II 

Calendar No. 300 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2490 

[Report No. 117–92] 

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 

MARCH 2, 2022 

Reported by Mr. MANCHIN, without amendment 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

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

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

5 is— 

6 (A) associated with the period of racial 

7 segregation in Marfa public schools; and 

8 (B) the only extant property directly asso9 ciated with Hispanic education in Marfa since 

10 the other buildings were torn down after the 

11 Blackwell School closed in 1965; 

12 (2) the Blackwell School is a tangible reminder 

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

14 but equal’’ dominated education and social systems; 

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

16 Texas law, Mexican Americans were regularly ex17 cluded from commingling with Anglo individuals at 

18 barbershops, restaurants, funeral homes, theaters, 

19 churches, and schools; 

20 (4) the spectrum of experiences of students and 

21 teachers at the Blackwell School are an important 

22 record of life in a segregated school in the context 

23 of the history of Texas and the United States; 

24 (5) Mexican and Mexican American culture and 

25 history in Marfa is tied to the Blackwell School, 

26 which for more than 50 years served as a leading 


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1 feature of the Hispanic community, illustrating the 

2 challenge of maintaining cultural identity in a domi3 nant Anglo society; 

4 (6) Hispanic influences continue to be seen in 

5 social and religious organizations, business and gov6 ernment institutions, and shared experiences of lan7 guage, food, and music in Marfa, Texas; 

8 (7) the historic Blackwell School building is a 

9 physical record of— 

10 (A) the longevity and beauty of the distinc11 tive design and craftsmanship informed by tra12 ditional techniques and materials; and 

13 (B) the transition from the purely 

14 vernacular to the period of materials, design, 

15 and workmanship made available after the ar16 rival of the railroad; 

17 (8) the original historic school building and 

18 grounds on which the Blackwell School building 

19 stands provide an authentic setting to commemorate 

20 and interpret the history of the Blackwell School; 

21 (9) the Blackwell School is closely associated 

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

23 history in the area of school segregation; and 

24 (10) Mexicans and other members of the Latin 

25 American diaspora have placed a high value on eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Mar 03, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2490.RS S2490

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1 cation as a means of economic, social, and political 

2 advancement, but Hispanics and Latinos have not 

3 always had equitable opportunities and access to 

4 quality educational facilities in the United States. 

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

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

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

9 (2) NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.—The term ‘‘Na10 tional Historic Site’’ means the Blackwell School 

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

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

13 the Secretary of the Interior. 

14 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BLACKWELL SCHOOL NA15 TIONAL HISTORIC SITE. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

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

18 there is established the Blackwell School National 

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

20 National Park System to preserve, protect, and in21 terpret for the benefit of present and future genera22 tions the Blackwell School, including— 

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

24 academic and cultural cornerstone in Marfa, 

25 Texas; and 


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1 (B) the function of the Blackwell School 

2 within a segregated system of education in 

3 Texas and the United States from the period of 

4 1885 through 1965. 

5 (2) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—The Na6 tional Historic Site shall not be established until the 

7 date on which the Secretary determines that— 

8 (A) a written agreement has been entered 

9 into by the Secretary with the Marfa Unified 

10 School District providing that the Blackwell 

11 School shall be donated to the United States or 

12 co-managed with the Secretary for inclusion in 

13 a national historic site to be managed consist14 ently with the purposes of a national historic 

15 site; and 

16 (B) a sufficient quantity of land or an in17 terest in land within the boundaries of the Na18 tional Historic Site has been acquired to con19 stitute a manageable unit. 

20 (b) MAP.— 

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

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

23 shall prepare a map that depicts the boundaries of 

24 the National Historic Site. 


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1 (2) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of the Na2 tional Historic Site shall be the boundaries generally 

3 depicted on the map. 

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

5 on file and available for public inspection in the ap6 propriate offices of the National Park Service. 

7 (c) ACQUISITION OF AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

8 may only acquire any land or interest in land located with9 in the boundary of the National Historic Site by— 

10 (1) donation; 

11 (2) purchase with donated funds; or 

12 (3) exchange. 

13 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin15 ister the National Historic Site in accordance with— 

16 (A) this Act; and 

17 (B) the laws generally applicable to units 

18 of the National Park System. 

19 (2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

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

21 after the date on which funds are first made 

22 available to the Secretary to prepare a general 

23 management plan for the National Historic 

24 Site, the Secretary shall prepare a general man25 agement plan for the National Historic Site in 


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1 accordance with section 100502 of title 54, 

2 United States Code. 

3 (B) SUBMISSION.—On completion of the 

4 general management plan under subparagraph 

5 (A), the Secretary shall submit to the Com6 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

7 Senate and the Committee on Natural Re8 sources of the House of Representatives the 

9 general management plan prepared under that 

10 subparagraph. 

11 (e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

12 shall enter into cooperative agreements with the Blackwell 

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

14 and nonprofit partners for interpretive and educational 

15 programming, technical assistance, and rehabilitation re16 lating to the National Historic Site. 

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

18 property or non-Federal public property shall be included 

19 within the boundaries of the National Historic Site or 

20 managed as part of the National Historic Site without the 

21 written consent of the owner of the property. 


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Calendar No. 300 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2490 

[Report No. 117–92] 

A BILL 

To establish the Blackwell School National Historic 

Site in Marfa, Texas, and for other purposes. 

MARCH 2, 2022 

Reported without amendment 


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