Happy Juneteenth!

Today is Juneteenth, the commemoration of Emancipation for Black Americans in Texas. 

For a history of the holiday, read this piece from Smithsonian Magazine: "Juneteenth: Our Other Independence Day"

Click here for a video summarizing the history of Juneteenth.

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Desegregating Southern Libraries

Thanks to Ms. Ingrid Grant for finding this article on segregation in Southern libraries. This is a topic we don't hear about often, but it's important in the history of our field of work.

Read the article here: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/06/01/desegregating-libraries-american-south/

Have a happy summer! Wishing you plenty of good BBQ & lots of time to read in the sun.

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Commemorating Black Americans in WWI

A century ago, in April 1917, the United States entered World War I after the United Kingdom intercepted the Zimmermann Telegram. This period in United States history was an essential turning point for Black Americans. Learn more about Black Americans in World War I through the links below.

Historical Essay Sponsored by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Online Exhibit Curated by the Library of Congress

World War I Items in the Collection of the National Museum of African American History & Culture



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Mollie Taylor Stevenson

It's Women's History Month and rodeo season here in Houston, so it's a great time to commemorate Mollie Taylor Stevenson, Sr. and her daughter, Mollie Taylor Stevenson, Jr. Both ladies were the first living Black Americans to be inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2001.

Read more about the legacy of the Stevenson family and their historic Houston ranch here: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/native-texan/article/Historic-ranch-lies-in-Houston-s-shadow-4638390.php


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Marley Dias Will Soon Be An Author

It seems that there is an abundance of negativity in the news lately. To lighten things up just a bit for Black History Month, I'd like to call our attention to Miss Marley Dias, the young founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks. Recently, it was announced that she will be writing a book of her own. Read the story here: http://nymag.com/thecut/2017/02/1000blackgirlbooks-marley-dias-is-writing-her-own-book.html

You can also check out Marley on the hilarious and informative podcast, Another Round. She did an episode with them last year. How many of us were this articulate and driven at 11 years old?

https://soundcloud.com/anotherroundwithhebenandtracy/episode-55-1000blackgirlbooks

Be on the lookout for big things from Marley during the next few years! Let's keep doing what we can to inspire young book lovers like her.

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Daliyah Marie Arana at the LOC

How much cuteness can fit into one library news story? Well, it doesn't get much more adorable than Miss Daliyah Marie Arana, who was the first "Librarian for the Day" at the Library of Congress last week. Daliyah is a four-year-old super reader who won the honor after reading 1,000+ books. It's so inspiring to see Daliyah hanging out with Dr. Carla Hayden.

Read more about Daliyah's visit to the Library of Congress here: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/01/17/newsmaker-daliyah-marie-arana/

Thanks to our community liaison for sharing this story with us!

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NYE & Emancipation Proclamation

Happy New Year!!

As we bring in 2017, the Gregory School would like to take a moment to remember the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. It is a tradition in the African American community to attend "Watch Night" services on New Year's Eve. Many people assume that this is simply an end-of-year church service, but Watch Night actually is directly connected to the Emancipation Proclamation. Read about the history of Watch Night here (http://www.npr.org/2012/12/29/167905308/watch-nights-honor-emancipation-proclamations-anniversary) and here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-joan-r-harrell/watch-night-service-in-the-black-church-in-america-150-years-_b_2389965.html).

For more information on the Emancipation Proclamation, click below.
National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation
Library of Congress: https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/almintr.html

We hope you had a wonderful winter vacation. Here's to a productive, peaceful, and prosperous 2017!


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