Mina Ward School

Bastrop was established as a Mexican municipality (later renamed Mina) in 1832. As in many Texas towns, early 20th century grade schools here were segregated into three campuses, with separate facilities for Mexican American, African American and Anglo American students. Bastrop established a school for Mexican Americans in the 1910s, and in 1933 built the Mina Ward School on land east of Main Street and north of the M-K-T railroad tracks.

The one-story yellow frame schoolhouse had classroom space and a stage for one or two teachers educating eight grades of students from Bastrop and the surrounding rural area. In 1947, Samuel and Nemesia García asked school officials to let their granddaughter attend the Anglo American school, but the request was denied.

On Nov. 17, 1947, on behalf of twenty students in four local school districts, San Antonio attorney Gustavo (Gus) C. Garcia, supported by University of Texas professor George I. Sanchez and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), filed a class action lawsuit titled Minerva Delgado, et al. vs. Bastrop Independent School District of Bastrop County, et al.

The complaint accused the schools of depriving children of equal educational opportunities. At the hearing on Jun. 15, 1948, federal judge Ben H. Rice issued a summary judgment, ruling the segregation of children of "Mexican or other Latin American descent" was "arbitrary and discriminatory and in violation of plaintiff's constiutional rights as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

" The Mina Ward School closed, but statewide the decision preserved segregation of African American students and any first graders who did not exhibit English-language proficiency. The school and the Delgado v. Bastrop case are remembered for their significant contributions to the Civil Rights movement and for providing greater opportunities for generations of Texans.

(2015)