Over the weekend I had the privilege of being part of the Grand (Re) Opening of the African American Library at the Gregory School, the newest branch of the Houston Public Library.
I say REopening because the library is located in the completely restored* 1926 Gregory School building in the Freedmen’s Town area of Houston. The reading rooms are on the second floor; the first floor is taken up by historical and art galleries
and a restored classroom with furnishings appropriate to the original building.
The Library has done a sweet job here, and they’re not finished yet.
One of the major focus points for the library is the collection and conservation of historical artifacts and oral history relating to Houston’s African American community.
Much of the history presented here is within living memory — many of the participants at the grand opening spent time in the exhibit halls reminiscing about personal experiences at the school or people they’d known as community elders.
The library features a recording studio accessible to members of the community who wish to contribute, and is making strides towards digitizing and recording documents, photos, and artifacts from that period.
Information about contributions, donations, and so forth is found on the Library’s website.
* I have some shots from the restoration on another computer; I’ll add them into this post later in the week. Come back soon.