Five Decades of Social Change: A Timeline

Harry Akins, owner of the Night Hawk Restaurants Inc. of Austin and San Antonio, met with a group of Austin restaurant owners to discuss integration. Seventeen of the restaurant owners signed pledges to make their facilities available to all persons “regardless of race, color or creed.” Akins is one of 100 business men from around the nation-and five from Texas-who attended the White House conference on the need for greater integration of facilities available to the public. When at the conference U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy read the list of Texas cities that have made considerable progress in the integration of public facilities, Austin was not among them. [AF-Segregation-Public Schools-S1700 (2)-1960s; The Austin Statesman, “City Restaurants Sign Integrate Pact,” June 06, 1963]
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