Houston History Alliance Conference
“On the Cusp: Houston in the 1860s”
M. D. Anderson Library, University of Houston
September 12, 2015
Program Schedule
8:00 a.m.
Registration
Foyer
8:00 – 3:45 p.m.
Exhibit Area Open
Coffee
Honors Commons
8:45 – 8:55 a.m.
Welcome and introductions
Rockwell Pavilion
Cecelia Ottenweller, Co-President,
Houston History Alliance
Bill White, former Mayor of Houston
8:55 – 9:00
Welcome
Bill Monroe, Ph.D., Dean of the Honors College
Joe Pratt, Ph.D., Editor-in-chief of Houston History,
UH Center for Public History
9:00-9:10
Houston in 1860
Eddie Weller, Ph.D., San Jacinto College
9:10-9:35
Slaves of Houston from Steamboat Arrival to Emancipation
Kelly M. Ray, Chicago, Museum Curator and Independent
Scholar
9:35-10:15
Civil War on the Upper Gulf Coast
Kenneth Grubb, Battle of Galveston, Wharton County Junior College
Brady Hutchison, Battle of Sabine Pass, Alvin Community College
10:15–10:40
Worrying Women, Working Women: Houston Area Women
during Civil War and Reconstruction
Angela Boswell, Ph.D., Henderson State University
10:40 -11:05
Break—visit HHA partners in the Exhibit Area
11:05– 11:55
Juneteenth
Al Edwards, former Texas Representative
Alvia Wardlaw, Ph.D. Texas Southern University, Chair
Merline Pitre, Ph.D., Texas Southern University
Naomi Carrier, Independent Scholar
Portia Hopkins, Lee College
11:55 - 12:20
Reconstruction in Houston
Ron Goodwin, Ph.D., Prairie View A&M University
12:20– 1:10
Lunch, Emcee Cecelia Ottenweller Co-President Rockwell Pavilion
Betty Trapp Chapman Houston History Award—John Britt
Houston History Hero Award—J. P. Bryan
Remarks, J. P. Bryan
Drawing for Door Prizes
1:10 -1:30
Break—visit HHA partners in the Exhibit Area, Honors Commons
Breakout Sessions Session A: Rockwell Pavilion
Session B: Honors College Room Number 212S
Session C: Honors College Room Number 212L
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Breakout Session I
Session A
Faces of Houston Activism by Houston History staff
“William S. Holland: A Mighty Lion at Yates High School,”
Debbie Z. Harwell, Ph.D., University of Houston, Managing
Editor
“Animal Activism in Houston,” Lindsay Scovil Dove, Associate
Editor
“Chicana Activist Maria Jimenez,” Denise Gomez, Oral History
Intern
“Houston’s Graffiti Art: Visual Activism,” Nimra Haroon,
Magazine Intern
.
Session B
Houston Topography and Places over Time
“Antebellum Wilderness: The Natural History of the Houston
Area,” Jaime Gonzalez, Katy Prairie Conservancy
“The Changing Images of Houston, 1860-1900,” Ann Becker,
Harris County Historical Society, Vice President and
Independent Scholar
Session C
Religion, Racism, and Equality in the Last Half of Twentieth
Century Houston
“‘Can Catholicism Win America?’ – Kennedy, Anti-Catholicism,
and the Election of 1960,” John S. Huntington, University of
Houston
“A Troubled Relationship: Gay Houstonians and the Police,
1975-1995,” Chris Haight, University of Houston
2:30 – 2:50 p.m.
Break and Exhibits
2:50 – 3:50 p.m.
Breakout Session II
Session A
Civil Rights in Mid-Twentieth Century Houston
“The War on Poverty and the Struggle for Democracy in Houston
during the 1960s,” Wesley G. Phelps, Ph.D., Sam Houston State
University
“Race and Faith in the Bayou City: African American, Latina/o
and Anglo Baptists in Houston’s Civil Rights Movements,” David
Cameron, Texas A&M University
Session B
Forward from the New Deal and World War II
“The Texas Federal Writers Project’s Houston City Guide: Travel
for Change,” Michael Mitchell, Houston Community College
Southeast
“Oveta Culp Hobby: How a Small-town Texas Girl became a
National Treasure," Debra Winegarten, Independent Scholar
Session C
Houston Area Freedom Colonies (Paper and Workshop)
“Hidden Heritage: The History & Legacy of African American
Planning in Houston-Area Freedom Colonies,” Andrea Roberts,
University of Texas
3:50 p.m.
Conference Ends