River tour, children book exhibit highlight 2024 Black History Month events
A river tour, a lecture, a powerful moving play and the 9th annual children book exhibit are some of the 2024 Black History Month events that will be hosted by the San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum this February.
Something old, something new: Tech innovation center is at home in Dignowity Hill as community aims to preserve past
Dignowity Hill is committed to its history but open to its evolution, according to neighbors. A unique example of that is the importance and reverence people share for The Carver, a performing arts center that was once the only library for Black San Antonians during segregation. Just blocks away, a company focused on innovation in the life sciences has become part of the neighborhood. And the latter has plans to grow even bigger roots in Dignowity Hill.
Couple who unknowingly bought ex-slave plantation learn about mansionโs past, history of slaves along Cibolo Creek
A retired military couple, Keith and Robin Muschalek bought a dilapidated Wilson County home in 2015. They soon found out the property was a slave plantation, and are now trying to learn more about the enslaved people who lived and worked there. The other unanswered question revolves around their emancipation: Where did they go?
How Merry Clayton turned โGimme Shelterโ by the Rolling Stones from good to legendary
Last year, news broke that 77-year-old rock โnโ roll legend and Rolling Stones member Mick Jagger had purchased a mansion in Florida for his girlfriend, which led to people on social media saying โGimme Shelterโ about the transaction.
Green Book Tour to stop at some of the places listed in San Antonio
As part of Black History Month, a bus tour will travel back in time as the San Antonio African-American Community Archive and Museum visits several locations listed in the Green Book, an essential travel guide during the Jim Crow era, on Wednesday.
Learn to research Black history and genealogy using Bexar County records during in-person/virtual resource event
The Bexar County Black History Resource series event will include experts from the San Antonio Public Library, the Bexar County Clerks Office, and the San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum explaining how to access public records.
WATCH: Award-winning filmmakers, local historian discuss Buffalo Soldiers, Black history at SAAACAM panel
The San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum (SAAACAM) hosted Kevin Willmott, director of "The 24th" and Academy-Award winning writer of "BlacKkKlansman;" Billy Gordon, Bexar Co. Buffalo Soldiers Association; and Cedric Thomas Smith, a San Antonio-based award-winning Writer and Director.
Funeral services this week in San Antonio for Mississippi Freedom Rider, Army Vet Patricia Baskerville Dilworth
Patricia B. Dilworth, Mississippi Freedom Rider, U.S Army Veteran and San Antonio passed away on Feb. 21, 2021. SAN ANTONIO โ A San Antonio woman is being remembered for fighting against racial inequality in the U.S. and then fighting for her country with 24 years of service in the Army. Patricia Baskerville Dilworth, a former Mississippi Freedom Rider and U.S. Army veteran, died on Feb. 21. State Rep. Barbara Gervin Hawkins, San Antonio District 2 Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan, and The Mississippi Freedom Riders will present resolutions on her behalf during the service. AdWatch an interview with Dilworth and other Freedom Riders from 2019:Watch an interview with Dilworth and other Freedom Riders from 2020:Also on KSAT:
WATCH: Civil rights activist Angela Davis speaks to UTSA students about the struggle of freedom
All month long, the University of Texas at San Antonio has held virtual webinars around a range of topics related to Black people, culture and the civil rights movement. AdThe meaning of freedom is always evolvingโWe have to include a whole range of issues in order to accommodate a constantly transforming and growing notion of the meaning of freedom,โ Davis said. Davis said that through her experiences โ being a child of segregation โ the idea of freedom is always evolving. The power of women of colorDavis also spoke about the civil rights movement in the 1960s and pointed out how the leaders of the movement were all men. Still, the masterminds behind the scenes were women, Davis said.
Black History in San Antonio: the man behind the cityโs MLK march
SAN ANTONIO โ โReverend Callies started marching before people even knew what marching was,โ said Renee Watson, current chair of the MLK Commission. And we donโt allow him to be left out of the conversation about the MLK march.โReverend Dr. Raymond A. Callies Sr. was known as a community activist who fought for better conditions for African-Americans in San Antonio. He studied and followed the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.โWhen Dr. King was assassinated, that took him to a different level,โ Watson said. In 1986, then-Mayor Henry Cisneros established the MLK commission to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King through scholarships, acts of service and events. AdMORE BLACK HISTORY IN SAN ANTONIO:
The history behind Black colleges and universities known as HBCUโs
Prior to the Civil War, there was not a structured higher education system for Black students. Public policy and certain provisions prohibited the education of Blacks in various parts of the nation, which is why historically Black colleges and universities were so important. The first higher education institution for Blacks called The Institute For Colored Youth was founded in Cheyney, Pennsylvania in 1837, making it the first historically Black college and university. It was followed by two other Black institutions -- Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1854 and Wilberforce University in Ohio in 1856. By 1953, more than 32,000 students were enrolled in well known HBCUโs like Fisk University, Hampton Institute, Howard University and Morehouse College.
