- To say our community has experienced growing pains is an understatement.

From an early population of just over 2000 in 1910 to over 140,000 in 2020, every individual represented in those numbers has contributed to the growth and development of Midland.

As we continue to hear from our historians, history demands that we remember our struggles, but we do so with the awareness of the triumphs that have come one story at a time.

(chuckles) This is "Midland: Our City, Our Stories.

Growth doesn't just happen.

It takes a community of people to put that change into motion.

A community has to dedicate itself to being better than it was the day before.

Midland has seen and continues to see that kind of change.

It wasn't easy.

No one ever said it would be.

But it has been worth it.

Let's see how that change has helped transform Midland.

(gentle music) - When they pulled up at the bus station, I thought, ooh wee.

There's nothing, you know, nothing!

There was nothing attractive.

I looked over, as the bus came down Highway 80, I looked over, I said, "Well, that's Colored Town right there."

And it was.

When I got to the station, Miss Singleton met me, and I said, "Well, how are you doing?"

And I said, "I'm fine."

She drove us back.

We stopped at James Lister's service station to get some gas.

He was the second person I met in Midland.

We came back, came over Lee Street.

Lee Street was open.

And in the ditch, I asked her, "What are those things running around there?"

Big old wood rats, that big, running around in the ditch, in the flat.

And they had this little place said, Enough Said and another little place.

(sighing) I got, what she took, well, the first stop, we went by Carver and checked in, so I had to sign my paperwork.

Then the next stop was Dr. Viola Coleman's house.

And then the next stop was 1402 East New York where she lived.

I called my aunt and I said, "You have got to let me come home."

I said, "I have died and gone straight to hell."

I said, "You have to see this place."

I said, "They got nothing but big old rats big as cats running around down in the flats."

She said, "Flats?"

I said, "Yeah, the flats, ain't it, the cuts."

She said, "Okay."

- It was May of 1964.

I had an opportunity to fly to Midland, for the first time.

And I was on this little small plane, which frightened me.

But anyway, when I got, before we landed in Midland it seemed like, it looked like a desert.

I wasn't used to that.

It was a desert.

And so I said, okay.

And I was here for the weekend.

It was just odd seeing the dryness, hardly any trees.

And I grew up in the Houston, Columbus, Texas area where there's nothing but trees and beautiful greenery and stuff.

So it was a shock.

It really was a shock when I came to Midland.

But it was a good weekend.

- What brought me to Midland?

Love, (chuckles) love brought me to Midland.

I followed my fiance here and we got married here in Midland.

That's what brought me here.

And I love it.

I'm glad I did it.

My husband was, "Where are the trees?

There's no trees."

Coming from Santa Fe, I mean, you know, that's the first thing you step out and see in the morning and before you go to bed, you see all the trees and the mountains, and that wasn't here.

(chuckles) - When I moved to Midland, my first place was 1402 East New York.

I had half of a room that I rented from Claudia Singleton.

The day, was $36 a month.

Claudia built a house down at 500 South Marshall on the corner.

Well, that was my second place I lived.

Then I got my own house, the first time I had my own house, my own furniture.

500 South Clay, house is still there.

Well, all these places are still there.

And when I got married, my husband and I bought a house at 713 South Calhoun.

And we moved into that house in 1962.

Then we found an as-iser that we bought at 1601 East Hickory.

And we bought that house and moved into it.

And so that is where I am now.

But I think back to the time when my friends and I were gonna try to buy a house in the neighborhood, it was on Pecan Street, and the man said, we called and he said, "We don't sell to niggers."

And we said, "We're not niggers, we're people."

And I think now that whole neighborhood is, what is that, multicultural neighborhood now.

And everybody lives in it.

And the people, because when I got to Pease, I taught some kids who had been in that neighborhood since 1959.

Their parents, they were born in '59.

And I thought, okay.

And their parents are still in that neighborhood even now.

And I see everybody gets along because they're next door neighbors and they all check on one another.

Their children grew up together.

So hey, it's about looking past this and finding this.

- Well, let's go back to the first one you mentioned, the flood and the flight.

That was because of when they first started integrating and our people moving into homes on the north side of the tracks, the African Americans would move into one house and the white people would move out.

So we always just said that was the flood, and we were flooding in and they were flying out.

And that's just one of the things that happened.

You know, you just, but we had already built a new house on the south side, so we stayed in it.

(gentle music) - Well, they were divided in such a way that a Mexican and a Black person could not go through the front door of a restaurant.

It was divided.

And that's how it, the Black community over there on the south side, across the tracks and on the east side in the Mexican community, the DESA Valley School is still there.

And one time they put a rattlesnake in my car.

It was a dead one, but I didn't know that.

And then they said, hey, they got a call that was in the office.

They said, "They got a disturbance.

They need you right there, right now."

