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 Desegregation of Lions Municipal Golf Course Posted by:  Tygress
N 30° 17.493 W 097° 46.465
14R E 617862 N 3351728
Some scholars consider this the earliest integration of a public golf course in the Southern United States.
Waymark Code: WM847M
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/24/2010
Views: 15
Steeped in history, with an uncertain future, this Municipal Golf Course is a favorite of Austin Golfers, and obviously a witness to history and historical golfers. Whether it will survive when the lease runs out ("The land is owned by the University of Texas and rented to the City. The University has decided to close down the golf course and let the history fade away. A coalition to save the course has been formed called Save Muni." -- GC1W8WM Lion's Roar) still remains to be seen. This old course has handled a lot of controversy -- from the events of the marker even unto the text and placement of the marker. In some famous words: the Muny ain't dead yet.
www.utbracktract.com/files/media/Austin%20American%20Statesman%2020081026.pdf
WEST AUSTIN ICON Austin's Muny might be civil rights landmark
Lions was the first verifiably, fully desegregated municipal course south of the Mason-Dixon line, one expert concludes.
By Kevin Robbins krobbins@statesman.com AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, October 26, 2008
A couple of months ago, a few friends with a fondness for Lions Municipal Golf Course casually began to explore whether Lions was the first municipal course in Texas to integrate the races. Layer after layer, the evidence revealed a far more stunning conclusion. Lions could be the first verifiable desegregated municipal course south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
That research from the past could affect the future of the West Austin golf course, which is on land owned by the University of Texas System. UT regents are exploring new ways to use the property, [spurring] community efforts to try to preserve the 80-year old golf course.
...City records suggest that Lions allowed African Americans to play without limits as early as 1951, when two black youths were left undisturbed as they walked the public golf course — long before Oliver Brown petitioned the Topeka Board of Education and Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat on a bus in Alabama.
Until the new information about Lions was found, the earliest documented full desegregation of a Southern municipal course occurred in winter 1955 after a lawsuit brought by black golfers in Atlanta reached the U.S. Supreme Court and forever integrated golf courses in that city.
Other Southern courses permitted African Americans to play for abbreviated periods or on certain days; black caddies, for instance, were allowed to play on days that some country clubs were closed.
But Bob Ozer, Ken Tiemann and General Marshall of Austin say oral histories and City Council minutes that they have assembled show Lions to be the first documented case of African Americans having unfettered access to city golf in a sport long seen as a stubborn bastion of exclusion. "The city was forward. It was far ahead of other cities," said Marshall, a lifelong resident of Austin.
A University of Miami scholar who researches the integration of golf courses has validated the evidence.
"It's not one piece of evidence that one can single out," said Marvin Dawkins, the Miami sociologist. "It's the corroboration of the pieces of evidence."
Dawkins was unaware of Lions until the sleuthing by the amateur researchers in Austin.
They found an oral history on file at the Austin History Center recounted by Taylor Glass, the mayor of Austin in 1951. In the transcript of the interview, Glass said he remembered getting a telephone call about two black youths playing golf at Lions in
1951. "This was before there was any mixing of the races in restaurants, schools or anywhere," Glass recalled in the interview, dated May 23, 1974. "I don't see why it ought to bother anybody out there, and I'm for leaving them alone and not even calling the newspaper and see what happens," the oral history continues. "We went on and (let) them play and never heard a word."
Until now, Austin's city courses were thought to have been integrated in 1959. But longtime black players at Lions such as Marshall remembered seeing African Americans from other cities coming to Lions earlier than that year to play.
Marshall, a retired professor at Huston-Tillotson University, played his first round at Lions in the late 1950s, when he was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta. But he caddied at Lions as a 10-year-old who walked in the late 1940s from his home in the Clarksville neighborhood to tote bags for 85 cents a round.
"There were a number of white caddies, too. But they could play," Marshall recalled.
The Lions research could create a new dynamic in the dispute about the Brackenridge tract, 346 university-owned acres along Lake Austin Boulevard that include the golf course.
Save Muny, a group of residents pushing to preserve the municipal golf course, plans to pursue a historical designation for Lions, including the possibility that it is eligible to become a National Historic Landmark. Such a distinction might further the group's effort to save Lions from development. A planning firm hired by UT System regents to recommend the best uses for the land will divulge its early ideas Nov. 3 (2009). Those ideas could include redevelopment of the entire tract.
"At this point, they're going to reserve comment," Matt Flores, a spokesman for the regents, said of Lions' historical claims. "These are things that Cooper, Robertson (the planning firm) certainly will be taking into account."
