From the Blackwell School Alliance
MARFA — The Blackwell School Alliance has been awarded a $20,000 grant through the inaugural cycle of the Nuestra Herencia Grant Program, led by Latinos in Heritage Conservation. The funds will support the creation of a traveling exhibit examining the legacy of Mexican schools and the broader impacts of segregation in public education across the country.
“We’re honored to receive this grant from LHC,” said John Lujan, Blackwell School Alliance Board vice president. “Blackwell is our heritage, our legacy. We owe it to our elders to tell the stories of this powerful place, to honor their memories, and to carry on the torch of preservation.”
The alliance’s proposal was one of just 14 selected for funding from more than 100 applications. The exhibit will use a combination of historical photographs and oral histories to tell the everyday experiences of Hispanic students in these segregated school systems, commemorating Blackwell alumni and casting light on undertold systemic inequalities.
“These projects fill critical gaps in our national preservation story,” said Sehila Mota Casper, executive director of LHC. “This grant cycle supports the knowledge and leadership that communities have sustained for generations.”
Blackwell School operated from 1909 until Marfa ISD schools were integrated in 1965. Commonly referred to as the “Ward School,” the three-room stone and adobe school became the focal point for the education of Marfa’s Mexican American children. As enrollment in the Mexican School soared, the sentiment for the need to educate nuestros ninos paralleled that of the Anglo population, though funding and resource inequality for Blackwell students persisted.
The preservation of Blackwell is a constant reminder that racial segregation was real, political, and economically motivated. Today, as a national historic site, Blackwell School is living proof that heritage and culture can transcend oppression. Like other Mexican schools, Blackwell served as the impetus to overcome cultural and social obstacles and elevate Hispanics across the country.
Blackwell Alumni, through grassroots efforts, long championed and supported efforts for congressional designation and establishment of the school as a unit of the National Park Service. This designation ensures the many stories of Blackwell and the Mexican American segregated experience will continue to be uncovered and told.
About the Nuestra Herencia Grant Program
Funded by Latinos in Heritage Conservation, Nuestra Herencia is the first national grant program solely dedicated to preserving Latinx historic and cultural sites. Over 100 applications were received from 21 states and Puerto Rico. Fourteen projects were selected, spanning capital improvements, planning, consultant services, and interpretation programming.
About The Blackwell School Alliance
For nearly two decades, the Blackwell School Alliance has worked to preserve and protect the newly-established Blackwell School National Historic Site. The Alliance is committed to honoring our community and shedding light on the challenges of and triumphs over public school segregation of Hispanic students in America.
The Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that accepts tax-deductible donations and memberships, starting at $25 per year. Visit www.theblackwellschool.org for more information.