Black Austin Matters

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January 5, 2022

Wilhelmina and Exalton Delco

By: Dr. Richard J. Reddick and Dr. Lisa B. Thompson

In the first episode of Black Austin Matters, hosts Lisa B. Thompson and Rich Reddick talk with the Hon. Wilhelmina Delco and Dr. Exalton Delco. Mrs. Delco was the first Black person elected to the Austin ISD board of trustees in 1968 and later became the first Black person elected at-large from Travis County to the Texas House of Representatives, where she served until 1995. Dr. Delco was the first Black person to earn a PhD in zoology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1962. He went on to have a long career at Huston-Tillotson University and Austin Community College.