The Pinkie J. Harris Collection: HBCU Connections
The purpose of The Compass Rose is to raise awareness of Special Collections' resources and to foster the use of these resources. The blog series also reports significant new programs, initiatives, and acquisitions of Special Collections.
The Pinkie J. Harris collection is a recently acquired collection here at the UTA Special Collections. This collection provides a personal insight into Black Texas life and history, and shares with us the hopes, dreams, and experiences of a woman who was born over 130 years ago. The Pinkie J. Harris collection largely contains correspondences from the 1920's to the 1940's, but there are several items that go beyond that date range.
Pinkie J. Harris, née Thompson, was born on January 12, 1885. She married Charles Harris on December 22, 1909, and they had one son, Charles Thompson Harris. He typically went by Thompson Harris. Pinkie and her son, Thompson, studied and worked at several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in Texas and the South. Today's blog post will be showcasing some of their correspondences and connections with HBCUs.
Pinkie J. Harris graduated from Prairie View State College (now known as Prairie View A&M) on August 12, 1921. We have a copy of her graduation program that invited attendees to the graduation exercises to be held at the college auditorium. A banner with the letters P.V.C. is drawn at the top of the program. Pinkie's name can be found in the class roll towards the lower left side, and is written as "Harris, Pinkie Juanita".
Prairie View A&M Commencement program
Prairie View A&M Class Roll
Thompson Harris had studied at Samuel Huston College as shown by a letter his mother, Pinkie J. Harris, had received from the college in 1928. The letterhead states: T. R. Davis, President. Samuel Huston College, Office of President, Austin, Texas. Class A. Senior College.
Letter from Samuel Huston College to Pinkie J. Harris, March 8, 1928.
The letter is dated March 8, 1928, and states the following:
Mrs. Pinkie J. Harris
Box 1121
Bay City, Texas
Dear Mrs. Harris:-
Enclosed please find receipt for Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00), account your son Thompson. There is still due Four Dollars ($4.00), Athletic and Library Fee for the third quarter.
Thanking you very kindly for your prompt remittances, I am,
Very truly yours,
Lloyd (illegible surname)
Bursar
The letter closes with the quote "We train the youth for service".
While we couldn't make out the last name of the college's bursar, we could easily see that the price of attending the college in 1928 was much different than the cost today.
In February 1939, Thompson Harris wrote a letter to Philander Smith College inquiring if he could join the college. The letterhead gives readers information about the College and writer. It states the following: Officer of the President, Philander Smith College, founded 1877 Under Auspices Methodist Episcopal Church, Little Rock, Arkansas. Underneath the letterhead is the date the letter was written: February 22, 1939. The letter is written as follows:
Mr. Thompson Harris,
Box 133,
Montgomery, Texas.
My dear Mr. Harris:
I thank you for your good letter of February 21. I have thought the matter through carefully and have concluded that it will not be possible for us to proceed further until June. I shall be happy to arrange to have you join us on June 1. This would give you a chance to become familiarized with the place by this fall. It will also give me a chance to work the whole matter into my budget.
Most sincerely yours,
M. LaFayette Harris, President.
Thompson Harris had written to another college in 1938, and while we only have the response he received to the letter, we can determine that he had been asking for financial aid for students, including one named Lestean Hachett. The letter was to Tillotson College, and like the other letters, has a letterhead that gives us information about the college and staff.
The letterhead identifies the President at Miss Mary E. Branch, and the Secretary - Treasurer as Arthur L. Royster. The letterhead identifies the school: Tillotson College, under the auspices of the American Missionary Association, Austin, Texas. The letter states the following:
Letter from M. LaFayette Harris, President of Philander Smith College, to Thompson Harris. February 22, 1939.
September 6, 1938
Mr. Thompson Harris
Box 25
Navasota Texas
Dear Mr. Harris:
Thank you for your letter about Lestean Hachett.
Tell her that we can aid her to remain in school for the year by giving her the $50.00 scholarship which she now has and work to the extend of $5.00 monthly to begin plus work during the summer to care for any unpaid balance which may accumulate. This means that she can go throughout the year as a student without being disturbed because she cannot pay up in full. Also after she gets here and shows ability (as a student) her aid will be materially increased. This I can vouch for.
As to the other girl you mention can she pay anything herself? The President is so overloaded at this late date with students who cannot help themselves that unless she can pay something I don't believe she can take her.
I am depending on you to get over to Lestean the idea that she can get along here under the above arrangement. Let me hear from you and her at once,
Sincerely yours,
Arthur Royster.
In a fascinating turn of historical events, the college Thompson attended, Samuel Huston College, and the college he wrote to interceding for tuition aid, Tillotson College, merged in 1952 and are now Huston-Tillotson University.
The Pinkie J. Harris Collection is a treasure trove of information. Keep an eye out for future blog posts about the materials found in this collection!
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