‘A TRULY HISTORIC OCCASION:’ TXST renames 2 residence halls after trailblazing women

Texas State University renamed two residence halls Friday after six women who made history while attending the school.

Angelina Hall was renamed to the First Five Freedom Hall, honoring the first five Black women who integrated Texas State in 1963 — Georgia Hoodye Cheatham, Helen Jackson Franks, Gloria Odoms Powell, Dana Jean Smith and Mabeleen Washington. San Gabriel Hall was renamed to the Elena Zamora O’Shea Hall, recognizing the first Latina student to attend Texas State in 1906.

“It is truly a historic occasion,” Texas State President Denise Trauth said during a ceremony held Friday. “This is just a wonderful day at Texas State because we have the privilege today of recognizing some of the most important trailblazers of our university.”

Above, Texas State University President Denise Trauth speaks to a crowd during a ceremony where the university renamed two residence halls in honor of six trailblazing women. Daily Record photo by Lance Winter

O’Shea attended Texas State when it was named Southwest Texas State Normal School. O’Shea, the first known Latina to attend the school, was enrolled in 1906 and the summers of 1911 and 1917. She also attended school in Saltillo, Nuevo León and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City.

She taught school in Alice, Texas, where she served as the school’s principal and remained involved in education for 23 years, according to the university.

O’Shea was also a lay-historian who authored the book “El-Mesquite,” which was a fictionalized account of Mexican settlers between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers from 1575 to the early 1900s. The university said the book is considered a major contribution to Mexican-American literature.

Trauth said it's a “historic day” as the university renamed San Gabriel Hall in O’Shea’s honor.

“It’s especially important for Texas State as a federally designated Hispanic serving institution to dedicate a space on this campus to bear her name,” Trauth said.

Kristina Wyman Allision, a granddaughter of O’Shea’s who was in attendance at Friday’s ceremony, said the family is “unbelievably honored” to have a residence hall renamed in Elena’s memory.

“I never got to meet my grandmother, unfortunately,” Allison said. “She died the spring before I was born. But I’ve heard many wonderful stories about her. She’s kind of almost a mythical character. So many people knew her … We’re just unbelievably impressed with this whole process.”

First Five Freedom Hall

Dana Jean Smith was academically qualified to enroll at the university when she applied in the summer of 1962 but was rejected because of a whites-only provision in the college charter that only an act of the state legislature or a court order could enable her admission. Mabeleen Washington received a similar letter following her application.

U.S. District Judge Ben H Rice Jr. signed a court order ending segregation at the university on Feb. 4, 1963.

Smith and Washington alongside Georgia Hoodye Cheatham and Gloria Odoms Powell registered for classes that same day. Helen Jackson Franks, a sophomore transfer student from Huston-Tillotson College, enrolled the next day.

According to Texas State, the “first five” have each been active at the local and statewide level, contributing their time and talent to nonprofit organizations.

“In truth, we owe these remarkable women more than we’ll ever be able to give in recognition of their courage and persistence in the face of injustice,” Trauth said.

Franks said seeing Angelina Hall renamed in the “first five’s” honor means everything to her.

“I paved the way for those that couldn’t get here. I did what they are going to do, and I’m happy they got an education,” Franks said. “We gave it to them and I’m happy.”

Added Powell, “It means 60 years of waiting for this to happen, for the San Marcos area to realize what we did back then in 1963.”

Recalling their time at Texas State, both Franks and Powell said they didn’t have problems when they arrived on campus.

“What made me so happy is that we all five had a high GPA and [President John G.] Flowers could not turn us away,” Franks said. “I’m just grateful for what I did then, what I was doing, and what I was going to continue to do … When I came up here [my grandmother] said, ‘you know where you came from. You know where you’re going. Now what are you going to do when you get there?’ I said, ‘Get an education and give it back to the community,’ and I’ve taught for over 25 years.”

Renaming effort

Friday’s renaming ceremony was a part an effort by Texas State to recognize the contributions of distinguished individuals from the university's Hispanic and Black communities.

In September 2020, Texas State established a Naming Task Force that solicited more than 40 naming suggestions from students, faculty, staff and alumni. The task force forwarded recommendations to the Council for Inclusive Excellence for feedback and review with a final list presented to Trauth and the Presidential Cabinet for final selection.

Scott Bowman, associate professor in the School of Criminal Justice and a special assistant to the Provost for inclusion and diversity, and Gloria Martinez — Department of Sociology professor, Center for Diversity and Gender Studies director and director of the Latina/o studies minor — co-chaired the naming task force.

Prior to Friday’s ceremony, the university renamed two streets on its Round Rock Campus, honoring Adolfo “Sonny” Barrera and Elvin Holt.

Barrera was a former university administrator. Holt was the first Black professor in the Department of English.

The newly renamed residence halls are located at 951 Moore Street in San Marcos. During Friday’s ceremony, Trauth said the “first five” and O’Shea were key figures who helped shape the university.

“They laid out a foundation that we have a privilege but also a responsibility to build upon today to elevate Texas State to even greater levels of equity, access and inclusion,” Trauth said. “It truly is our calling as an institution of higher learning to provide the environment that celebrates our common humanity and prepares students to be change makers.

“I hope that every time we see these honorees’ names on these buildings, we take to heart what their experiences can teach us that it takes tremendous courage to be the first and break new ground, that there is still injustice and discrimination in the world that calls all of us to remain brave and persistent, and that by celebrating the heroes that came before us, we remember our responsibility to make it better for every generation that follows us.”