Houston High School Football Under Segregation and the Turkey Day Classic скачать в хорошем качестве

Houston High School Football Under Segregation and the Turkey Day Classic

On September 24, 2025, the Center for Public History hosted a panel discussion to explore the history of the Turkey Day Classic football rivalry between Phillis Wheatley High School and Jack Yates High School in the mid-20th century. Speakers on the panel included historians of the era and those who had been students at the time of the Classic. Before the panel got underway, Dr. Nancy Beck Young, Director of the Center for Public History, offered welcoming remarks. She also spoke about the Center for Public History, and the role that CPH plays in educating students in and promoting the role of public history. Dr. Daniel P. O’Connor, the Dean of the University of Houston’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, spoke on appreciating local history as a native Houstonian and remembering Houston history through institutions like CPH. Dr. Elwyn C. Lee, UH’s Vice President for Neighborhood and Strategic Initiatives, spoke on why the Turkey Day Classic was important to the Third and Fifth Wards of Houston. He also spoke on the reasoning behind the establishment of a historic marker for the Turkey Day Classic at the University of Houston. Dr Debbie Z. Harwell, editor of Houston History magazine, introduced the panelists. She also gave some historical context for the Turkey Day Classic Debra Blacklock-Sloan, a member of the Harris County Historical Commission whose mother was a 1955 graduate of Wheatley, described the excitement she had as a child and then as a student attending the Wheatley-Yates football games, how she got into exploring the history of Black Houstonians, and how current high school students don’t understand the significance of the Wheatley-Yates rivalry. Reverend Donald Dickson, a former director of HISD’s Barnett stadium and 1958 graduate of Yates who played football and ran track, recounted practicing with the football team and band at Emancipation Park, wearing his Turkey Day Classic ring as a form of remembrance, and the diminishing of student and parent interests in school activities. Dr. Thurman Robins, a former Texas Southern University professor and 1958 graduate of Yates who participated in the swim team and band, described the attending the Turkey Day parade, how the Classic was the highlight of the school year, writing his book Requiem for a Classic: Thanksgiving Turkey Day Classic, and the over-the-top Yates halftime performance in 1958. Dr. Leslie Fullerton, retired dental surgeon and 1959 graduate of Milby High School who was a football quarterback, described his journey of learning more about the history of Black sports in Houston and his experience as a football player at a White high school during segregation. The panel then opened to questions and comments from the audience. The questions asked concerned how the schools accounted for the large number of spectators, why the Wheatley-Yates rivalry was so intense, why there were no fights at the Turkey Day games, and the involvement of families. Some comments included accounts about the sea of people as they walked to the game stadium from the bus stop a mile away and newspapers purposely undercounting the number attendees of the Classic because the real numbers were technically in violation of the fire code. Dr. Harwell closed out the panel and promoted Houston History magazine, which has featured articles about the Third and Fifth Wards in the past and has an article about the Turkey Day Classic in their most recent issue.