Whether through his contributions at the Calaboose African American History Museum in San Marcos or his research at Texas State University where he served as teacher and scholar, becoming a professor emeritus, few will likely forget knowing Dr. Elvin Holt, who died on Sept. 18, days before his 78th birthday.
Born in Bay City, Texas, on September 25, 1945, Holt would become the first Black tenured professor in the university’s Department of English. He joined the then Southwest Texas State University faculty in 1983, and from that day forward served the state and especially the San Marcos community for the next 37 years.
Holt was only of 20 professors who was chosen to participate in the university's first yearlong excellence in teaching and learning seminar. Along his academic path, he was the recipient of three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and was named professor of the year by the Association of Black Students in 1989.
His life’s work concerned focused on African literature, African American literature, cultural studies and folklore at a time when the nation and the world was starting to view these work with a new set of eyes and appreciation According to those who knew him best, Holt was responsible for bringing the model used for the multicultural course transformation program to Texas State. He was co-editor of “Acting Up and Getting Down: Plays by African American Texans,” and co-authored “Stages of Struggle and Celebration: A Production History of Black Theatre in Texas,” both with Dr. Sandra Mayo, also of Texas State At one time, Holt described his goals as an educator, saying “I’m trying to make people aware of the rich legacy of the African-American writer. I want people to know that the legacy contains more than the works of the few writer they may have hard of. There is a great deal of education to be done in that regard.”
Those fortunate enough to take one of his graduate seminars were gifted with knowledge that expanded on such authors as Toni Morrison, August Wilson, Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright.
Holt was a dedicated preservationist who helped tell the story of the Black experience in San Marcos and beyond. Holt was one of a generation of trailblazers who in many ways rediscovered the value in the works of these authors, long pushed aside in the pantheon of American literature until the Civil Rights Era brought attention to the poetry, fiction and autobiographical works of Black authors.
Many of the research files associated with the creation of his work were donated to the university’s Witliff Collections, and in years to come will benefit young scholars interested in pursuing scholarship similar to Holt’s.
Dr. Dan Lochman, a professor of English at Texas State and a colleague of Holt’s, remembered him as “tenacious in his conviction that students can learn.'
He added, 'That didn’t mean he made things simple for them. Beneath his toughness was a warm and caring person, motiving his teaching. And he held standards in writing he learned from great teachers as an undergraduate at Southwest Texas State.”
Holt served both within his academic community and the larger community, including on numerous committees within the university, as well as a member of the Heritage Association of San Marcos, the San Marcos Historic Preservation Commission, the Hays County Historical Commission, the LBJMLK Crossroads Memorial Committee and the San Marcos Sesquicentennial Commission.
For several years, he was a Sunday school teacher and brotherhood president for First Baptist Church (NBC), and a secretary for the Pride of San Marcos Lodge No. 494 PHA for more than 30 years.
Holt also served as an original board member and president of the Calaboose Museum, which is home to so much of the community’s African American history and culture, in San Marcos and Hays County.
In 2021, Texas State University recognized Holt for his work in multicultural curriculum development by naming a street in his honor, Elvin Holt Drive, at its Round Rock campus.
At the naming ceremony, former Texas State University President Denise Trauth said, “I hope that as we etch these names into our university’s history, we’re reminded of all the courageous trailblazers that came before us and helped shape our institution.”
Scholars such as Holt 'laid a foundation decades ago that we have a privilege and responsibility to build upon today, to move our institution to achieve greater levels of equity and inclusion,' she said.
Holt held a bachelor’s degree in English from Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black college/university, a master’s degree in English from the former Southwest Texas State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
For those wishing to honor Holt, contributions may be made to the Dr. Elvin Holt Scholarship Fund, in care of the Calaboose African-American History Museum, P.O. Box 481, San Marcos, Texas, 78667.
The son of the late Naomi Holt Stredic and Aaron Stredic, Sr., Holt is survived by his sisters Flora Jackson, Nelda Stredic Jackson and Vivian Stredic, and hisbrother Errol Stredic. He was predeceased by his brother, Aaron Stredic, Jr.
Services will be held on Saturday, Sept. 30, at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 3300 Avenue F, Bay City, Texas.
Driving down the road in Round Rock that bears his name will have new meaning now with his passing, but what will not pass is the work that he began and now others may follow.
