117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2490 

AN ACT 

To establish the Blackwell School National Historic Site in 

Marfa, Texas, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Blackwell School Na3 tional Historic Site Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) the Blackwell School, located at 501 South 

7 Abbott Street, in Marfa, Presidio County, Texas, 

8 is— 

9 (A) associated with the period of racial 

10 segregation in Marfa public schools; and 

11 (B) the only extant property directly asso12 ciated with Hispanic education in Marfa since 

13 the other buildings were torn down after the 

14 Blackwell School closed in 1965; 

15 (2) the Blackwell School is a tangible reminder 

16 of the period during which the doctrine of ‘‘separate 

17 but equal’’ dominated education and social systems; 

18 (3) despite being categorized as ‘‘white’’ by 

19 Texas law, Mexican Americans were regularly ex20 cluded from commingling with Anglo individuals at 

21 barbershops, restaurants, funeral homes, theaters, 

22 churches, and schools; 

23 (4) the spectrum of experiences of students and 

24 teachers at the Blackwell School are an important 

25 record of life in a segregated school in the context 

26 of the history of Texas and the United States; 
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1 (5) Mexican and Mexican American culture and 

2 history in Marfa is tied to the Blackwell School, 

3 which for more than 50 years served as a leading 

4 feature of the Hispanic community, illustrating the 

5 challenge of maintaining cultural identity in a domi6 nant Anglo society; 

7 (6) Hispanic influences continue to be seen in 

8 social and religious organizations, business and gov9 ernment institutions, and shared experiences of lan10 guage, food, and music in Marfa, Texas; 

11 (7) the historic Blackwell School building is a 

12 physical record of— 

13 (A) the longevity and beauty of the distinc14 tive design and craftsmanship informed by tra15 ditional techniques and materials; and 

16 (B) the transition from the purely 

17 vernacular to the period of materials, design, 

18 and workmanship made available after the ar19 rival of the railroad; 

20 (8) the original historic school building and 

21 grounds on which the Blackwell School building 

22 stands provide an authentic setting to commemorate 

23 and interpret the history of the Blackwell School; 
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1 (9) the Blackwell School is closely associated 

2 with the broad patterns of local, State, and national 

3 history in the area of school segregation; and 

4 (10) Mexicans and other members of the Latin 

5 American diaspora have placed a high value on edu6 cation as a means of economic, social, and political 

7 advancement, but Hispanics and Latinos have not 

8 always had equitable opportunities and access to 

9 quality educational facilities in the United States. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en13 titled ‘‘Blackwell School National Historic Site Pro14 posed Boundary’’, numbered 593/178387, and dated 

15 February 2022. 

16 (2) NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.—The term ‘‘Na17 tional Historic Site’’ means the Blackwell School 

18 National Historic Site established by section 4(a)(1). 

19 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of the Interior. 

21 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BLACKWELL SCHOOL NA22 TIONAL HISTORIC SITE. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

25 there is established the Blackwell School National 
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1 Historic Site in the State of Texas as a unit of the 

2 National Park System to preserve, protect, and in3 terpret for the benefit of present and future genera4 tions the Blackwell School, including— 

5 (A) the role of the Blackwell School as an 

6 academic and cultural cornerstone in Marfa, 

7 Texas; and 

8 (B) the function of the Blackwell School 

9 within a segregated system of education in 

10 Texas and the United States from the period of 

11 1885 through 1965. 

12 (2) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—The Na13 tional Historic Site shall not be established until the 

14 date on which the Secretary determines that— 

15 (A) a written agreement has been entered 

16 into by the Secretary with the Marfa Unified 

17 School District providing that the Blackwell 

18 School shall be donated to the United States or 

19 co-managed with the Secretary for inclusion in 

20 a national historic site to be managed consist21 ently with the purposes of a national historic 

22 site; and 

23 (B) a sufficient quantity of land or an in24 terest in land within the boundaries of the Na-
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1 tional Historic Site has been acquired to con2 stitute a manageable unit. 

3 (b) MAP.— 

4 (1) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of the Na5 tional Historic Site shall be the boundaries generally 

6 depicted on the map. 

7 (2) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be 

8 on file and available for public inspection in the ap9 propriate offices of the National Park Service. 

10 (c) ACQUISITION OF AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

11 may only acquire any land or interest in land located with12 in the boundary of the National Historic Site by— 

13 (1) donation; 

14 (2) purchase with donated funds; or 

15 (3) exchange. 

16 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin18 ister the National Historic Site in accordance with— 

19 (A) this Act; and 

20 (B) the laws generally applicable to units 

21 of the National Park System. 

22 (2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

24 after the date on which funds are first made 

25 available to the Secretary to prepare a general 
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1 management plan for the National Historic 

2 Site, the Secretary shall prepare a general man3 agement plan for the National Historic Site in 

4 accordance with section 100502 of title 54, 

5 United States Code. 

6 (B) SUBMISSION.—On completion of the 

7 general management plan under subparagraph 

8 (A), the Secretary shall submit to the Com9 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

10 Senate and the Committee on Natural Re11 sources of the House of Representatives the 

12 general management plan prepared under that 

13 subparagraph. 

14 (e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

15 shall enter into cooperative agreements with the Blackwell 

16 School Alliance and other local, regional, State, academic, 

17 and nonprofit partners for interpretive and educational 

18 programming, technical assistance, and rehabilitation re19 lating to the National Historic Site. 

20 (f) WRITTEN CONSENT OF OWNER.—No private 

21 property or non-Federal public property shall be included 

22 within the boundaries of the National Historic Site or 
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1 managed as part of the National Historic Site without the 

2 written consent of the owner of the property. 

Passed the Senate May 19 (legislative day, May 17), 

2022. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2490 

AN ACT 

To establish the Blackwell School National Historic 

Site in Marfa, Texas, and for other purposes.