Edward L. Blackshear at Prairie View: Texas Education Crusader (Prairie View a&M University Series)

Many Texans will recognize schools and buildings across Texas bearing the name “Blackshear,” but few know the story of the man behind the name.Author John A. Adams Jr. seeks to rectify that in the first full-length biography of Edward L.Blackshear, bringing to light previously unexplored aspects of the life and work of a man Adams characterizes as “a pivotal leader, educator, strategist, essayist, poet, agriculturist, and advocate in the struggle to advance opportunities for Blacks across Texas in spite of a rigid, post-war white power structure.” Born to enslaved parents in 1862, Edward Lavoisier Blackshear seized every opportunity he had to learn, succeed, and raise others up with him as he became a leader and legislative activist for Black education in Texas.In a period deemed as the “New South” by historians, Blackshear distinguished himself as a foundational leader in Black education: teaching at historically Black schools and colleges in Dallas and Austin; serving as the supervis