"Observation (from Poetry Group)" by Muriel Sage Banks, Board Member Files Newsletter, Page 8

"Observation (from Poetry Group)" by Muriel Sage Banks, Board Member Files Newsletter, Page 8

Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute for Colored Youths--Student life; Black students with disabilities--Creative writing--Texas--Austin; Poetry--Texas--20th century; Disability--Institutional care--Texas--Austin; Race discrimination in education--Texas--Austin

Page 8 of a typed newsletter or report from the Texas State Board of Control Board Member Files, containing a poem titled "Observation (from Poetry Group)" authored by Muriel Sage Banks, a student at the Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute for Colored Youths in Austin, Texas. The poem reflects on suffering, resilience, and the suppression of visible grief, with the refrain "Only the ones with little sorrows cry aloud." The same page contains administrative notes referencing residents of the State Colored Orphan Home by name, including Abraham Young, age 96, and Lucius M. McAdams, reflecting the Texas State Board of Control's consolidated oversight of multiple segregated eleemosynary institutions. Filed among Board Member Files, this document provides rare direct evidence of student creative life and intellectual interiority within the segregated institution, offering a counterpoint to administrative and inspection records documenting material conditions at the Institute for Colored Youths.

Banks, Muriel Sage

Texas State Board of Control Records (TX003299), Box 1991/016-98, Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Austin, Texas

Texas State Board of Control

Unknown; document retrieved 2026-03-26

Texas School for the Deaf Blind and Dumb for Colored Youth and Orphans, Julie Huth

These records are public records of the State of Texas held by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. As works of state government, they are not subject to copyright and are freely available for research and educational use.

Catalogue of the Texas School for the Blind, 1930–1931. Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Records, Box 1989/073-1; Visit Report to the Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute for Colored Youths, April 1945. Texas State Board of Control Records (TX003299), Box 1991/016-89.

Typed document, single page

english

text

Banks, Muriel Sage. "Observation (from Poetry Group)." Texas State Board of Control Records (TX003299), Box 1991/016-98. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Austin, Texas.

Austin, Texas.

Original Format: Paper
Physical Dimensions: Standard file paper 8.5 x 11