Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture

For release in October: https://utpress.utexas.edu/books/hurd-thursday-night-lights

Thursday Night Lights The Story of Black High School Football in Texas By Michael Hurd Telling an inspiring, largely unknown story, Thursday Night Lights recounts how African American high school football programs produced championship teams and outstanding players during the Jim Crow era.

The TIPHC will open its 2017 Black History Month exhibit, “HBCU Architects – Then, Now, the Future" at the TIPHC Gallery, School of Architecture, on Monday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m. The display will focus on "PV Designs," the professional works and award-winning designs -- local and international -- of PVAMU SOA alumni. Refreshments will be served. Come out and see some of the spectacular work being done by former SOA students as well as a look at the history of black architects.

For more information, contact: Michael Hurd, TIPHC Director, x9836, email: [email protected]. The exhibit is a precursor to the 2017 HBCU Architects Forum which will be hosted by the SOA on Feb. 23-25 with architecture students from Florida A&M, Hampton, Howard, Morgan State, Tuskegee, University of the District of Columbia, and PVAMU displaying their works.

Our efforts have been embraced by a historically black college that values the power of history and wants to advance the work.

Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture

7 – On this day in 1941, Navy messman Doris Miller, a Waco native was aboard the USS West Virginia when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Miller moved several wounded sailors to safety and then manned an anti-aircraft gun, for which he had no training (because the Navy limited black sailors to non-combat roles and menial duties), and fired at attacking planes. For his actions, Miller was the first African-American to be awarded the Navy’s second highest honor, the Navy Cross.

The lead story in this week's newsletter is about the recently dedicated Montford Point Marines memorial for the first black members of the Marine Corps. Exceptional men in WWII, though the Corps was against their enlistments. Also posted is the story of Palestine, TX native Alfred Masters, the first black to join the Marines. Take a look. http://www.pvamu.edu/tiphc/2016/08/03/tiphc-newsletter-july-31-aug-6-2016/

TIPHC Newsletter, July 31-Aug. 6, 2016 : Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture Montford Point Marines Honored with Memorial MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina -- Montford Point, North Carolina. This was segregated training ground from 1942 to 1949 for the nation’s first African-American Marines.

The latest entry for our online encyclopedia, "Emancipation Means Migration," researched and written by Starita Smith, PhD., who looks into the immediate aftermath of emancipation (Juneteenth) for newly-freed slaves in Texas. http://www.pvamu.edu/tiphc/research-projects/emancipation-means-migration/

Emancipation means Migration! : Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture

As an Air Force veteran (including one year in Vietnam), I'll certainly honor this weekend those who have fallen in service to our country. Hope you will as well. As a historian, would like to point out this version of the origins of the holiday -- by freed slaves following the Civil War:

The first American Memorial Day is Commemorated | African American Registry This occurred in Charleston, SC to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. Together with teachers and missionaries, Black re...

Awesome!

BLACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME FINDS PERMANENT HOME IN CANTON - General - News | Pro... Share your pictures, videos, and stories from your visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on our social media. We might even feature you in one of our promotions!

This week's newsletter. The lead article about Jesse Washington gave me chills, but then a warm feeling about humanity talking with Jo Welter at the Community Race Relations Coalition in Waco. Her group has organized a commemoration ceremony for Sunday marking the 100th year (calling it an anniversary doesn't, in this instance, seem right) since his horrendous lynching in the city. If you're unfamiliar with the Washington incident, it was savagely horrendous even for a lynching, shocked a nation that was numb from the persistent stories of black people being hung, especially in the South, and continues to haunt Waco's image. In Sunday's program, the city will, for the first time, officially acknowledge what is called "The Waco Horror." Read about it here. Warning, graphic detail. http://www.pvamu.edu/tiphc/2016/05/11/tiphc-newsletter-may-8-14-2016/

TIPHC Newsletter, May 8-14, 2016 : Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture May 15: Memorial service in Waco for Jesse Washington, centennial of horrific lynching (Warning: This entry contains graphic details.) One hundred years ago this week, Jesse Washington, an eighteen-year-old African American man, was burned at the stake in Waco.

Good read: "Today, the first black president is preparing to leave office and a woman is fighting for the Democratic nomination...Shirley Chisholm paved the way for both of them. But in an interview towards the end of her life, she downplayed her run for the White House relative to the whole of her life.

“I want history to remember me... not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of The United States,” Chisholm said, “but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and who dared to be herself. I want to be remembered as a catalyst for change in America.”

