Image from ‘We Shall Not Be Moved,’ an exhibition celebrating the 10th anniversary of the African American Library at the Gregory School, Houston.
Houston Public Library’s (HPL) African American Library at the Gregory School (AALGS) celebrates its tenth anniversary with the exhibition We Shall Not Be Moved, which opened today, and will be on view through April 11 of next year. With a mission of preserving Houston’s African history and culture, the Library’s anniversary celebration brings together a symposium focusing on the “State of Black Houston.”
The AALGS opened in 2009, and has since expanded to more than 400 collections — including photographs, documents, oral histories, and artifacts that date from pre-Civil War to the present, some of which are recent acquisitions that have rarely been shown.
Sheena Wilson, MLIS Processing Archivist for AALGS, shares her perspectives on the value of the archive on the HPL website:
“With each item handpicked by an archivist, this exhibition will feature items that reflect who we are, where we have been, and links our local history. For the Gregory School, the work of collecting Houston’s history — and especially that of underrepresented neighborhoods and community groups, remains the cornerstone of our mission. There is still much work to be done, and we hope this exhibition will attract new donations while stimulating researchers and visitors to further explore the archive.”
The schedule of free public events, which began earlier today and continues through Saturday, is as follows:
Friday, November 15 | 10 AM – 7 PM
Opening Exhibition: We Shall Not Be Moved:
Recent Acquisitions from the Gregory Collection Opening | 10 AM
This exhibition highlights the collection’s depth and development, while it brings together a selection of recent acquisitions that have rarely been shown.
Art and the City | 12 PM
Dr. Alvia Wardlaw, Michelle barnes, Jamal Cyrus, Eileen Morris
Moderator: Lanecia Tinsley
Health and the City | 5 PM
Dr. Devin Miles, Dr. Valerie Jackson, Sherod Coleman, Dr. Tamisha Jones
Moderator: Noah Rattler
Food and the City | 7 PM
Chris Williams, Keisha Griggs, Michelle Wallace, Don Bowie
Moderator: Marcus Davis
Saturday, November 16 | 11 AM – 8 PM
Education and the City | 11 AM
Reagan Flowers, Dipen Bhakta, Isaac Daniels,
Marvin Pierre, Ashley Hill, Dr. Malachi Crawford
Moderator: Jarvis Taylor
Business and the City | 2 PM
Carol Guess, Dennis Hatchett, Jackie Adams, Kase Lawal
Moderator: Tracey Hawthorne Wash
Activism and the City | 5 PM
Brandi Holmes, Sam Collins, Shekira Dennis, Deric Muhammad
Moderator: Jeffrey Boney
Ben Desoto: For Art’s Sake | 8 PM
Documentary screening, Q&A with Ben Desoto
For more information on the exhibition and the AALGS archives, please go here.
