THE CONNERS of WACO: BLACK PROFESSIONALS in TWENTIETH CENTURY TEXAS by VIRGINIA LEE SPURLIN, B.A., M.A
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THE CONNERS OF WACO: BLACK PROFESSIONALS IN TWENTIETH CENTURY TEXAS by VIRGINIA LEE SPURLIN, B.A., M.A. A DISSERTATION IN HISTORY Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved ~r·rp~(n oj the Committee li =:::::.., } ,}\ )\ •\ rJ <. I ) Accepted May, 1991 lAd ioi r2 1^^/ hJo 3? Cs-^.S- Copyright Virginia Lee Spurlin, 1991 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is a dream turned into a reality because of the goodness and generosity of the people who aided me in its completion. I am especially grateful to the sister of Jeffie Conner, Vera Malone, and her daughter, Vivienne Mayes, for donating the Conner papers to Baylor University. Kent Keeth, Ellen Brown, William Ming, and Virginia Ming helped me immensely at the Texas Collection at Baylor. I appreciated the assistance given me by Jene Wright at the Waco Public Library. Rowena Keatts, the librarian at Paul Quinn College, deserves my plaudits for having the foresight to preserve copies of the Waco Messenger, a valuable took for historical research about blacks in Waco and McLennan County. The staff members of the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Texas State Library in Austin along with those at the Prairie View A and M University Library gave me aid, information, and guidance for which I thank them. Kathy Haigood and Fran Thompson expended time in locating records of the McLennan County School District for me. I certainly appreciated their efforts. Much appreciation also goes to Robert H. demons, the county school superintendent. ii To Will Stanton, Veola David, G. H. Radford, Bonnie Mitchell, B. Wesley Austin, R. J. Houston, Dolly Scott, D. H. Seastrunk, Oscar Reese, Esther Thomas, Henry Arnic, M. P. Harvey, and Ruth Kennedy who provided me with helpful details, I am most indebted. For my dissertation committee members, I should like to express heartfelt thanks for giving me guidance. The membership included Professors Alwyn Barr, the chairman, Paul Carlson, Robert Hayes, Allan Kuethe, Otto Nelson, and Warren Walker. Joan Weldon helped me tremendously by typing the final draft of this dissertation in her usually impeccable style and I am grateful for her assistance. My appreciation for the history classes which inspired me to this doctoral effort is in direct proportion to the greatness of two of my former professors. In memory of David Vigness and Ernest Wallace, I can express only a profound sadness that my final work at Texas Tech University will not be judged by them. The largest debt of gratitude is to my parents, R. J. and Effie Spurlin, who always have provided me with enthusiastic encouragement and support. To them, I dedicate this dissertation. Ill TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii PREFACE V CHAPTER I. FAMILY AND YOUTH OF GEORGE CONNER 1 II. FAMILY AND COMMUNITY LIFE IN WACO 21 III. JEFFIE ALLEN CONNER 36 IV. MEDICAL PROFESSION OF GEORGE CONNER 53 V. SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 77 VI. CLUBS AND FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS 97 VII. PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF JEFFIE CONNER 113 VIII. CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVITIES OF THE CONNERS 132 IX. C0NCLUSI0N--IMP0RTANCE AS INDIVIDUALS 161 BIBLIOGRAPHY 168 IV PREFACE On August 11, 1990, blacks from the central Texas area held a seminar at Paul Quinn College to discuss the topic of "African American Males; An Endangered Species." Lester Gibson, a member of the Waco municipal council and vice president of the McLennan County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, served as a panelist. During the discussion Gibson stressed that blacks must comprehend their role in history. Instead of adopting the history of white Americans as theirs, blacks can improve their self worth by realizing their importance in American and world history. He emphasized that black children can rediscover role models when black communities revitalize themselves through development of businesses, industries, educational facilities, and churches. 1 To learn more about their own history and thus to discover role models certainly would seem beneficial to blacks as well as other ethnic groups. The purpose of this dissertation, then, is to contribute to that process by presenting two black professionals, George and Jeffie Conner, who resided in Waco during the twentieth century. The Conner story will return the reader to a time of prejudice, racism, and a struggle for equal rights. As the chronicle of their lives unfolds, I hope this dissertation will do justice to the Conners' legacy and will serve as an analysis of the era in which they lived. George Sherman Conner was born before the end of the Civil War in Tennessee- His parents, who had been free blacks before the war, encouraged George to receive an education. He became a teacher, but soon