William Rubio Carbajal

William Rubio Carbajal was the first Mexican American to attend and graduate from Goliad High School, and the effort to secure his admission and the same education provided to Anglo Americans became an important struggle for Mexican Americans in Goliad County and in Texas. Born in May of 1915, he was the ninth generation of his family born in Texas, and his ancestors had served in the U.S. military during the American Revolution, Texas Revolution, Civil War, Indian Wars, and World War I. He attended a segregated public school in the city of Goliad, where the Mexican school ended with the seventh grade and consisted of a small 20 x 30 foot room with up to sixty children. His principal, Frank Wallace, believed he should continue on to the high school even though it was for whites only, and with Wallace's support William asked the school board for permission to attend, but his request was denied. His family continued the fight and sought help from the San Antonio chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, and in 1932 LULAC responded by forming the Goliad chapter, which still exists today. The LULAC council, Frank Wallace, and the Carbajal family took the case to the Texas Board of Education in Austin, which granted him the right to attend Goliad High School. After three days of waiting on the steps of the school, he was finally allowed to enter. He excelled in his studies, participated in school plays, and made all-district on the football team, and in 1935 he became the first Mexican American to earn a high school diploma from Goliad High School.

Goliad, Texas · United States