African-American History Resources: Reconstruction to the Present

 African-American History Resources: Reconstruction to the Present
Central High School Baseball Team, from the Leon A. Morgan Photographic Collection (Special Collections #122), Rosenberg Library, Galveston, Texas

The Galveston and Texas History Center has many resources you can use to research African American life in Galveston from Reconstruction (1865) to the present:

Notable Persons and Places

These materials contain general overviews of famous Black people and places in Galveston. Search the Archives Catalog for photos and manuscript collections. Search the library catalog for books.

Reconstruction

Manuscript collections and books concerning the Reconstruction Era (1865-1877) in Galveston and the United States. Search the Archives Catalog for photos and manuscript collections. Search the library catalog for books.

Labor History

Manuscript collections and books concerning labor history from the perspective of African Americans in Galveston and Texas. Search the Archives Catalog for photos and manuscript collections. Search the library catalog for books.

Religion

These materials contain historical and congregational records documenting historically Black religious institutions in Galveston. Each of the churches was destroyed or heavily damaged during the Great Storm of 1900. Search the Archives Catalog for photos and manuscript collections. Search the library catalog for books.

Cemeteries

Manuscript collections concerning Black-owned and operated funeral homes and cemeteries in Galveston. Search the Archives Catalog for photos and manuscript collections. Search the library catalog for books.

  • W. K. Hebert and Company Records, MS87-0033. Records of W. K. Hebert and Company Records include interment records, family papers, and ledgers containing information about Hebert's life, African-American labor and fraternal organizations, and churches. Also included are records of Rosewood Cemetery Association.
  • Rosewood Cemetery Association Records, MS88-0008. Minutes, legal, and financial documents chronicling the administration of the Rosewood Cemetery Association, as well as photographs of the grave sites at Rosewood Cemetery. Also includes printed materials from Wesley Tabernacle UMC.
  • Green’s Funeral Home Ledgers, MS2014-0008. Funeral record ledgers from Green's Funeral Home, documenting funerals done by Green's during the years 1948-1956 and 1959-1981.
  • Lucy Estelle Jones Funeral Guest Book, MS2007-0009. Guest book from Green's Funeral Home for the funeral of Lucy Estelle Jones (1878-1974), which was held at Holy Rosary Catholic Church on May 27, 1974.

Education

These materials document the history of education for African Americans in Galveston and Texas, including schools for Black youth and Black educators. Search the Archives Catalog for photos and manuscript collections. Search the library catalog for books.

Sports

Books about sports and famous sports figures in Galveston. Search the Archives Catalog for photos and manuscript collections. Search the library catalog for books.

Health

Manuscript collections and books concerning public health in Galveston’s Black community. Search the Archives Catalog for photos and manuscript collections. Search the library catalog for books.

Military History

Books about the service of African-American Galvestonians during the American Civil War and World War II. Search the Archives Catalog for photos and manuscript collections. Search the library catalog for books.

Social Life and Customs

These materials document various aspects of Black life in Galveston. Topics covered include personal narratives, civil rights, social history, and the arts. Search the Archives Catalog for photos and manuscript collections. Search the library catalog for books.

Newspapers

Newspapers printed by and for African-Americans in Galveston.

  • NewspaperArchive.com.
    • Searchable, digitized microfilm of Galveston newspapers, including Black newspapers.
    • Accessible online at www.rosenberg-library.org under E-Library / All Online Databases / Articles, News, & Magazines / Newspaper Archives. Accessible remotely with a library card.
    • Can be used to search for articles regarding Black life in Galveston and Texas.
  • Black newspapers in Galveston available on Newspaper Archive include:
      • City Times: 1900-1927
      • New Idea (Galveston): 1869, 1904-1908, 1920, 1963
      • Galveston Sentinel: 1932-1935 (scattered issues)
      • The Informer (Galveston): 1935 (only on microfilm), 1937, 1939
      • Galveston Voice: 1931-1939 (scattered issues)
      • Galveston Examiner: 1939
      • Colored-American: 1920, 1939 (only on microfilm)
      • Galveston Banner: 1930, 1931-1935 (only on microfilm)
      • Galveston Guide: 1937

Other Resources

Vertical File Collection. Files containing writings, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and other printed materials relating to many topics of African-American History, from slavery to present day. Subject index available online.

Galveston City Directories

  • Use by year to determine who was living at a particular address in the city. From 1867 to 1945, Black residents were listed as "(colored)" or "(c)."
  • 1857, 1900, 1919-current, available in GTHC Reading Room.
  • 1859-1860, 1866-1925, available for full-text search at the Portal to Texas History

Rosenberg Library Museum

The Rosenberg Library Museum maintains and exhibits artifacts that document the history of Galveston and the Republic of Texas, as well as the Library’s fine art collection throughout the Library. Below are links to catalog records of only a few of the Museum’s many artifacts documenting Black Galveston history:

  • Alfreda Houston Plaque: A plaque awarded to Alfreda Houston which reads "Citizen of the Year, Alfreda Houston, Omega Psi Phi Frat. Galveston, Texas, 1983" (Object 2004.02.1)
  • Rev. Andrew Walker Berry Clerical Robe: A clerical robe worn by Rev. Andrew Walker Berry (1947-1990), former pastor of Avenue L Baptist Church. (Object 2009.324)
  • Central High School T-shirt: A souvenir T-shirt from Central High School's Centennial Celebration (1885-1985). (Object 2014.014)
  • Hebert & Co. Umbrella: A large black umbrella with wooden handle and metal tip which has embroidered along the bottom edge, "W.K. Hebert and Co. / Since 1919 / Galveston's Colored Undertaker." (Object 2015.027)
  • Book from the Rosenberg Library Colored Branch: 1923 edition of "The Sunbonnet Babies' Primer," a vintage children's book by Eulalie Osgood Grover. Originally in the collection of the main branch of Rosenberg Library and was later donated to the Rosenberg Library Colored Branch. (Object 2017.004)

Galveston in the Green Book

Examines local sites listed in The Negro Motorist Green Book between 1939 and 1967.

    The Portal to Texas History

    Digital library that provides access to rare, historical, and primary source materials from or about Texas, including materials about African-Americans in Texas post-Juneteenth.

    The African American Story-Bullock Texas State History Museum

    Contains information about the history of African Americans in Texas from Spanish colonial rule to the present day.

    Black Freedom Struggle in the United States

    Presented by ProQuest, this database features documents related to critical people and events in African American history.

    African American Heritage: History and Genealogy

    Learn more about your heritage and genealogy with ProQuest: African American Heritage.

    A Guide to the Works Progress Administration Records: Slave Narratives (Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)

    Includes narratives from African Americans living in Galveston County, among other counties.


    Updated 2023-06-13 KK