By Danny Minton

Like any other town in the South during the 1950s and ’60s, Plano, Texas, was segregated. I still see pictures in my mind of symbols of segregation between Black and White. In the classified section of an old newspaper I own, I viewed the real estate section where “Housing Colored” caught my eye. Plano had a section referred to as “Colored Town,” which was the only area Black citizens could live. The sign on the shop across from the grocery store where I worked read, “White’s Only.”

As I remember, in our local theater Black moviegoers had to sit in the balcony, enter, and exit through the side door. The local department store had a “White’s Only” water fountain with a non-cooled water extension labeled “Colored.” If the store happened to have restrooms, you would find “Men’s,” “Women’s,” and “Colored.” Schools were segregated, with Douglass being the school for all Black children. The newer, more modern school buildings would be for the white kids. At the local café, Blacks were required to go to the kitchen to get their food. It was a time when most didn’t give it a second thought; it was an accepted way of life.

If you had traveled through Plano at that time, this is what you would have seen, but that is only part of the story of a town of less than 10,000 at the time. The Black and white story would begin to unfold in 1964 and be told through the research for a book published by The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc. (PCHP), entitled “Football and Integration in Plano, Texas: Stay in There, Wildcats!”

The 1965 Plano High School state championship football team. Danny Minton is standing in the front row, second from right. He was a halfback on the team.

In 1954, the Supreme Court in “Brown v. The Board of Education” ruled school segregation unconstitutional. The Civil Rights Act was adopted in 1964, authorizing the federal government to file discrimination cases. Before 1964, leaders in both communities met to discuss integrating the city school system. The students at Douglass voted to integrate, and in 1964, Plano schools included both Black and white students. Integrated at the same time was the Plano Wildcat football team with players Griggs, Davis, and Williams joining us from the Douglass School. In 1965 the team won Plano’s first state championship.

When Jeff Campbell and members of the PCHP began looking into integration in Plano schools and the football team, they expected to find the riots, bloodshed, and hatred that many Southern towns had faced. What they discovered instead was one of the smoothest integrations at the time. First, they found that although Plano was segregated, it was a town where the two communities interacted. Many of the kids, Black and white, spent time together. Kids from both sides respected the parents of both communities. I remember three or four of us from my science class who were chosen to visit the Douglass school to judge the science projects. The crossover between schools was only one example of how the two communities worked together. While there were isolated cases of prejudice, the integration went smoothly. Much of the reason was because Plano Superintendent Dr. Wayne Hendricks and leaders from the Douglass community, Principal John Hightower and Ben Thomas, spent Saturdays walking the white section of town to talk to families about integration.

The catalyst that brought the town together was the 1965 Plano Wildcat football team. Football was big in Plano. In the early 1960s, Tom Gray was hired as head coach, and the teams started winning. My team had gone undefeated in 7^th grade, one loss in 8^th grade, undefeated as freshmen, one loss and one tie in Junior Varsity, and one loss as Juniors. The year before integration, Coach Gray had a meeting with the team. He told us that next year, we would be an integrated team. “I don’t expect any problems,” he said. He told us that the only difference was the color of our skin and with his coined phrase, “They put their pants on the same way we do; one leg at a time.” While there were some issues with the fans, they faded as the team kept winning. I don’t remember any problems within the team. We were all purple and white when we donned our pads and helmets. 

One turning point came after the second game of the season. I was a halfback and broke my collarbone during a game. The following week, Coach Gray brought up John Griggs, a young Black player, to take my place. His speed and abilities, along with another outstanding Black teammate, Kenneth Davis, added elements to propel us to the state championship. The only issue I remember is when Coach Gray asked me if it was okay for John to wear my jersey with the number “26” for the following games. I had no problem with it; however, some fans complained, so the next week, I stood on the sideline with my broken collarbone and jersey while John wore his new number, “44.” The whole town took the journey as one as the student body, band, cheerleaders, and football team traveled to Austin, returning with a championship, representing the entire school, and putting Plano on the map.

In the end, there were so few incidents in school that it seemed like we had always been one school. The few incidents in the community quickly became forgotten, and the town settled into one community. Douglass schools were permanently closed in 1968. Plano was held up as an example of how integration should take place. There were no riots or bloodshed. It took a while for everyone to feel comfortable with the new world, but it was a smooth, peaceful transition. Thanks to men like Dr. Wayne Hendricks, John Hightower, Ben Thomas, Coach Tom Gray, and Coach John Clark, great coaches and teachers who cared for all students along with a town that had mutual respect, the citizens of Plano learned to look at each other, not as Black and white, but as neighbors.

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (NASB)

Danny Minton is a former Elder and minister at Southern Hills Church of Christ