...In addition to Glass' oral history, the research produced minutes from City Council meetings in summer 1951 that show that the council approved the construction of a $2,999 "lounge" at Lions. Newspaper accounts of the meeting called the structure a "Negro lounge," but the minutes do not include that description.
The research also included minutes of council meetings in January 1951, when the mayor suggested that the city build a nine-hole golf course in East Austin specifically for African Americans, a Jim Crow-influenced idea that was never realized. According to the minutes, Council Member Emma Long replied "that with other needs in east Austin, a golf course would be too expensive now, and that there were two golf courses already in existence."
"I thought it was unnecessary and said so," Long, now 96, said Wednesday. Long said she remembers no controversy, deliberation or even awareness among council members that the city was formally desegregating a golf course. Lions was already desegregated, Long said. The city saw no need for a law or proclamation, she said.
After Ozer and the others involved in the research found the evidence that Lions had been integrated long before they had thought, they contacted Dawkins, the Miami sociologist.
Dawkins, who co-wrote a book published in 2000 called "African American Golfers During the Jim Crow Era," reviewed the evidence. He said last week that it "clearly established" that Lions was the first recorded municipal course in the South to allow black players to play without limitation..."This discovery represents a need for a corrective" addition to the official history of the desegregation of American golf, Dawkins said.
Nelson Linder, the president of the local branch of the NAACP, agreed that the research casts a new light on a page in American history. "It's very significant," he said. But he added that Austin was still a segregated city with segregated schools at the time. "Let's give it credit...But let's not ignore that the city of Austin had a lot more battles going on at the time."
Many American cities did, especially those in the South. Northern cities such as Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Washington built separate golf courses for African Americans long before 1951. They integrated other courses earlier, too.
In the South, some courses allowed black golfers to play on special occasions or on designated days. Dawkins draws a distinction between those courses and the desegregation of Lions.
Dawkins said the integration of Lions probably happened in the spirit of the landmark Supreme Court case involving Houston postal worker Heman Sweatt and his effort to be admitted to UT's law school. The court ruled in favor of Sweatt in 1950. Dawkins said he believes "it was in the context of Sweatt that led the policymakers (in Austin) to say, 'Let's let them play.' "
Save Muny members see opportunity in the research. "I would hope UT sees a great opportunity to get on board and preserve" Lions, said Tiemann, an advertising salesman who lives in the Tarrytown neighborhood that surrounds Lions. Tiemann said that as a boy, he walked the forested golf course with his grandfather, hunting for arrowheads. "It holds a special place in my heart because of that."
He got involved in the desegregation research after a summer event at Lions to raise money and awareness for Save Muny. That's where he heard that Lions might be the first municipal course in Texas to integrate. At the Austin History Center, he found newspaper clippings, oral histories and council minutes that, stitched together, told a story that he had never heard. "It all ties in," Tiemann said.
Lions was more than he imagined: "The birthplace of equal-access golf in the South."
More background:
www.examiner.com/x-13649-Austin-Golf-Examiner~y2009m6d30-Save-Lions-Municipal-Golf-Course
Lions Municipal Golf Course in Austin, TX will probably not play host to the U.S. Open at any point due to the length, but this golf track radiates “tradition” in the Austin golfing community and unfortunately there are potential plans to demolish this historic course.
Lions Municipal Golf Course, which opened in October 1924, is in danger of being mowed over to make room for a new Brackenridge tract development. The golf course, which makes up 141 acres of the 345 acre Brackenridge tract, is located in West Austin and is owned by the University of Texas, but is currently leased to the city of Austin until 2019. So no development would even start for another ten years, but UT has recently received two proposed development plans from the firm of Cooper, Robertson, & Partners LLP out of New York. The first being called the “Park Plan” which would include 6,600 housing units and the “Village Plan” which would include 8,700 housing units. An unspecified number of retail shops and restaurants would be included in the development as well. This battle of trying to decide what to do with this land has been on going since 1910 when it was first donated to UT by Col. George W. Brackenridge. So we are going on 100 years now, but it seems that UT is now starting to get serious. The local community is not going to let this happen without putting up a fight though.
