 "Photo: Wenjin Zhang")
From the birth of rock 'n' roll and stiletto heels to the uprising of the Korean War and the Civil Rights Movement, the 1950s was a thrilling and important time in American History and for the UT School of Architecture, according to the former dean of architecture and 1956 alumnus Hal Box.
On June 9, 1950, John S. Chase, the first black graduate of the University would take his first steps onto the campus as a member of the student body.
"I don't know why he hasn't been recognized as the first graduate," Box said. "The media didn't pick up on his enrollment, because the School of Architecture wasn't as visible as the School of Law."
When Chase made the decision to graduate in 1952 from the graduate architectural school, his intentions were not to make black history.
"I chose that school to further my education and knowledge," Chase said. "I was, at the time, in Texas, and the University of Texas was in Texas and was also noted as one of the better architectural schools in the United States."
Getting admitted into "one of the most noted architectural schools in the nation" was an accomplishment and a challenge for Chase. However, his true obstacles came the first day he set foot into the classroom his freshman year.
"My tough times came as a student. Although I made good grades, the work was different and a little harder than I had been accustomed to," Chase said.
Chase said he had more problems as a student than he did post-graduation.
"I just had to adjust to so many things that sort of took your attention a lot of time when it shouldn't have," Chase said. "When I was in undergraduate study in Hampton in Virginia I didn't have that problem, and the reason I didn't have it was because everyone in my class was the same color as me. Whereas at the University of Texas, when I walked into the classroom for the very first time, I was the only person in that classroom the color of me," Chase said.
Chase described the transition from Hampton University, a predominantly black institution, to the University of Texas as a complete shock, because he had never studied in a class that was anything other than black.
In the fall of 1950, Chase, along with Horace Heath, were two of the only black students enrolled at the University. Two other black applicants were turned away under the "separate but equal" argument. Because the classes that they wished to apply for were available at two other black institutions, they were turned away and denied acceptance. By fall of 1956, two years after the Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Board of Education for integration of all public schools, the number of blacks on campus had increased to 104.
Making the adjustment into graduate school did prove challenging for Chase, but racism on campus made the adversity much tougher.
"On one occasion, we got several pieces of mail from someone who wrote us and wrote some pretty nasty things in the letter and that type of thing," Chase said.
However, there were some on campus who were supportive of Chase's efforts to complete his degree.
"There were some who were extremely helpful, some that were pretty mean, and others that were extremely nice," said Chase. "I never had anyone come right out and tell me I couldn't make it, but a lot of times you don't have to say something to make yourself known - you could tell those who didn't care for your being there. They didn't have to write a letter to you," Chase said.
Nearly a decade after Chase's graduation from the school of architecture, his legacy had been partially forgotten. Heman Sweatt is often times thought to be the first black graduate of UT. Sweatt, a college graduate and Houston postal worker, attempted to enter the UT School of Law in 1946 but was denied acceptance because of his race. After finally being accepted into the School of Law by the Supreme Court case of Sweatt vs. Painter, he dropped out after two years in the summer of 1952 due to deteriorating health and marriage difficulties. Dr. Anitha Mitchell, who was a biology undergraduate student, entered the University in 1961 and was never told of Chase's accomplishment.
"I did not know he was the first African-American graduate," Mitchell said. "I thought Sweatt was. His name is not one that I remember being the first, and I think that's a shame. That is an issue that maybe we should revisit."
When Chase graduated, he realized just how true it was that blacks were not being hired as architectural draftsmen.
"There were students in the class whose fathers were architects, and I had never had that opportunity and never could get a job working for an architect, because at that time they were not hiring African-American architects," Chase said.
After graduating from one of the top architectural school's in the nation, Chase was consistently denied employment from every architectural firm he applied for.
"What I decided was if they won't hire me, then I'm going to take the State Board Examination to be an architect, try my best to pass it, and if I do, then I'm going to open my own office and hire myself," Chase said. "And that's exactly what I did."
Chase became the first African-American licensed to practice architecture in the state of Texas and is now the owner of John S. Chase F.A.I.A Architects Inc. Some of the projects designed by Chase's firm include Booker T. Washington High School located in Houston, Texas, the George R. Brown Convention Center, Delta Sigma Theta National Headquarters, the Harris County Astrodome Renovation, the Thurgood Marshall School of Law and a commission to design the United States Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia.
Chase had no problem receiving business from others in his community. His largest supporters were often times churches.
"I did a lot of churches, and they just seemed to say, 'Look, you're there, and we're going help you,'" Chase said. "I looked up, and I had four or five more architects in my office to take care of the work that I was getting," Chase said.
Box said he believes that Chase "is a successful architect and contributing citizen in Houston."
"He encouraged and employed so many African-American architects. His architects have also worked in my office," Box said. "Some before they worked for John."
Ashley Leath, a junior undergraduate architecture student and former alumni of Booker T. Washington High School, said she believes Chase to be an inspiration and is an admirer of his firm's work. "I liked things about how our high school was, especially the band room," she said.
"I think that Chase is black history," Leath said. "I sometimes remember that there were blacks who came before me who have graduated and that inspires me. If they can do it, I can too."
Although Leath and others find Chase's accomplishments extraordinary, Chase himself is not too sure of the impact he has had.
"I think when you are involved in things that are changes of what was done or how something was done, it immerses itself into history," Chase said. "I don't know if I made a change as much as I hopefully created an exceptional role model."
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