II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2490 

To establish the Blackwell School National Historic Site in Marfa, Texas, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2021 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Blackwell School Na5 tional Historic Site Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

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

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

10 is— 


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1 (A) associated with the period of racial 

2 segregation in Marfa public schools; and 

3 (B) the only extant property directly asso4 ciated with Hispanic education in Marfa since 

5 the other buildings were torn down after the 

6 Blackwell School closed in 1965; 

7 (2) the Blackwell School is a tangible reminder 

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

9 but equal’’ dominated education and social systems; 

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

11 Texas law, Mexican Americans were regularly ex12 cluded from commingling with Anglo individuals at 

13 barbershops, restaurants, funeral homes, theaters, 

14 churches, and schools; 

15 (4) the spectrum of experiences of students and 

16 teachers at the Blackwell School are an important 

17 record of life in a segregated school in the context 

18 of the history of Texas and the United States; 

19 (5) Mexican and Mexican American culture and 

20 history in Marfa is tied to the Blackwell School, 

21 which for more than 50 years served as a leading 

22 feature of the Hispanic community, illustrating the 

23 challenge of maintaining cultural identity in a domi24 nant Anglo society; 


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1 (6) Hispanic influences continue to be seen in 

2 social and religious organizations, business and gov3 ernment institutions, and shared experiences of lan4 guage, food, and music in Marfa, Texas; 

5 (7) the historic Blackwell School building is a 

6 physical record of— 

7 (A) the longevity and beauty of the distinc8 tive design and craftsmanship informed by tra9 ditional techniques and materials; and 

10 (B) the transition from the purely 

11 vernacular to the period of materials, design, 

12 and workmanship made available after the ar13 rival of the railroad; 

14 (8) the original historic school building and 

15 grounds on which the Blackwell School building 

16 stands provide an authentic setting to commemorate 

17 and interpret the history of the Blackwell School; 

18 (9) the Blackwell School is closely associated 

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

20 history in the area of school segregation; and 

21 (10) Mexicans and other members of the Latin 

22 American diaspora have placed a high value on edu23 cation as a means of economic, social, and political 

24 advancement, but Hispanics and Latinos have not 


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1 always had equitable opportunities and access to 

2 quality educational facilities in the United States. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map 

6 prepared under section 4(b)(1). 

7 (2) NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.—The term ‘‘Na8 tional Historic Site’’ means the Blackwell School 

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

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

11 the Secretary of the Interior. 

12 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BLACKWELL SCHOOL NA13 TIONAL HISTORIC SITE. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

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

16 there is established the Blackwell School National 

17 Historic Site in the State of Texas as a unit of the 

18 National Park System to preserve, protect, and in19 terpret for the benefit of present and future genera20 tions the Blackwell School, including— 

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

22 academic and cultural cornerstone in Marfa, 

23 Texas; and 

24 (B) the function of the Blackwell School 

25 within a segregated system of education in 


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1 Texas and the United States from the period of 

2 1885 through 1965. 

3 (2) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—The Na4 tional Historic Site shall not be established until the 

5 date on which the Secretary determines that— 

6 (A) a written agreement has been entered 

7 into by the Secretary with the Marfa Unified 

8 School District providing that the Blackwell 

9 School shall be donated to the United States or 

10 co-managed with the Secretary for inclusion in 

11 a national historic site to be managed consist12 ently with the purposes of a national historic 

13 site; and 

14 (B) a sufficient quantity of land or an in15 terest in land within the boundaries of the Na16 tional Historic Site has been acquired to con17 stitute a manageable unit. 

18 (b) MAP.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

21 shall prepare a map that depicts the boundaries of 

22 the National Historic Site. 

23 (2) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of the Na24 tional Historic Site shall be the boundaries generally 

25 depicted on the map. 


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1 (3) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be 

2 on file and available for public inspection in the ap3 propriate offices of the National Park Service. 

4 (c) ACQUISITION OF AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

5 may only acquire any land or interest in land located with6 in the boundary of the National Historic Site by— 

7 (1) donation; 

8 (2) purchase with donated funds; or 

9 (3) exchange. 

10 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin12 ister the National Historic Site in accordance with— 

13 (A) this Act; and 

14 (B) the laws generally applicable to units 

15 of the National Park System. 

16 (2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

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

18 after the date on which funds are first made 

19 available to the Secretary to prepare a general 

20 management plan for the National Historic 

21 Site, the Secretary shall prepare a general man22 agement plan for the National Historic Site in 

23 accordance with section 100502 of title 54, 

24 United States Code. 


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1 (B) SUBMISSION.—On completion of the 

2 general management plan under subparagraph 

3 (A), the Secretary shall submit to the Com4 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

5 Senate and the Committee on Natural Re6 sources of the House of Representatives the 

7 general management plan prepared under that 

8 subparagraph. 

9 (e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

10 shall enter into cooperative agreements with the Blackwell 

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

12 and nonprofit partners for interpretive and educational 

13 programming, technical assistance, and rehabilitation re14 lating to the National Historic Site. 

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

16 property or non-Federal public property shall be included 

17 within the boundaries of the National Historic Site or 

18 managed as part of the National Historic Site without the 

19 written consent of the owner of the property. 

Æ 


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