[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 75 (Friday, April 30, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E471-E472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE ANNIE E. COLBERT-ROSENWALD SCHOOL TEXAS HISTORICAL 
                          MONUMENT DEDICATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BRIAN BABIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 30, 2021

       Mr. BABIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
     dedication of the Annie E. Colbert-Rosenwald School Texas 
     State Historical Marker in Dayton, Liberty County, Texas. The 
     text of marker reads as follows:

       BY 1883, LIBERTY COUNTY MAINTAINED 53 SCHOOLS, INCLUDING 19 
     AFRICAN AMERICAN SCHOOLS. THE AVERAGE SCHOOL TERM WAS THREE 
     MONTHS FOR AGES 8-14 BUT THE ONLY SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN IN 
     DAYTON WAS LOCATED NEAR THE SETTLEMENTS OF STILSON AND FOUTS
       IN THE LATE 1890S, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HIRED THEIR FIRST 
     AFRICAN AMERICAN TEACHER, ANNIE (FAIRCHILD) COLBERT (1866-
     1961). BORN IN HOUSTON, SHE ATTENDED HOUSTON SCHOOLS AND THEN 
     TILLOTSON INSTITUTE IN AUSTIN. SHE TAUGHT AT THE GREGORY 
     SCHOOL UNTIL SHE MARRIED RAILROAD PORTER TONY COLBERT.
       FORBIDDEN TO TEACH SCHOOL IN HOUSTON AS A MARRIED WOMAN, 
     THEY MOVED TO DAYTON WHERE ANNIE ACCEPTED A POSTION AT A ONE-
     ROOM SHACK. UPON ARRIVAL, SHE GATHERED HER STUDENTS AND, 
     TOGETHER, THEY BUILT AN IMPROVED ONE-ROOM FRAME SCHOOLHOUSE 
     NEAR LUKE AND PRATER STREETS. MRS. COLBERT CONTINUED TO TEACH 
     THE AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS OF DAYTON UNTIL 1918, 
     INSTILLING THE VALUE OF EDUCATION IN HER STUDENTS AND WITHIN 
     THE COMMUNITY.
       IN 1918, THE AFRICAN AMERICAN SCHOOL RELOCATED TO A SITE 
     NEAR

[[Page E472]]

     THE ST PAUL AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH UNTIL 1927, 
     WHEN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT BUILT THE DAYTON COLORED SCHOOL. 
     SADLY, IT BURNED IN 1929. THAT SAME YEAR, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT 
     AND COMMUNITY PARTNERED WITH THE ROSENWALD SCHOOL BUILDING 
     PROGRAM TO CONSTRUCT A SCHOOL FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN 
     COMMUNITY. THE NEW FOUR-ROOM ROSENWALD SCHOOL WAS DEDICATED 
     IN 1934 AND NAMED IN HONOR OF ANNIE COLBERT, A PIONEER IN 
     AFRICAN AMERICAN EDUCATION IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

  After the integration of black and white students in the late 1960s, 
the Colbert School expanded to serve all of Dayton Independent School 
District's fifth and sixth grade students. As Dayton's student 
population increased, and other schools were built, the Colbert School 
became the prekindergarten campus.
  As a former member of the Texas Historical Commission, I know that 
this is a great honor for the community, Colbert School alumni, and the 
Dayton Independent School District.
                                              Brian Babin, D.D.S.,
     Member of Congress.

                          ____________________