(mournful music) - [Narrator] Little more than a year after desegregation began in Amarillo schools, one campus had to give up its homage to the Confederacy.

With its eye toward Federal Court rulings in January 1974, the Amarillo school board barred Tascosa High School from using Confederate symbols.

- I went to school, church rather, with a family, called the Turners.

And their son, Jesse, was a minister at a young age.

Started preaching.

And I remember in 1974, his sophomore or junior year, he started a campaign to change Tascosa.

Tascosa was of course the Rebels.

They had Colonel Reb as their mascot.

They played "Dixie" for a fight song.

And Jesse fought and did whatever he could along with the Amarillo NAACP and other kids, they had all that changed.

The unfortunate thing, Jesse couldn't walk with his class when he graduated because of death threats.

- [Narrator] Had the school board not made the decision, The district could have lost Texas Education Agency accreditation and with it more than $12 million a year in state funding.

- And so when we come to full circle now and I look at Tascosa High School and I look at the Hall of Fame that people have, you'll never hear Jesse's name mentioned when he should probably be the leading candidate there.

(melancholic music)