And when I ran over there and I got in my car, and I stepped and I saw it, the big old rattlesnake.

I hate snakes, you know, that scared the hell outta me.

And then after I saw it was dead, you know, I got it out of the car.

And that was a fake call, you know.

They didn't need me anywhere.

They just wanted to see my reaction to it.

So I had my ups and downs with them.

But I didn't give up.

I stayed there.

- While I was visiting Midland, we had an opportunity to go to a drive-in.

And it was on, I'm thinking it was on Wall Street and Andrew's Highway.

It was, and I have to recall the name of the drive-in.

But it was sort of like a Sonic drive-in where you put in your order in the, when they bring your order, they'll put the tray table on the side of the thing.

But anyway, we ordered our sandwiches and drink.

And before too long, the person came back with our sandwiches and drinks in a to-go, in a paper sack.

And she apologized that she was not supposed to wait on us.

And so she was sorry.

So she gave us our sandwiches.

And being shocked, I told my boyfriend, "Let's go."

He said, "No, we have paid for our meal, and we're gonna sit here and eat our meal."

And we were right in front of the drive-in.

And I don't recall the name of the drive-in.

But anyway, that was my first instance of prejudice.

This was 1964.

And everything was like opening up in Houston.

There were sit-ins and all that.

It was subtle during that time.

And President Kennedy had come in November of 1963 and he had visited Houston.

But everything was opening up.

And that was a total shock for me.

But anyway, that was, I'll always remember that.

(gentle music) - The Methodist church at the time was segregated.

Hollowell Methodist Church, Wesley Methodist Church, all of the churches in Abilene, Odessa, El Paso, Midland, Brownwood, were a part of what was called the Central Jurisdiction.

Now, can you imagine?

we've got this segregated jurisdiction in the middle of the Methodist church and other jurisdictions surrounding the Central Jurisdiction were white.

That discriminatory structure influenced me significantly because I committed myself to not only speaking out relative to that discrepancy in the church, but that was a context that resulted in many of the young people, we were teenagers at the time, coming to understand what was wrong, why it was wrong, and what it would take to make things better.

And so, you know, ironically, I suppose, that contributed significantly to my doing what I do now, servicing the community.

Too bad for us that we had to go that route.

But that was the reality of the time.

And of course later on, Dr. King would echo the fact that Jesse Jackson would, and others, the most segregated hour in the United States of America still is the church hour.

- After being away in college for four years, I wanted to come back home and work.

So I did put a application in in Midland.

They didn't have any vacancies.

And then I tried the surrounding counties, Lubbock, Abilene, Amarillo, all around.

And nobody had any vacancies.

So I went back to, I went to Houston where I had a sister living and I got a job there.

I was a licensed beautician also.

So I got a job in a beauty shop.

But I still put applications in to be a teacher.

And one application I put in was at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

And that December, I got a letter saying they had a vacancy and they they were hiring me.

And so I headed off to Gallup, New Mexico.

- Where do I live?

Well, I still live in the same house that I was born in, I guess, basically.

And unfortunately back then, I lived in East Midland.

The area, I'm gonna tell you, it's not modernized.

We don't have sidewalks, we don't have curb ramps.

And even back then, we didn't even have a paved street.

It was rock and gravel.

And it was like this all through my whole adult, I mean, young life.

I was probably 20 years old maybe when we finally got some pavement down on the street.

We still don't have sidewalks.

We still don't have curb ramps.

But we do have a paved street.

Being in a city as rich and as good as Midland is, why are we living in these different conditions?

I'm not saying they're bad conditions, but they're different.

And I would go to see my friends in the south side and they had it just as bad, if not worse, gravel, rocks, holes, potholes, you name it.

But yes, when I was young, didn't always have access to a wheelchair.

So even at the age of 7, 8, 9 years old, 10 sometimes, my dad would carry me.

- Yes, when Lee Street intersection was closed, there were various businesses on Lee Street all up and down until you even get to the intersection.

It did impact us.

It even impacted us because that meant our vendors, we had orders coming in every weekday.

And that impacted our business because they had to go to another block and then come in to Lee Street, where it was a straight forward from Front Street to Lee Street.

And it impacted, it impacted all.

We had barber shops.

There were bars, and we had restaurants on Lee Street, beauty parlors.

It did impact us, it really did.

The railroad commission would, the railroad would not close Lee Street within, well, so many years.

But we eventually knew that with Lee Street being a dead end going to the south, there was gonna have to be some changes.

And that was very stressful.

One of the incidents, which I remember in 1990, after being in these meetings and sort of had the assurance that we would be given heads up on when the changes was gonna be.

It was in May of 1990 that I was out of town and I came back and Lee Street was closed on the weekend.

Friday evening they closed Lee Street, and you only had, and opened up, they opened up Lamesa Road.

And it was very stressful.

My husband was really concerned about it.

