It’s been a longtime since we last posted, because it has been mighty busy.
Over the summer, we got a new collection from the daughter of Howard Porper, a founding member of the Houston Folklore and Music Society. It’s filled with great photographs and fliers documenting the early days of Houston’s folk scene, when the focus was on performing and celebrating traditional folk tunes rather than writing new songs.
In that collection, a person named Ben Ramey stood out to me. The photograph below is of him at the 1948 Progressive Party convention, pumping his fist, holding a brochure “Songs for a New Party.” It’s unclear if this is the Texas one, which he spoke at, or the national. We also have program from the national convention. Ramey served on the Party Rules Committee for the state of Texas. Basically, this got me incredibly interested and I fell down a rabbit hole a few days later, but only found out a bit of the story. I fell down another one this weekend and found out even more.
Ben Ramey was born on October 7, 1921 in Dallas. At some point in his life, he contracted polio, which caused him to use a brace. This may have been the reason why he did not participate in World War II. He attended SMU for his undergrad and UT Law.
He moved to Houston in the late 1940s and joined the law firm Mandell & Wright, which represented unions like the NMU. After Mandell, Wright, and Ramey’s participation in the Henry Wallace campaign and his visit to Texas, which caused a stir (Paul Robeson was there), the firm lost their NMU contract (Red Scare: Right-Wing Hysteria, Fifties Fanaticism, and Their Legacy in Texas). They shifted more strongly into civil rights and also did personal injury law.
In 1950, Ramey represented a group of Black men who were attempting to integrate the golf courses run by the city, Beal v. Holcombe. They lost the case. He also represented Herman Marion Sweatt early on in his case that ended up in the Supreme Court, Sweatt v. Painter, which aimed to integrate UT Law School. He attended at least one meeting of the Texas NAACP.
Ben Ramey and his wife May lived in Bellaire and were active in the Jewish community. They pop up in Bellaire newspapers via The Portal to Texas History. He gave talks at the Jewish Community Center concerning support for the UN and explaining civil rights legislation and participated in a variety of Jewish organizations. They also participated in a kibbutz.
As for his creative side, he, Ed Badeaux, and Mack McCormick worked on a folk show called “Hootenanny.” He did not perform music, but was the host. It included performances by Mance Lipscomb, Howard Porper, Pete Rose, Jimmie Lee Grubbs, Jim McConnell, John A. Lomax, Jr., and Ed Badeaux. He also performed in a Neil Simon play directed by Niel Sandy Havens.
It’s the last tidbit of creativity that made my jaw drop. He wrote sci-fi short stories under the name H.H. Hollis.
The Bellaire newspaper mentions at least a couple of times of Ramey overcoming sicknesses, like pneumonia. He passed at the age of 55 on May 14, 1977 and was cremated. He and May had no children.
If you, by chance, no more about May Ramey, please let us know.
What's in Woodson 