Support for The Blackwell School Marfa Texas https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/proposals-2015/support-for-the-blackwell-school-marfa-texas https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/@@site-logo/sitelogo-75x75.png

Support for The Blackwell School Marfa Texas

Additional Information
Used for	The Blackwell School Museum, a former segregated Hispanic School in Marfa, Texas, 2,500 sq.ft, has only one swamp cooler for the warm months and no heating system. The Blackwell School Alliance needs to make urgent renovations to the School to stay open year-round for the public in 2016-17. We are asking The Dudley Dougherty Foundation to consider this request to help fund basic utilities and a HVAC system totaling $17,050.00.
Benefits	The Blackwell School and Museum seeks to continue its ten-year goal of illuminating Marfa’s indigenous, Hispanic-Latino heritage through inclusive public programming and community events. The Blackwell School Alliance is determined to continue its quest - to break the wall of segregated ‘Silence’ in its local and regional communities and exhibit the strength that race, culture and diversity plays in defining and rewriting history in Southwest Texas, The State of Texas and the United States.
Proposal Description	To the Dudley Dougherty Foundation November 28, 2015 I write on behalf of The Blackwell School Alliance, a group of Hispanic-Latino alumni ages 65-92 of the formerly segregated Blackwell School 1889-1965 in Marfa, Texas. The School has become a beacon of hope and a Museum dedicated to the Hispanic and Latino legacy in the Town of Marfa and in the State of Texas. INTRODUCTION TO OUR REQUEST In 2006, two-hundred former Blackwell students attended their School reunion in Marfa. This Hispanic-Latino community sought to prevent the School’s teardown and were determined to take their School back. With the energy of grassroots activists and volunteers, they signed a 99-year Lease for the property with the Town of Marfa. That same year the Blackwell School Alliance was created to preserve Marfa’s Hispanic-Latino history and to save and restore the original School adobe. This group of dedicated Seniors raised $50,000 in a nine-year period 2006-2015 through fund-raisers, mailings, independent donations and local Menudo breakfasts. Without computers, internet, cellphones or 501-c3 status, the Blackwell School Alliance renovated the School 75% habitable for public events and cultural programming. However, The Blackwell School Museum, 2,500 sq.ft, has only one swamp cooler for the warm months and no heating system. The Blackwell School Alliance needs to make urgent renovations to the School to stay open year-round for the public in 2016-17. We are asking The Dudley Dougherty Foundation to consider this request to help fund basic utilities and a HVAC system totaling $17,050.00. 1. IMAGE ONE: First renovations of The Blackwell School 2011-12 link to the Blackwell School Alliance website: http://www.blackwellschool.org MARFA'S SEGREGATED HISTORY AND THE NEED FOR THE BLACKWELL SCHOOL MUSEUM TODAY The Blackwell School is separated from the more prosperous areas in Marfa by public housing and a border patrol facility. Divided by the infamous railroad track in Marfa, The Blackwell School and its community have lived through intense segregation and discrimination. Ironically, beginning 1954 Brown vs. The Board of Education, Blackwell students were prevented from speaking Spanish by a written Edict of their Principal. A mock funeral ceremony was held burying “Mr. Spanish” with the childrens’ names inside a handmade ‘coffin’ in the Blackwell schoolyard. Post 1954, Blackwell students were often whipped and paddled if they ‘slipped’ and used their native tongue, even outdoors or on the playground. When Blackwell integrated with the all white Marfa ISD School in 1965, several Blackwell students were required to carry their school desks over one mile past Highway 90 to begin classes at the new school across town. POVERTY AND SEGREGATION IN MARFA AND PRESIDIO COUNTY Presidio County is one of the poorest counties in Texas and the 14th poorest County in the United States. Marfa’s average income of full time residents (pop. 2, 574) is $24,000 a year and 70% of its residents do not own a computer. Regrettably, Marfa’s Art world gentrification has heightened the economic and cultural disparity between Hispanics and the white cultural elite, creating a tourism economy that does not trickle down to benefit to the average citizen. For the few Hispanic-Latinos that own property, their home and land tax values have sky-rocketed due to current economic segregation created by rampant gentrification in Marfa. Many longtime Hispanic-Latino families will be forced to sell their properties and move away to survive. Regrettably, silent and pervasive discrimination still exists in Marfa today. The Marfa Cemetery is still segregated in 2015 with a fence dividing the Anglo and Hispanic-Latino graves. The Blackwell community is integral to the true Hispanic history in Marfa and in the State of Texas. Over 60% of Marfa’s locals are of Hispanic-Latino descent. The Blackwell School can speak to the diversity which is very present in every border town along the State of Texas and to the racial, cultural and economic segregation that still exists due to U.S. Immigration policies. The Blackwell School seeks to preserve its history, but looks ahead by being inclusive for all in the community, Anglos and Hispanics-Latinos alike. Empowering collective, unheard voices and exploring unique, Hispanic-Latino histories inside the School can have a tremendous effect on the community and invigorate the Town of Marfa. The School/ Museum can continue to be a shared community space that grows each year as a hub for cultural diversity and genuine interaction, understanding and inclusion between communities. THE BLACKWELL SCHOOL GAINS SUPPORT AND RECOGNITION FOR ITS FUTURE 2014-2015 Blackwell donated land on its schoolyard in 2014 for Marfa’s first public playground and Community Garden on the south side of town. Blackwell Park Playground is open!  2. Image TWO: The new Blackwell Park! 2014, first ever on the south side of Town! BLACKWELL GAINS RECOGNITION 2014-15 (cont.) After ten years of struggle to complete 75% of The Blackwell School restoration, the School and Museum has recently acquired 501-c3 status in 2015 and Texas Historic Landmark status with its marker on site