New exhibit spotlights Texas civil rights leader L.E. Bennett

Flashback: Bennett joined the telephone company, now a subsidiary of AT&T, as a janitor in 1956. It was one of the only jobs at Southwestern Bell open to people of color at the time.

• He became the chapter president of the Communication Workers of America Colored People's Union in 1961 and pushed the company to open better-paying positions to people of color, writing hundreds of letters.
• Southwestern Bell eventually made the change.
• Bennett became the first Black line worker in Texas before moving up the ranks and retiring as a manager of a five-state district in 1986.

Details: The Bullock Museum now displays his typewriter, which he nicknamed Old Faithful and used to pen his letters to the company and to national Civil Rights leaders.

• The museum also features a copy of the speech Bennett gave during a 1986 Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.

What they're saying: "I know my father would be so pleased and appreciative that the museum felt his actions were worthy of an exhibit to honor him," Bennett's daughter, Sharon, said in a statement.

• "Our family is proud, and our hearts are deeply touched."

If you go: The Bullock Museum is open from 10am-5pm, Tuesday-Sunday, and the artifacts will be on display until May 2024.