins Temple Original L.C. Anderson High School Reunion Papers An Inventory to the Collection 5. Lucile Edna Frazier L. C. Anderson High School Photograph Collection An Inventory of the Collection 6. Anderson High School Papers An Inventory of the Collection 7. www.eastendculturaldistrict.org

Notable Alumni: THE VILLAGER/May 3, 2019  www.theaustinvillager.com Nelda Wells Spears was appointed tax assessor-collector Aug. 1, 1991, making her the first African-American tax assessor-collector among the state’s 254 counties. Moreover, Spears was elected Travis County tax assessor-collector for five consecutive terms, retiring on Dec. 31, 2011. Spears was a proud Austin native and a lifelong member of Greater Mount Zion Baptist Church. Spears attended Austin public schools and graduated from L. C. Anderson High School. Travis County named the Tax Office Building in honor of Nelda Wells Spears, Saturday, May 4th, 2019, at 5501 Airport Boulevard, Austin, TX 78751.

Dr. William Charles Akins --  THE VILLAGER/April 7, 2017   www.theaustinvillager.com Dr. Akins graduated from the Original L. C. Anderson High School and received his undergraduate degree from Huston-Tillotson College (now University) and a master ’s degree from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University). In 1982, his college alma mater bestowed him with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. He taught in the Austin Public Schools system during segregation and was instrumental in facilitating the desegregation and integration processes for the Austin Independent School District in the early 1970’s. His other roles included: first Black teacher (Johnston High School), Assistant Principal (Original L. C. Anderson High School in East Austin), Principal (New L. C. Anderson High School in North Austin), and as Associate and Assistant Superintendent (AISD Executive Administration). In 1998, the AISD School Board voted to name Akins High School in his honor for his commitment to the Austin school district. He also was the first African American sports announcer for KLRN-TV (now KLRU-TV), sports official for athletic events, and was a faithful and active church member of Wesley United Methodist Church.

Dick “Night Train” Lane THE VILLAGER/February 7, 2020 www.theaustinvillager.com One of the greatest players in NFL history, Lane was born in East Austin in 1928. Despite a rough upbringing, he found a way out through sports. He attended segregated L.C. Anderson High School and played basketball and football. Lane played football for two years under legendary coach William Pigford. In 1945, L.C. Anderson was runner-up in the Prairie View Inter-scholastic League, an association of black Texas high schools. After graduating from L.C. Anderson in 1946, Lane attended junior college in Nebraska before enlisting in the Army. He played football in the military, earning second-team All-Army recognition in 1949 and first-team All- Army honors in 1951. Upon his discharge from the Army, Lane worked at an aircraft plant in Los Angeles. On his bus ride to work, Lane passed the Los Angeles Rams offices. One day he entered the Rams offices with a scrapbook full of his football accolades and asked for a tryout. Duly impressed, the Rams signed him to a contract. As a rookie in 1952, Lane intercepted 14 passes in 12 regular-season games, a record that still stands today. More than just a ball hawk, he developed a reputation as a vicious tackler who grabbed ballcarriers by the head and neck before slamming them to the turf. At 6-2, 200 pounds, Lane was big for a defensive back. His aggressive tackling style became known as the “Night Train Necktie.” Lane described his playing style thusly: “My object is to stop the guy before he gets another inch....(I)f I hit the min the legs they may fall forward for a first down. ... I grab them around the neck so I can go back to the bench and sit down.” In 1962, a year after Lane brutally tackled running back Jon Arnett by grabbing his face mask, the NFL adopted a rule prohibiting the grasping of an opponent’s face mask. Let’s call it the “Night Train” Lane Rule. Lane played for two other NFL teams in addition to the Rams, most notably the Detroit Lions, where he spent the bulk of his career. He amassed 68 career interceptions, which is currently the fourth-highest total in league history. In 14 NFL seasons, he was named to seven Pro Bowls and made first or second-team All-NFL every year from 1954-1963. Never forgetting his roots, Lane, upon entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974, was introduced by L.C. Anderson coach William Pigford for his induction speech. In his speech, Lane chastised the NFL for its lack of progress in welcoming blacks as coaches, executives and quarterbacks. Refusing to hold back the same way he played with all-out abandon on the football field, Lane said during his speech that the NFL treated its black players like “step-children.” In 1994, Lane moved from Detroit back to Austin. Suffering from diabetes as a result of knee injuries from playing football, he spent the last two years of his life in assisted living before passing away after suffering a heart attack in 2002 at the age of 73. Lane will be remembered fondly for being among the first group of black athletes who took pro football by storm when finally given the opportunity and who elevated the level of play to where it is today. One of Austin’s own, he’s regarded as one of the greatest players in NFL history.

Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson THE VILLAGER/February 21, 2020 www.theaustinvillager.com Raised in East Austin, Henderson attended L.C. Anderson High School his first two years before moving to Oklahoma City. Although he didn’t attend L.C. Anderson all four years, his class was the last class to graduate from the segregated high school in 1971. Henderson played seven NFL season with the Cowboys, San Fran- cisco 49ers, Houston Oilers and Miami Dolphins. He won Super Bowl VVII with the Cowboys. Later in life, following bouts with drugs and alcohol and a subsequent rehabilitation, Henderson remained close to his native Austin, founding the East Side Youth Services and Street Outreach, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping youth in Austin. In 1999, he fasted for a week and raised $300,000 to fund the Yellow Jacket Track and Field (Original L. C. Anderson High School Stadium) at 900 Neal Street in East Austin. He later staged a hunger strike to raise money to refurbish the facility. Henderson, a two- time All-American at HBCU-member Langston University in Oklahoma, was selected No. 18 overall by the Cowboys in the 1975 NFL Draft. Talent guru Gil Brandt discovered Henderson despite his small-college status, reveling in his uncanny speed for a linebacker and high I.Q. Unlike most linebackers of that time, Henderson possessed the rare ability to run reverses on kickoffs and dunk over the goal post, which he did after scoring a touchdown in a playoff game against the Rams.

Gil Askey - THE VILLAGER/July 10, 2009 www.theaustinvillager.com Gil Askey, Motown producer and writer for such greats as Diana Ross, and Michael Jackson, and Jazz Great Kenny Dorham.

Judge Harriet Murphy Harriet Mitchell Murphy is the first African-American woman appointed to a regular judgeship in Texas.[1] Born in Atlanta, Georgia. Murphy received her bachelor's degree from Spelman College, master's degree from Clark Atlanta University, and law degree from the University of Texas School of Law. In 1973, she became the first African-American woman appointed to a regular judgeship in Texas, and served on the City of Austin Municipal Court for twenty years.[1] Before joining the municipal court, she practiced law part-time for eight years and served as the head of the government department at Huston-Tillotson in Austin for five years

School type:	Public High School Motto: Founded:	1889 School district:	Austin Independent School District Grades	10–12 Enrollment: Student to teacher ratio: Language:	English Area:	Austin, Texas Color(s)	   Black and Gold Mascot:  Yellowjackets Feeder schools:  Kealing Junior High School