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Constable asks why his temporary office is beside a sign marking Ellis County’s segregated past

Curtis Polk, Jr. is the only Black elected official in Ellis County. His new office is near a courthouse wall commemorating the site of a segregated water fountain.

WAXAHACHIE, Texas — Like a lot of old Texas courthouses, the history surrounding the old Ellis County courthouse is a segregated history.

The word “negroes” remains painted on a wall in the basement of the historic building.

During a prior renovation, a plaque was added beneath the word explaining that was the site of the water fountain Black men, women and children who came to the courthouse to do business were forced to use.

Constable Curtis Polk, Jr. said he is the only Black elected official in Ellis County.

And he’s not thrilled that, after a temporary shuffle of several county offices, he now sees that word multiple times every day.

“Being an African American, I’m all about the history of where we came from to the time where we are now. But, you know, it’s kind of hurtful to me right now,” he said.

Credit: Curtis Polk, Jr.
The word and plaque inside the Ellis County Courthouse beside Constable Curtis Polk, Jr.'s temporary office.

In early November, the Ellis County Commission approved the temporary shuffling of some county offices while they work on a future expansion plan.

Polk attended the commission meeting and raised concerns about being moved to an area where confidential law enforcement computers and files might be accessible to the public.

During the meeting, commissioners and the county judge expressed agreement that none of their proposed solutions would be perfect long-term.

Polk’s office and two other county offices were moved within days of the meeting.

And Polk said he thinks he “got the short end of the stick,” because he said is now the only elected leader in Ellis County without a private office.

He said he shares space with two deputies.

“It’s a tight fit,” he said.

“I can’t have all my belongings in there, so I have some classified files in a stairwell in the courthouse that anybody can access,” he said.

That stairwell is also the location of that old sign.

Ellis County Judge Todd Little posted a video to Facebook Tuesday after Polk made his concerns about the sign and the space public.

“I would suggest the signage was kept so the evil of requiring people of another color to drink at an alternate water fountain would never happen again,” Little said in the video.

He said the decision by commissioners was based on logic and availability of space, not on malice or any other subjective information.

“I’m saddened Constable Polk has been hurt by this office relocation process. That was not the intent,” Little said.

Polk said he does not believe the move was racially or politically motivated.

“I just hope it was something that wasn’t thought out properly,” Polk said.

But he said he does deserve to be treated as equal to any other elected leader in Ellis County.

“Every other elected official has a private office. I don’t have one,” he said. “I have to keep pushing. I’m here to do a job for the people here in this county that elected me, and I can’t let nothing stop that.”


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