February is Black History Month, and African Americans make up approximately one percent of the Rio Grande Valley's population.

At least one member of the Black community is Lonnie Davis. He was born in 1943 in San Benito.

Davis was among the first children to attend integrated schools in the Valley.

Fast-forward to today, Davis shared the milestones he's seen over the years growing up in the Valley as a Black man.

Davis was born and raised in Harlingen. His family was one of a small group of Black families that made up the El Jardin neighborhood.

A tight-knit community whose children grew up together, and eventually went to school together. 

"The school was from one through eighth grade and now the old school, we had eight rows. One row was the first grade, one row was the second grade, and everybody says, 'you mean all of y'all were taught in the same room?'" Davis said. "We had discipline. Ms. Jackson believed in corporal punishment. She would hit you with the ruler."

One classroom, one teacher, all grade levels. A wooden building near the railroad tracks.

That wooden building was put up in 1921. It was the first school that taught only Black children in San Benito and Harlingen.

"I was one of the first guys to integrate the schools in Harlingen. You know, like you see in the pictures of the people in Arkansas integrated in the schools, that same thing happened in Harlingen," Davis said.

The school was converted to a museum dedicated to the contributions of African Americans in South Texas.

Davis feels the Callandret Black History Museum is proof of how a community can preserve and honor its past. He says the Valley has a rich Black history that can be traced back to slavery.

Davis has dedicated his life to giving back to the community. In 2002, he advocated for the historic marker at the former Booker T. Washington school.

He says his efforts got it replaced after it was removed, and four years ago he donated books to Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District.

All of them were written about historical and inspirational African Americans.

Watch the video above for the full story.