In recent years, local folks of Austin formed the group Save Muny. They have made huge strides as of late finding out that Lions Municipal Golf Course may be the first verifiable desegregated municipal golf course in the Deep South. Peter Barbour, Save Muny Chairman, says Save Muny members Bob Ozer and Ken Tiemann, with the help of the Austin History Center, and the pro bono work of the lawfirm Minton, Burton, Foster, and Collins discovered a transcript of an interview by Taylor Glass who was mayor of Austin in 1951. The transcript showed Glass receiving a phone call about two black youths playing golf at Lions. Glass went on to say in the interview, “I don’t see why it ought to bother anybody out there, and I’m for leaving them alone and not even calling the newspaper and see what happens. We went on and let them play and never heard a word.” With this piece of historical information Marvin Dawkins, a scholar from the University of Miami who researches the integration of golf courses, confirmed Save Muny's findings which lead to Save Muny applying for the installment of a historical subject marker through the Texas Historical Commission to commemorate Lions significance as a pioneer of desegregation. The group’s application was approved in January and the marker should be installed in the coming months. Save Muny will also be working to have the golf course noted as a National Historic Landmark.
Muny’s around the country are where golfers get their start. This is where young boys and girls develop their love for the crazy game they call golf. Kids typically do not grow up playing on resort or private courses. Muny courses are local Americania. Muny courses are where you golf at for 20 years and still see the same friendly faces working in the clubhouse or at the starter stand year in and year out. Muny courses are where fathers and sons form a never ending bond of life, love, and laughter. Lions Municipal Golf Course is Austin and building on this course would not only be taking away a piece of Austin, but it would be taking away a piece of golfer’s hearts around the country.
see also www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/08/09/0809muny.html :
Historical agency altered text for golf course marker under pressure Reference to segregated event following 1951 integration is in dispute. By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz & Kevin Robbins AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sun, Aug 09, 2009
More marker's placement:
www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/golf/entries/2010/01/14/lions_historical_marker_finds.html?cxntfid=blogs_backspin
Lions historical marker finds permanent home By Kevin Robbins | Thursday, January 14, 2010
Save Muny member Mary Arnold reports the Texas Historical Commission marker noting the social significance of Lions Municipal Golf Course has been installed at the entrance of the course on Enfield Road. City workers encased it in concrete Wednesday.
The marker explains the role of Lions Municipal in the desegregation of municipal golf courses in the American South. Members of Save Muny discovered in 2008 that Lions had been desegregated in 1951, years earlier than the first recorded racial integration of a municipal course in the South.
“Now that we’ve got the marker, people are learning about the history of the course,” Arnold said.
The marker originally had been dedicated in October on the first tee of the 18-hole course.
But the University of Texas System, which owns the land the city leases for the golf course, objected to placing the marker on the course.
Arnold said Save Muny intends to pursue the possibility of purchasing an additional marker — at a price of $1,500 — to place on the course. Save Muny members believe more people can take the time to read and study the language if the marker is on the site.
“We have always felt it belonged on the course,” Arnold said.
About the course:
www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/lions.htm
Lions Municipal Golf Course 2901 Enfield Road Austin, TX 78703
...since 1934 [Lions] has long been the city's most popular course. Constructed originally by the Lions Club in 1928, Lions has hosted notable golfers, including Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, and ...Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw...considered short by today's standards, 6001 yards, ["old Muni"]'s relatively narrow tree lined fairways and small greens provides a challenge to even the longest hitters.
re its future:
www.savemuny.com
Marker Number: 15772
Marker Text:
In 1924, local Lions Club members formed the Austin Municipal Golf and Amusement Association to open the first public golf course in the city. The Association leased part of the Brackenridge tract from the University of Texas, and by the fall of that year had converted the heavily wooded land into a nine-hole facility. It later added a brick clubhouse and expanded the course to 18 holes, retaining the name “Lions Municipal” or “Muny” after transfer of the least to the City of Austin in 1936.
The site is near the historically African American community of Clarksville; yet, while young men from that neighborhood helped build Muny and often worked as caddies, a system of segregation at public recreational facilities kept African American citizens from playing the course. In 1950, Mayor Taylor Glass anticipated building a separate, segregated course. However, some City Council members thought it was not a cost-effect measure, and on April 5, 1951, Council woman Emma Long suggested African American golfers be allowed to use existing public courses.
Two black youths forced the city’s ultimate decision by walking onto Muny and playing golf. Authorities decided to let them complete their groundbreaking round, ushering in an era of de facto integration at Muny. Although at least one segregated event was held after this and segregated clubhouses were maintained, play on the course was otherwise integrated. The quiet desegregation at Muny preceded access at other public courses, as well as federal public accommodation legislation, by several years, drawing African American golfers to Austin from around the state. Some scholars consider this the earliest integration of a public golf course in the Southern United States.
(2009)
Marker is Property of the State of Texas
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