Association of Negro Musicians Conference, El Paso, TX 1925

The First Annual Conference of the West Texas Division of the Texas Association of Negro Musicians met in the fall of 1925 and grouped themselves along the side of Douglass School. Included in the picture are Alice McGowan, Blanche Bonner, and Millie Bates, along with Professor Coleman. Douglass School was organized by black families in 1883. It added a high school program in the 1890s. in 1920, the School moved to its current location on Eucalyptus Street. The school became both a place to learn and a social center for black families until El Paso public schools were desegregated in 1956. The School was named after Frederick Douglass (1817-1895), who escaped slavery and devoted his life to the abolition movement and black rights in the United States.

Area: Central / Chamizal

Source: C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections, University of Texas at El Paso Library. Collection Name: Leona Washington Photograph Collection. Photo ID: PH033--2-26-1.jpg.

Uploaded by: UTEP Library Special Collections