When Shirley Chisholm Ran for President, Few Would Say: "I'm With Her" The congresswoman tried to win the White House by consolidating the black vote and the women's vote, but she ran into trouble

This week's newsletter from the TIPHC (Texas Institute For the Preservation of History and Culture) at Prairie View: http://www.pvamu.edu/tiphc/2016/04/06/tiphc-newsletter-april-3-9-2016/

TIPHC Newsletter, April 3-9, 2016 : Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture

Cam Newton's made a big deal out of being a black quarterback in the league today, but here's an excellent interview with James "Shack" Harris who broke the NFL color line for black quarterbacks in the late 1960s. Great insight about his courageous journey, playing at a historically black college (Grambling) for a legendary coach (Eddie Robinson) in the South, and what he experienced breaking into the league.
https://soundcloud.com/treykay-1/shack

Shack! In 1969, James “Shack” Harris became the first African American quarterback to break the color line in the NFL.

For Super Bowl weekend, here's a piece about black NFL pioneers: http://theweeklychallenger.com/african-american-firsts-in-pro-football-history/

African American firsts in pro football history BY FRANK DROUZAS, Staff Writer As we celebrate 50 years of the Super Bowl—football’s ultimate contest—we take a look back at some of the sport’s notable firsts. Since professional football was integrated decades ago, it has featured no end of standout African-American players over the years. Running…

The Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture at Prairie View A&M will open a new exhibit for Black History Month on Thursday, Feb. 4. “Hallowed Grounds, Sites of African American Memories” will be a photo exhibit of black heritage sites around Texas, including East Austin, Freedmen’s Town and Independence Heights in Houston, Reedy Chapel in Galveston, Zion Hill in Nacogdoches, Prairie View/Alta Vista, an architectural student display, and much more. At 1 p.m., preceding the exhibit’s opening, a panel discussion will be held in Metters Auditorium featuring historians and preservationists discussing the sites, their importance, and preservation efforts. Both the exhibit gallery and Metters Auditorium are located in the PV School of Architecture (Kennedy Bldg.). For more information, contact Michael Hurd, TIPHC director, [email protected], 936-261-9836. (Pictured: Reedy Chapel, Galveston, first AME Church in Texas, 1868)

Recently moderated a panel that included Chris Barton and Don Tate. Wonderful books which I highly recommend.

New Children's Books Tackle Race and History with Candor and Grace ­­ ~post by Children's Book Buyer Meghan G. Talking about our country's fraught relationship with race is never easy. Many of us struggle as parents and educators to know how exactly to talk about ...

The Black College Football Hall of Fame has announced its inductee class for 2016 and of the six new members, five have Texas roots or connections:

Ken Burrough, receiver, Texas Southern
Jethro Pugh, defensive tackle, Elizabeth City State (N.C.) and Dallas Cowboys
Otis Taylor, receiver, Prairie View
Emmitt Thomas, defensive back, Bishop College (Dallas)
Aeneas Williams, defensive back, Southern University-Baton Rouge
Lloyd "The Judge" Wells, NFL scout and sportswriter, Houston

http://www.blackcollegefootballhof.org/releases/bcfhof-announces-class-of-2016

Black College Football Hall Of Fame

Exhibit photos, featuring Mr. Robert Brown, PVIL Coaches Assn. chairman who donated the exhibit items.

Here's the PVIL exhibit. Getting rave reviews!

Black High School Football Exhibit on Display at Prairie View Cultural Center : PVAMU News An exhibit focusing on football programs at Texas’ black high schools before integration has opened at the Prairie View A&M Cultural Center Gallery and will be available for viewing through Nov. 9.

Got the sad news this morning that my good friend and mentor, Dr. Maceo Crenshaw Dailey has passed away and I am absolutely devastated. Not only is this a personal loss, but also the loss of a true and dedicated friend of the TBHPP. A great man, yet unassuming, and so nice. An internationally acclaimed historian, we bonded several years ago when he offered full support for the project, wrote a brilliant introduction for the work, and always readily lent his name for funding support. He invited me out to UTEP to speak on a couple of occasions and also thought I should consider teaching at the university. Maceo saw a lot in me that I could not see in myself, and also saw the need for this project. He believed in me, in us. Myself and the TBHPP will greatly miss Prof. Dailey. RIP, my dear friend.

