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portrait by Roger Haile, Dec. 1995
Eldrewey Stearns in a recent interview
1931 in Galveston, Texas, Eldrewey Joseph Stearns was a descendent of African slaves, African Americans, American Indians, a German Jew, and an Irish plantation owner. His parents, Devona and Rudolph (Rufus) Stearns, sent him to live for a time with his aunt and uncle near San Augustine during the 1930s and 1940s. During his childhood he witnessed and experienced brutal racism that left him with feelings of powerlessness and rage.
As a child Stearns enjoyed breaking rules and provoking people to see their reactions. Intelligent and ambitious, he graduated from Galveston's Central High School in 1949 and began attending classes at Texas State University (later renamed Texas Southern University) in Houston. His college career was interrupted when he joined the army in 1951, but upon discharge in 1953, Stearns enrolled at Michigan State University. He graduated in 1957 with a bachelor's degree in political science and then attempted to enroll in the University of Texas School of Law. Denied admission, he reluctantly enrolled at the law school at TSU.
At 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, August 23, 1959, Stearns was driving his 1952 Dodge home from his job as a waiter at the Doctor's Club in Houston when two white police officers stopped him. According to the officers, Stearns was driving without a license and became belligerent. He was arrested and taken to jail. According to Stearns, the officers found a picture of a white woman, a Michigan college friend of Stearns, and became incensed. Whatever occurred during those early morning hours, it was the start of the integration of Houston's public accommodations, with Stearns taking a leadership role.
In the United States no matter how racially mixed one's heritage, a person must choose one race by which to describe that background. Even then, society will often overrule that choice and select a racial designation based on one's most prominent physical features, primarily skin color. Stearns sought to challenge white racism in an effort to bring about a colorless society. During the next several years, Stearns would rise from obscurity to a position of influence, then sink into a state of psychosis, overshadowed in history by more prominent, stable, individuals. In the story of the civil rights movement, Eldrewey Stearns was both catalyst and casualty.we would be grateful to hear your personal stories, suggestions and comments