in 2014. The Blackwell School has never received outside funding for its success in restoring its infrastructure thus far. 3. IMAGE THREE: Texas Historic marker 4. IMAGE FOUR: The Blackwell School 75% Renovated 2015 THE BLACKWELL SCHOOL GETS NOTICED - THE RECENT PBS FILM "CHILDREN OF GIANT" 2015 In April, 2015 Mexican Director and filmmaker Hector Galan released his documentary Children of Giant on PBS to a nationwide audience. The documentary is the story of Blackwell Alumni as ‘extras’ -dark-skinned ‘meskin’ children- in the 1955 film “Giant”, starring Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean. Original footage of Marfa and Blackwell students were featured, portraying the intense era of 1950s ‘Wetback’ segregation. The film opened to 200 audience members at the restored Crawley Theater in Marfa April 24, 2015 to standing room only crowds. Mexican actress Elsa Cardenas, a lead in the original Giant film, visited Marfa for the documentary. This past September 2015, the film was screened again at The Blackwell School during the Marfa Lights Festival. Seminars about the film’s documentary process, research for the narratives and the importance of community history was presented by Karen Bernstein, co-producer. 5. IMAGE FIVE: James Dean with Blackwell students in Marfa, 1956 Link to the recent PBS documentary film Children of Giant, 2014-15 http://mexican-american.org/arts/chicano-films.html BLACKWELL GAINS RECOGNITION 2014-15 (cont.) Humanities Texas 2015 recently funded a series of Oral History recording sessions at The Blackwell School this year ($3,720.00) with visiting artists and guest speakers. This was the first Foundation money ever received by the School. Twenty-five recordings were made by interviewing Blackwell Alumni, mostly Seniors and their families. This audio collection is the beginning of a historic Hispanic-Latino Archive to be housed at The Blackwell School. Humanities Texas, Austin, has invited Blackwell to submit stories for their public Digital Histories Repository website. Following is a NPR KRTS Radio interview Sept. 2nd, 2015 with Artist Lisa Bateman and Historian-alumnus Richard Williams regarding this Blackwell event, Marfa Repeticion!. The interview also contains a riveting story by Maggie Marquez, current Marfa Librarian, about the most difficult times for students during Blackwell’s segregation: http://marfapublicradio.org/programs/west-texas-talk/ Photos from the August-September Humanities Texas project at Blackwell, 2015 6. IMAGE SIX: Blackwell Audience member recognizing a fellow student in the Humanities Texas event August-September 2015 IN CONCLUSION The Blackwell School survives by a strong volunteer base and an active Board of Directors. The School wants all residents and visitors to know more about its vital history and to examine this from a contemporary perspective. One of the best ways is to invite the public inside and create a bridge across class, cultures and generations. The Museum seeks to establish a connection with Marfa’s indigenous population and local history through public programming and community events. The Blackwell School is determined to continue this quest - to break the wall of ‘Silence’ and re-educate others about the true diversity inherent in Texas and U.S. History. 7. IMAGE SEVEN: The Blackwell School Alliance Board of Directors 2015 The Blackwell School houses a unique, historic exhibition of photographs and artifacts relating to the years the School was segregated. It is truly a ‘vernacular’ Museum in the best sense of the word. Hundreds of Alumni have contributed school artifacts, momentos, student and teacher photographs, letters, report cards, desks, notebooks, textbooks and even a wooden paddle named “Sputnik” used for punishment. it is a well known fact that in spite of many challenges, Blackwell students truly adored many of their gifted Teachers and have stayed in touch with them throughout the years. A ‘Student Slide Show’ of over 500 students’ school portraits is projected inside the Museum in one of two exhibition rooms. CONTINUED PUBLIC PROGRAMMING Blackwell hosts community events at the School relating to Hispanic-Latino life and culture in Marfa and has many plans for continued projects. Some immediate plans for 2016 are an ongoing community history project with Marfa Middle School students, a Head Start program for preK in the Fall 2016, free computer classes, free Spanish/ESL classes and plans to host GED extension classes on-site through Sul Ross UT in nearby Alpine, Texas. The School seeks to remain open and function as a Museum and community center promoting tolerance, education for all and a belief that Marfa’s Hispanic-Latino heritage is vital for a healthy and diverse Community. 8. IMAGE EIGHT: Dia de Los Muertos 2014 and The Blackwell School OUR REQUEST TO THE DUDLEY DOUGHERTY FOUNDATION Blackwell is open on Saturdays and other days when volunteers are available, but they cannot keep their doors open on a regular basis in 2016 without a new HVAC system for heat and air conditioning, related insulation work, new, safe electrical lines and an updated electric meter installed on the building. The Blackwell School Alliance also seeks funding for utilities such as Wi-fi (for public use within the School) electric, water and landline telephone for more active programming throughout 2016-17. Our Budget Request: HVAC system put in place with appropriate insulation, accompanying necessary electrical work and new outside electric meter (7M Fabrication in Alpine, Texas completed the estimate http://7mfabrication.com) $13,750.00 $13,750.00 Phone (landline restored), Wi-fi, electric and water 2016-17 $3,300.00 (total: $275.00 per month, $3,300.00 per year) TOTAL REQUEST to The Dudley Dougherty Foundation $17,050.00 ----------- The Blackwell School Alliance and The Blackwell School will be happy to provide all receipts, public records and contractor reports for any received funding from any sponsor, organization or Foundation. We wholeheartedly thank The Dudley Dougherty Foundation for the time and consideration necessary to review our request. We are happy to answer any and all questions relating to this application and its contents. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead Sincerely, Joe A. Cabezuela, President of The Blackwell School Alliance P.O. Box 1014 Marfa, Texas 79843-0417 telephone: 432-386-5737 blackwellbroncos09@att.net lisaabateman@gmail.com 646-641-8511