Native Texan and Pulitzer-winning author Annette Gordon-Reed will be the keynote speaker at the Dec. 5-6 event.
An 1867 Bible , three dresses and other artifacts at the Witte Museum once belonged to Sarah Tate , who was enslaved at age 41 and living east of San Antonio when news of emancipation reached Texas . In her Bible , faint, hand-written names reveal a visceral connection she always felt to her three older brothers, even after being sold and separated from them as a young girl.
“In the back of it, she writes down the birthdays of each and every one of her siblings,” said Ronald Davis II, curator of American history at the museum. “Family was important.” Personal relationships and the everyday life of enslaved people will be an area of focus at the Witte’s 8th annual Conference on Texas, “Ode to Juneteenth: Slavery in Texas,” Dec. 5-6. It will feature historians and subject matter experts from across the country. Related: Art installation to mark historic Black church site More than 500 people are expected to gather to explore the role of slavery in the formation and growth of Texas and its lasting cultural and societal impacts. Texas native and historian-author Annette Gordon-Reed, awarded the Pulitzer Prize in History in 2009 for her book, “The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family,” will deliver the keynote address Dec. 5. “This conference promises an essential and innovative contribution to this discussion about America and Texas’ past and its future,” Dirk Elmendorf, Witte president and CEO, said at a recent preview event. Through corporate sponsorships and partnerships with the Smithsonian Institute and San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum, the conference will examine origins of American slavery dating to the 1500s, its broad economic impact in Texas and lingering effects on social norms, health care and other issues after emancipation. “The conference will also dive into the legal systems and structures that still remain to disregard the humanity of a people,” said Deborah Omowale Jarmon, SAAACAM CEO and director. Online registration remains open, and there are at least 100 scholarships available for educators and students. Regular adult admission is $60 for both days or $35 for one day. “It’s a conference for everyone to really learn something,” said Michelle Everidge, the Witte’s deputy director and COO. “Studying slavery in Texas is not something that just reveals a past but really helps us understand what we can do in the future.” The conference will begin with lectures and panel discussions providing “historical grounding” on slavery and will include a presentation by Vincent Hardy, Chair of Fine Arts and Kinesiology at St. Philip’s College, of a speech delivered by abolitionist Frederick Douglass that focused on Texas as it became a newly annexed U.S. state in 1846. The event will wind down with “a celebration of dance and movement” and community conversations “allowing people to really think what they’ve learned,” Everidge said. Related: Longtime activist wants truth told about slavery in Texas Aaronetta Pierce, a Witte trustee and African American arts and history scholar, said she’s hopeful the event will spark conversations that “reconcile the past, so that we can understand where we are now.” Part of that requires knowing what enslaved people endured while treated as property, separated from their families, she said. “When born a slave, you know from the very beginning that resistance is part of your humanity and nature, and that this is not a life that is normal,” Pierce said. For more information on the event or scholarships, call 210-357-1888 or email MichelleEveridge@WitteMuseum.org.
Please follow us on Google to support us Smithsonian Institute St. Philip's College Annette Gordon-Reed Sarah Tate Juneteenth Witte Pulitzer Ronald Davis II Michelle Everidge Dirk Elmendorf Frederick Douglass Vincent Hardy Deborah Omowale Jarmon Pierce Texas Witte Museum American San Antonio Black Church Texas Aaronetta Pierce San Antonio African American Community Archive An Pulitzer Prize In History Bible Ode To Juneteenth: Slavery The Hemingses Of Monticello: An American Family
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