Downtown Austin in Travis County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Heman Sweatt Campus
Dedicated April 15, 1988 in tribute to Heman Marion Sweatt 1912-1982
— The University of Texas at Austin —
Photographed By Frederick Bothwell, November 11, 2015
1. Heman Sweatt Campus Marker
By action of the University of Texas System Board of Regents on August 13, 1987, the historic "Little Campus" of the University of Texas at Austin was renamed the "Heman Sweatt Campus" in honor of Heman Marion Sweatt, a civil rights pioneer. A graduate of Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, Mr. Sweatt also attended the University of Michigan and applied for admission to the University of Texas School of Law in 1946. Denied admission because of his race, Mr. Sweatt brought legal action against the University. In the landmark case, Sweatt vs. Painter, the United States Supreme Court ruled that separate law school facilities could not provide legal education equal in quality to that available at the University of Texas School of Law, one of the nation's ranking law schools. That ruling established an important precedent for the desegregation of graduate and professional schools. Challenging the "separate but equal" doctrine, the Court affirmed Mr. Sweatt's right to equal education opportunity and in 1950 he entered the University of Texas School of Law. Subsequently Mr. Sweatt earned the M.A. degree in Social Work from Atlanta University and served as an official of the NAACP and the Urban League in Atlanta.
Erected 1988 by The University of Texas at Austin.
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Location. 30° 16.679′ N, 97° 43.88′ W. Marker is in Austin, Texas, in Travis County. It is in Downtown Austin. Marker can be reached from Interstate 35N Frontage Road south of East Martin Luther King Jr Bloulevard, on the right when traveling south. The marker is located south of the Arno Nowotny Building (ANB). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 708 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Austin TX 78701, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Swedish Hill (approx. 0.2 miles away); Jacob Fontaine (approx. 0.2 miles away); George Washington Glasscock (approx. 0.2 miles away); Gen. George W. Terrell (approx. 0.2 miles away); Oakwood Cemetery (approx. ¼ mile away); Brackenridge Hospital (approx. ¼ mile away); Major William Martin “Buck” Walton (approx. ¼ mile away); Joseph Baker (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Austin.
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Photographed By Frederick Bothwell, June 2, 2018
2. Heman Sweatt Campus Marker Location
The stand on which the marker is mounted can be seen in the foreground of the picture, in a shaded courtyard in front of the oldest (1859) building on the University of Texas Campus, the Arno Nowotny Building. Previously known as the Custer House, the building was officially renamed in 1984 in honor of Arno (Shorty) Nowotny, UT Dean of Men and Dean of Student Life, 1942-1964.
Photographed By Frederick Bothwell and 1881 Courthouse Museum - Custer, South Dakota
3. Oldest Building on the University of Texas Campus
Built in 1859, the onetime "Custer House" where General George Armstrong Custer and his household spent the winter of 1865-66, is now officially known as the "Arno Nowotny Building." In this montage, an 1865 daguerreotype of the Custer entourage on the veranda of the building in the 19th century is superimposed on a 21st century photograph of the site.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 30, 2018, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas. This page has been viewed 475 times since then and 23 times this year. Last updated on October 8, 2020, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas. Photos: 1. submitted on May 30, 2018, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas. 2. submitted on June 3, 2018, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas. 3. submitted on July 31, 2018, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