changed professions and studied to be a doctor. After graduating from Flint Medical College in New Orleans, George and his wife, Mattie, established their home and his practice in Waco. I have sought to assess the influence of free black family status on George's opportunities to advance his status. At the beginning of this century, blacks in Texas found their lives little different from those in any other part of the South. Segregation of whites from blacks existed in Waco as surely as the Brazos River divided the city in half. Blacks, for the most part, settled in east Waco although a few had homes scattered throughout the southern and northern sections of the city near the business district. Some whites had homes close to the center of town also, but the majority of middle and upper class whites maintained their residences in the western part of Waco at a distance from the blacks. The development of the black middle class in VI Waco serves as a possible case study of what happened in Texas and southern towns in the twentieth century. George spent over forty years as a physician in this segregated environment. He treated such diverse diseases as the common cold, pneumonia, and high blood pressure. He delivered many babies in both the black and Hispanic communities and insured a healthy beginning for all of them. Always he maintained a professional attitude which endeared him to his patients. Because of his professionalism, his black colleagues elected him president of their county medical society. George repaid them by giving generously of his time to the society and by delivering speeches on medical topics at the local churches and schools. My effort has been to clarify both the professional career of George and the economic status which resulted from his role. David McBride's book. Integrating the City of Medicine; Blacks in Philadelphia Health Care, 1910-1965. allowed me the opportunity to draw some comparisons between northern and southern medical care. After the death of his first wife, George married Jeffie Obrea Allen. During their married life, both participated in cultural and social affairs in the black community. They attended New Hope Baptist Church and became actively involved in various fraternal organizations and clubs, such as the United Brothers of Friendship, Masons, vii and Texas Association of Women's Clubs. An understanding of these activities provides insight into the development and functions of black middle class organizations and institutions. William Muraskin's book. Middle-class Blacks in a White Society; Prince Hall Freemasonry in America, provided me with helpful conclusions about fraternal organizations. Even though the two enjoyed sharing many activities, Jeffie still maintained a separate, professional career. She had been born to educated parents in a rural community near Waco. After attending a girls' school, Mary Allen Seminary, in Crockett, Texas, she entered Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College. Jeffie received a degree and began to earn her livelihood as teacher. At the time she met and married George, she already had changed her career from teacher to that of home demonstration agent with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Several years later a promotion in her job caused her to travel throughout east Texas as a supervisor of other agents. Her career offers a better understanding of the roles which were possible for middle class black women of the period. During the time that she was away from home, George wrote her approximately three hundred letters. This correspondence gives an insightful study of black existence in Waco in the 1920s and 1930s. The letters exhibit viii examples of social, political, and economic problems which confronted George and Jeffie. Significantly, the letters reveal also the humanity of both as they faced each day's agenda. One can discern easily that the power of humor was never lost with George as he described various incidents to his wife. Business matters, funerals, church services, an unwelcome visit by George's nephew, and other subjects were explored carefully for Jeffie's benefit. By 1948 Jeffie had left her job as a home demonstration agent and secured a new position as supervisor of black schools in McLennan County. She retired in 1957 and, thereafter, became a more vocal proponent for the welfare of blacks in her community. As a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, she took an active role in the civil rights movement in central Texas. Her efforts in these fields reflect success in opening new positions for black women in a time of change. Both George and Jeffie thus served the black community in various ways. He, as a physician, and she, as an educator, gave time and effort to aid their community. In religious, cultural, social, educational, economic, or political matters, they shared a concern for black advancement. Their story is a record of challenge and achievement for themselves as well as the black community.