KSAT to air โFamily Value: Representation, Identity and Diversity of the African-American Familyโ on Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.
In the observance of Black History Month, The San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum (SAAACAM), in partnership with KSAT 12, will air the special โFamily Value: Representation, Identity and Diversity of the African-American Family.โโFamily Value: Representation, Identity and Diversity of the African-American Family,โ will air on KSAT 12 Saturday, February 27th at 6 p.m. CST. You can watch the special on KSAT 12, KSAT.com, KSATโs mobile phone app and KSAT-TV, our free streaming service available on most smart TVs and Hulu. โThis is such a fitting conversation to have with February being Black History Month,โ said KSAT12 VP/GM Phil Lane. โWe should all be looking to our friends and neighbors to better understand the representation and diversity of the African-American family. Find more stories on our Black History page:
Black History Month: President of St. Phillipโs College follows legacy of female founder
SAN ANTONIO โ Students donโt have to go far or even out of the city to attend a historically Black college. St. Phillipโs College was created and expanded into what it is today thanks to local African American leaders, beginning with Miss Artemisia Bowden. The bishop of St. Phillipโs Episcopal Church wanted to create opportunities for the children of emancipated slaves. And though the assignment was to create a grammar school, she created a vocational school, an industrial school, to a junior college,โ said Dr. Adena Williams Loston, current president of St. Phillipโs College. Loston says before coming to St. Phillipโs College, she was either the first or only Black person to hold all of her positions throughout her career.
San Antonioโs Weathered Souls brewery named best in US for more than just craft beer
SAN ANTONIO โ San Antonioโs Weathered Souls Brewing Company was recently named the best brewery in the United States in 2020 by the online magazine Hop Culture. The magazine covers the best beer, bars, breweries, gifts, and supplies in the U.S. and around the world. Hop Culture looked at more than 8,000 potential candidates and choose to highlight 12 with Weathered Souls earning top honors. Weathered Souls, located in the 600 block of Embassy Oaks on the North Side, received high marks for its craft brews, recipes and use of fruits to flavor some of its craft beers. Hop Culture writer Kenny Gould wrote that Weathered Soulsโ resiliency, courage and leadership were all key factors in naming the brewery the best of 2020.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to celebrate Black History Month with virtual programs
SAN ANTONIO โ Park rangers from around Texas, including the Buffalo Soldier Heritage Outreach Program and the Texas Outdoor Family staff, are debuting a new series of virtual programs celebrating Black History throughout the month of February. AdThe series will culminate in a live, interactive Black History Trivia Challenge for the public at 6 p.m. on Feb. 27. โBlack history is really everyoneโs history, and our rangers want to support Black History Month by bringing more diverse stories to the forefront of Texas State Parks for our visitors,โ said Jessica Lagalo, Outdoor Education and Outreach Manager for Texas State Parks. Saturday programs will be live-streamed at 1 p.m. from various Texas State Parks across the state, including Ray Roberts Lake State Park, Cedar Hill State Park, Brazos Bend State Park, and Tyler State Park. AdThe series will culminate in a free live Black History Month Trivia Challenge for the public at 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 27, on the Kahoot App.
San Antonio professor credited with helping establish MLK Day as a state holiday in Texas
โI was very much involved in trying to end racial injustice in the San Antonio area for the most part,โ Salas said. San Antonio professor speaks about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.โs less told legaciesIn 1983, more than a decade following Kingโs death, his birthday was recognized as a federal holiday. In 1989 Salas noticed that Texas was one of three states where lawmakers had still not signed a bill into law recognizing Kingโs birthday as a state holiday. In 1991 the bill recognizing Kingโs birthday as a state holiday was signed into law. Now 71-years-old, Salas is a chairperson for the San Antonio Coalition for Police Accountability.
San Antonio professor speaks about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.โs less told legacies
SAN ANTONIO โ Weโve all heard of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.โs โI Have a Dreamโ speech and the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, protesting for civil rights. Whatโs often less spoken about is Kingโs fight for better wages for underpaid factory workers in Atlanta and his Vietnam War protest. โWe posthumously romanticize (King) now,โ said Dr. Lawrence Scott, assistant professor of educational leadership at Texas A&M San Antonio. We have San Antonio ISD, we have Judson ISD, and then Northeast (ISD),โ Scott said. Scott says he is continuing Kingโs mission to make sure equality and equity extends to education.
What is Confederate Heroes Day and why do Texans still celebrate it today?
On Jan. 19 annually, state workers in Texas get the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day off, with pay, to celebrate โConfederate Heroes Day.โ The state requires agencies to keep โskeleton crewsโ so that they are operational on the holiday, unlike some others, including MLK Day, when state officers are closed. The state holiday was created less than a decade after the federal signing of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. Some Southern states this year removed Confederate symbols, statues and monikers that they had long resisted calls to disband. So, removing Confederate Heroes Day is not erasing history. According to the Texas Tribune, other states that observe โConfederate Heroes Dayโ as a holiday are: Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee and Virginia.