Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 27 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Births Obituaries Aviation Business Capitol City Communication Crime Education Entertainment Exploration Farm and Ranch Indian Affairs Labor Lifestyles Media Military Music National Oil Political Railroads Religion Science Society Sports Technology Transportation Travel Veterans Weather 1600s 1700s 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s

Vol 8, No 208

July 27, 1946

Saturday Evening

Blacks vote for first time in Democratic Primary

Today in Sports
Earl Campbell inducted into Football Hall of Fame
CANTON OH  (1991)    On this date in 1991, Houston Oilers Legend Earl Campbell was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. In his career with the Oilers under coach Bum Phillips, Campbell set new team rushing records year after year bringing the Oilers within one win of the Superbowl twice.
   Among those inducted on this date was "Tex" Schramm former President and General Manager of the Dallas Cowboys.
   Introducing Earl, was his coach and long time friend, Bum Phillips, who gave special praise to Ann Campbell, Earl's mother, for raising a man who "knew how to live on the field and off the field." Following Campbell's acceptance speech, he raised his hand giving the "Hook 'em Horns" sign, in salute to his alma mater, the University of Texas.   

Blacks in Primary
AUSTIN (1946)  On April 3, 1944, a U.S. Supreme Court decision (Smith v. Allwright), extended voting right in political party primaries, to African-Americans. On this date in 1946, African Americans in Texas voted for the first time in the Texas Democratic Primary. Upwards of 90,000 new Democratic voters cast their primary ballots. A previous court decision (in 1927) gave blacks the right to vote in General elections, but did not extend the right to primaries, holding that primaries were private, not public.
   From 1865-1877 post Civil War Republicans in Washington passed four bills granting full voting rights to African-Americans. However the Democratic Party, particularly in the South, passed numerous state and local laws declaring their primaries to be private, thus excluding blacks. The Plessy vs Ferguson decision (1896), made separate-but-equal allowable, and segregation became the law in the South. New laws passed under the separate-but-equal ruling, would became known as Jim Crow laws.
   Laws were passed, particularly in the Democratically controlled South, which further suppressed the black vote. These laws included poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfathering, and gerrymandering. The Voting Rights Act of 1966 put an end to most of the voter suppression in the South, Today there are forty black members of Congress, over 16 of them from the South.
   Because of the blatant voter suppression during the days of Jim Crow, black leaders, particularly in the South, were at home with the more open Republican Party than the are today. Both Martin Luther King, Jr and baseball legend Jackie Robinson among others, were registered Republicans.

Political Desk
LBJ Takes His Seat as the Senator from Texas
WASHINGTON DC  (1949)   Eight months after his election, Lyndon B Johnson is finally recognized by the Senate Rules Committee as the rightful Senator from Texas on this date in 1949.
   The delay was the result of a heated debate over alleged election fraud in the Democratic Primary. It seems that hundreds of people were rising from the dead, just to vote for LBJ.

Railroads Desk
Southern Transcontinental Railroad Chartered
MARSHALL  (1870)   On this date in 1870, a charter was issue for the Southern Transcontinental Railroad. It was organized on October 31st with Texans George H. Giddings and James W. Throckmorton as members of the board. The company located it's main office in Marshall, and began surveying, but by 1872, it was acquired by Texas Pacific Railroad.
   The Texas and Pacific eventually made it's way to West Texas, connecting up with the Southern Pacific just west of the Davis Mountains. Soon travelers could migrate through Texas all the way to California over the T&P and SP railroads, the Southern Trans-Continental route.   

Weather Desk
Hurricane Hits Galveston, Bolivar. 19 Killed.
GALVESTON  (1943)   A Hurricane came ashore in Galveston, on this date in 1943, ravaging the Galveston and Trinity Bay areas. 19 people are killed with $16 million in damage.