Prominent community leader, UTEP professor dies Prominent-African American community leader and well-known UTEP professor Maceo Crenshaw Dailey dies Sunday.

On Wednesday (Oct. 7), I will host the opening of "Remembering the Past With Pride," an exhibit focusing on football programs in the Prairie View Interscholastic League, which existed from 1920-1970 as the governing body for athletic, academic, and music competitions for the state's black high schools. The University Interscholastic League (UIL) had restricted its membership to "any white public school." That necessitated a need for the PVIL, which would produce numerous exceptional athletes, including five Pro Football Hall of Famers. The exhibit will have vintage images, news clips, uniforms, trophies and much more on display from Wednesday through Nov. 9 at the Kennedy Bldg. Gallery (School of Architecture) on the PV campus. It's free and open to the public.

Happy to announce that I have accepted the position of "director" for Prairie View A&M's Texas black history center -- the Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture. Couldn't ask for a better fit for the research and writing I've been doing for the past couple of decades or so, including my Texas Black History Preservation Project. Lots of exciting work to do, starting next week, for the future of TIPHC and PV. https://www.pvamu.edu/tiphc/

Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture

Spent an awesome afternoon Friday with the great Alphonse Dotson -- Houston Yates HS and Grambling -- for my book on football at black high schools in Texas before integration. Did the interview while sipping wine at his tasting room in Llano. Also met his wonderful wife, Martha, and their children. Alphonse played for two of the best coaches EVER, ANYWHERE, in Pat Patterson and Eddie Robinson and was the first black college football player named to a major All-American team (UPI, 1964). He played pro ball with the Raiders and Chiefs.

L.C. Anderson High School was the pride of East Austin, educating African American students from 1907 to 1971, when it closed because of integration. Two years later, a new school, in northwest Austin, opened and carried the L.C. Anderson name. However, it did not include any of the history or traditions of the "original" Anderson HS. (L.C. Anderson was principal of Prairie View A&M in 1885 and served for 12 years, then moved to Austin and was principal for 32 years at the city's school for black students that later bore his name. He was also founder of the dynamic and politically active Colored Teachers Association of Texas.)

Other than the name, the schools had no connection or relationship until recently when, earlier this year, a display case of old Anderson Yellow Jackets' memorabilia was dedicated at the "new" Anderson. To continue recognition and connecting with the original school, on Aug. 15 the Anderson Trojans will hold an intrasquad scrimmage at the former East Austin field where the Yellow Jackets played as one of the dominant teams in the Prairie View Interscholastic League which governed athletic, academic, and band competitions for the state's black schools -- the mirror organization of the University Interscholastic League (UIL) which governed activities for white schools. Anderson won four PVIL state football titles.

Here's KVUE-Sports reporter Shawn Clynch's story: https://vimeo.com/133098883

OLD ANDERSON HIGH SCHOOL & CURRENT WILL BE UNIFIED ON AUGUST 15TH ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD This is "OLD ANDERSON HIGH SCHOOL & CURRENT WILL BE UNIFIED ON AUGUST 15TH ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD" by Shawn Clynch on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

This fall, Texas high school social studies students will be handed new textbooks with content engineered by Christian conservatives on the state board of education. The books will sidestep issues such as slavery and segregation in a shameful disservice to students. A state that ranks 39th nationally in education just took several giant steps backward...again.

Texas officials: Schools should teach that slavery was ‘side issue’ to Civil War Slavery’s role in the march to war remains a politically charged issue in Southern history classrooms.

Here's the latest newsletter: http://createsend.com/t/d-8169EDA4DF3A70CE

TBHPP Newsletter The weekly TBHPP newsletter is a format to keep you informed of our progress, including research updates, "This Week In Texas Black History" calendar entries, and related news, notes, current events from around the state -- and black history and cultural news from around the country. We hope you'll…

Austin-area folks, I'm speaking this Thursday evening, 6:30, at the Pflugerville Public Library, 1008 W. Pfluger St., about the Emancipation Proclamation and Juneteenth. Come on out!

From our friend Dr. Rhonda Gonzales, history prof at UTSA -- keynote speaker is Nikki Giovanni:

8th Annual African American Studies Symposium | UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts Thursday, April 9, 2015 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. UTSA Main Campus Denman Ballroom (UC 2.01.28) Free and open to the public Registration required Sponsors: African American Studies Program Brackenridge Endowed Chair in Literature and the Humanities College of Liberal and Fine Arts Department of Art & Ar…