Fifteen miles west of Gladewater, Hawkins boasts Jarvis Christian College, a historically black institution initiated through the efforts of Mary Alphin, the African American leader of the Negro Disciples of Christ in Texas. Learn about the college’s founding through stained glass windows in the campus’ Christian Church. Jarvis Christian College was one of several African American colleges founded by religious, government and other organizations as a result of segregation. Others in Texas include Paul Quinn College (Dallas), Bishop and Wiley colleges (Marshall), Jarvis Christian College (Hawkins), Mary Allen Junior College (Crockett), Texas Southern University (Houston), Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical College— now Prairie View A&M (Prairie View)—Texas College (Tyler), and Samuel Huston College and Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute, which merged into Huston-Tillotson in 1952 (Austin).