The Upshaws of County Line: 25 Years of Pictures from a Texas Freedom Colony Photographer Richard Orton will present on his new exhibit, "The Upshaws of County Line: An American Family," Thursday, March 23, 6-8 p.m. at the UT San Antonio Institute of Texan Cultures. The Institute is located at 801 E. César E. Chávez [...]
A Glimpse Into the Life of a Slave Sold to Save Georgetown (New York Times) He was an enslaved teenager on a Jesuit plantation in Maryland on the night that the stars fell. It was November 1833, and meteor showers set the sky ablaze. His name was Frank Campbell. He would hold tight to that [...]
Authors Share Journey While Honoring Dallas' Black History (Pictured: Freedman's Cemetery Memorial, Dallas) Doctor Mamie McKnight and her daughter, Ginger McKnight-Chavers, shared their journeys during a recent visit to North Texas, while recognizing the history of blacks in Dallas. “My mother’s family and my dad’s family have been in Texas since slavery, and we’re just [...]
In the Alamo's shadow For one moment in time, a young black man captivated an audience comprised mainly of the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. The man's name was Joe, an American-born slave, and one of the few survivors of the March 6,1836, Battle of the Alamo. Joe's account of the grisly battle [...]
For decades they hid Jefferson’s relationship with her, now Monticello is making room for Sally Hemings (The Washington Post) The room where historians believe Sally Hemings slept was just steps away from Thomas Jefferson’s bedroom. But in 1941, the caretakers of Monticello turned it into a restroom. The floor tiles and bathroom stalls covered over [...]
The Lesser-Known History of African-American Cowboys (Pictured: Nat Love, aka "Deadwood Dick") One in four cowboys was black. So why aren’t they more present in popular culture? Few images embody the spirit of the American West as well as the trailblazing, sharpshooting, horseback-riding cowboy of American lore. And though African-American cowboys don’t play a part [...]
(Photo: An installation about Ona Judge, often referred to by the diminutive Oney, in the exhibition “Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.” Credit Justin T. Gellerson for The New York Times) In Search of the Slave Who Defied George Washington The costumed characters at George Washington’s gracious estate here are used to [...]
How Author Timothy Tyson Found the Woman at the Center of the Emmett Till Case (Vanity Fair) With a renewed cultural interest in the 1955 murder that catalyzed the 20th century civil rights movement, an interview with the author of a new book who tracked down the long-hidden woman at its center. On a steamy [...]
Staring Down Development, Neighbors Seek Historical Recognition for Austin's Emancipation Park (Photo: Thomas J. White and members of the Emancipation Association. Credit: Austin History Center) Our story begins at a dead end near 13th Street and Walnut Avenue in the Chestnut neighborhood of East Austin, just down the street from where Leslie Padilla has lived for about [...]
Meet The Man Believed To Be The First Black Millionaire In Texas (KERA) William Madison McDonald is far from a household name these days, but he was a legend in his day. Born 150 years ago, McDonald is widely believed to have been the first black millionaire in Texas. The son of a former slave, [...]
