Justice on "the Hill" A History of Activism at Prairie View a&M University

Prairie View A&M University is more than Texas’s oldest public historically Black university―it is a crucible of political struggle and social transformation. Since its founding in 1876 on the grounds of a former slave plantation, Prairie View has stood at the forefront of the Black freedom struggle, producing generations of students, faculty, and alumni who challenged the injustices of Waller County, Texas, and beyond.

Justice on “The Hill” brings together wide-ranging histories that reveal Prairie View’s singular role in shaping Black political life. From the long battle for voting rights―fought through courtrooms, protests, and ballot boxes―to the galvanizing impact of Sandra Bland’s story, these chapters explore the people and movements that turned a rural HBCU into a national symbol of resistance. Readers will encounter the determined students who formed the “Political Science Posse,” the courage of Lulu B. White and Maude Craig Sampson Williams, the legacy of Emanuel Cleaver, and the enduring struggles against racial violence and voter suppression in Waller County.

This collection underscores Prairie View’s abiding truth: Activism is woven into its very fabric. Each chapter offers a unique lens―whether through women’s leadership in the early twentieth century, the role of religion in protest, or the long shadow of racial violence―that together illuminate the breadth of Prairie View’s contributions to American history.

Edited by Will Guzmán and William T. Hoston, Justice on “The Hill” honors the institution’s sesquicentennial by preserving stories of struggle, resilience, and triumph. It affirms Prairie View’s reputation as not only a producer of “productive people” but also as a wellspring of political consciousness and justice-seeking, where generations of Black students transformed themselves and the nation.

WILLIAM T. HOSTON is a professor of political science at Prairie View A&M University. He is the author of Toxic Silence: Race, Black Gender Identity, and Addressing the Violence against Black Transgender Women in Houston and The Fight for Black Liberation: Breaking the Political Strings in the Trump Era.