And so were the other Lee Street owners on that street because they were not made aware of that street, Lee Street being closed.

And then Lamesa Road.

Lamesa Road was, Lamesa was one block down from Lee Street.

And we were told that they could not have two railroad crossings within one block.

But we were very angry about it because we were not let, we were not given head ups.

And I know they, I was very disappointed with the city because they did not advise us of that.

Apologies were made, but we just felt that we were just, to me it was discrimination that we were not told.

(gentle music) - Individuals must become secure in knowing that city hall, hospital district, school district, college district will be committed to working for equity and equality and fairness in community.

It can't be an experience in lip service.

What we say we are as institutions must be reflected in what we do across the board so that these young people who are coming through the system leave not only encouraged to treat their fellow persons with respect and dignity, but they, too, will be able to rear children in the same thing.

So whether it's art, whether it's music, medicine, mental health issues, we've got to work cooperatively to make things happen for the better.

- Some of the major changes that I have observed, number one, is that they're being more acceptable on it.

They're being more understandable about it.

I think before when you heard of mariachi, it was just a mariachi group that was playing together in a bar.

Well, that's not the case anymore.

They're doing concerts.

They're working with orchestras.

I mean, they're doing totally different things.

And I think it's being accepted worldwide now.

And of course in Midland, also.

But as for the Hispanic Cultural Center, I think the biggest thing is that it's understanding that the kiddos sometimes don't have other opportunities to engage in other after hour or after school activities.

And this is one thing that they have to make a commitment to and they've made a commitment to.

And it's actually gone in and they understand why it values and why it adds to the enhancements of their education.

That's the key thing, is they are now realizing that it's not just an avenue for an extracurricular activity.

It's actually something that's adding to the value of their education.

Look at MISD right now.

MISD is now starting to bring in, or begin mariachi groups.

They have one at Legacy High School that they're trying to create.

They have one at Goddard Elementary, or Goddard Junior High, excuse me.

And then they also have some at Bunche that is a ballet, and also at Bowie, that's a ballet.

So they're starting to realize that getting the students' interest is going to be through their culture, because that's the hook.

(gentle music) We have so many different cultures here in Midland now.

It's not just Mexican culture.

You have Spanish culture.

You have, and it's different, again.

You have a Nigerian culture, you have a French culture, you have all different cultures here now.

The value is that in order to be a community of one, a community that stays together and nurtures each other, we have to understand each other's culture.

We have to understand each other's values through their faith.

And sometimes people really have an issue with going the faith route.

But I think that through the culture route, that is where you actually understand why they do things that they do, why there's a difference between, even in education, how a student is taught.

- We have got to, as a community, remove the shackles that prevent us from working more strategically together and strike a chord of equity that will result in people in this community believing in themselves and their ability to make their environment better.

- So I would like to see people of all racial backgrounds work together and find a way to interact together in some way.

Because when we get a chance to know each other, we find that we are, we have so much in common - A legacy that I would like to leave in the Midland community, that I did all I could for others, that I was a positive influence on others, that I motivated people.

'Cause I get that a lot in the gym.

"Oh, you motivate us to wanna work out."

I say, "Well, it has to come from within.

Don't look for other people to motivate you.

Motivate yourself.

Use me as that.

But you need to motivate yourself."

And they just kind of look at me.

"Yeah, you're kind of right."

- I don't think I could ever leave Midland.

It's become my home.

I mean, it's everything to me, you know, memories that I will never forget, beautiful memories.

And of course, again, I couldn't leave here.

I wanna stay here.

- We have made a lot of progress.

It's always for the better, for the best, that we are here now.

We're still not there 100%.

- I can see the enormous progress we've made, and I'm so proud of it and so happy for it.

But we still have a way to go.

And I think we'll get there.

I think we will get there.

I hope we will.

But it takes all of us.

And if we solve problems a problem at a time, you'd be surprised how far we can get.

But when we try and solve a problem all at once, it's too much for everybody.

It makes everybody get mad over minor things and take ridiculous stands.

So let's just make the progress we can make.

- To see and hear from our community's historians has been an humbling experience.

Each one's exuded confidence, tenacity, grit, and heart.

Each one came to Midland for what it could offer, but stayed because it's home.

They helped break down the walls that kept them out.

They have been invited to the table.

Their ideas matter to what the heart of this city is.

We still have a ways to go, but we're on the right track.

We'd love to hear from you and know about your story.

Thank you for joining us, as we will continue this important conversation on diversity.

"Midland: Our City, Our Stories."

Good night.

(gentle music) - I think what's different about Midland than other places is that it's much smaller than a lot of the other places that you can go to, but there's still a good community.

I do think Midland has a lot of opportunities for younger kids like me to immerse themselves in different things.

There are many ways to volunteer, so helping out at their school or maybe like a donation place.