Upcoming events.

Upcoming events.

Click on the calendar date for more information about individual events.

Culinary Adventures | A Renaissance Banquet & Exhibit Opening
Jun
27

Culinary Adventures | A Renaissance Banquet & Exhibit Opening

Join us for an exhibit opening followed by a Renaissance banquet.

Cuisine in the Renaissance featured new revolutionary developments following European exposure to foods of world cultures.


Honoring

The Honorable Valérie Baraban, Consul Générale de France

&

Phoebe Tudor

Chair, National Trust for Historic Preservation


Individual Tickets

$150 per person

Attendees of the celebration will participate in the opening of the exhibit in the gallery of the Julia Ideson Library:

The Great Restoration Adventure: Celebrating the Craftsmen of Notre-Dame


Opening Celebration of Exhibit. Ribbon Cutting followed by Celebratory Dinner

The Julia Ideson Library

Friday, June 27

Ribbon Cutting for Exhibit: 6pm

Dinner: 6:45 - 8:30pm 




Exhibit Dates

The exhibit is open to the public on the following dates

June 30 - August 2


Gallery Opening Times

M 12-5 | Tu 10 – 5 | W 10 – 5 | Th 11 – 6 | F 10 – 5 | Sa 10 – 5 | Su Closed

 (The Library will be closed July 4/5 for Independence Day and is always closed on Sundays.)


Julia Ideson Library

550 McKinney St, Houston, TX 77002

 

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Explorations:
May
20

Explorations:

At this in-depth conversation, Pastor Lou and Mrs. Jacqueline B. McElroy, Pastor and First Lady of the historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, the oldest African American Baptist Church in Houston, will be joined by historian of Gothic architecture Dr. Lindsay Cook to discuss the history and architecture of Antioch Church, as well as several other works of African American art and architecture that are in dialogue with Gothic architecture, in general, or Notre-Dame of Paris, specifically.

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church was founded by formerly enslaved individuals in January 1866, only seven months after the end of slavery was announced in Galveston on June 19, 1865. Community leader Rev. John (Jack) Henry Yates served as the first Pastor of the church established in Freedman’s Town in Houston’s Fourth Ward. In fact, Mrs. Jacqueline McElroy is the great-great-granddaughter of Rev. Yates. Notably, the church is a UNESCO Routes of Enslaved Peoples Project site and a recent recipient of a grant from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 

This church became renowned in Houston’s history on May 22, 1991, as the last stop for Queen Elizabeth on her 1991 tour of the United States.

Presented by:

Dr. Lindsay Cook, Co-Director, Consortium for Early Modern & Medieval Studies,  Penn State University

Pastor Lou McElroy and Mrs. Jackie McElroy, the Pastor and First Lady of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church

Presented at:

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church | 500 Clay St, Houston, TX 77002

Cosponsored by:

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church and the Freedman’s Town Conservancy.

FREE ADMISSION

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Explorations | Walking Tour of Freedman's Town
May
17

Explorations | Walking Tour of Freedman's Town

See historic homes, churches, and walk the Historic brick streets paved by the emancipated leaders of Freedmen’s Town on a guided Walking Brick Street Tour. An additional highlight of the event will be a visit to Bethel Church Park, a sacred space that once served as a church for the community. Following a devastating fire, it is now a place of special memory and a unique park.

Tour departs from:

Free Parking: African-American History Research Center at the Gregory Campus

1300 Victor St, Houston, TX 77019

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Digital Encounters | Live YouTube Talks: Gold Caravans, Ivory Networks: Stories from Medieval Africa
May
4

Digital Encounters | Live YouTube Talks: Gold Caravans, Ivory Networks: Stories from Medieval Africa

Meet the societies of medieval Africa who established powerful empires and forged long-distance networks throughout the Global medieval world. Drawing on historical sources and archaeological materials, we will examine the history of the trans-Saharan trade network through the perspective two important materials: gold and ivory. We will explore stories involving African gold and ivory to understand how these material networks connected people across West Africa, North Africa, the Mediterranean and beyond, to medieval Europe. Learn how this trade created religious, cultural, and economic connections and hear from people in the past who made these connections possible

Dr. Sara Ann Knutson

Medieval Studies, Univ. British Columbia           

Bibliothèque nationale de France

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Cemetery Preservation - Rescheduled
May
3

Cemetery Preservation - Rescheduled

Gaynelle Drexler

Your hands-on work will help preserve and restore a historic African American cemetery in Houston, saving the past for future generations while commemorating ancestors.  Descendants will be on hand to tell the stories of their families buried at the site. 

Box lunch will be provided to participants.

Bring your willing spirit. We will train and provide all supplies.

In Partnership with PROJECT R.E.S.P.E.C.T./Why Not Legacy and Heritage

Sat, April 5, 2025, 10am-3pm. Rescheduled to MAY 3, 2025

Evergreen Negro Cemetery | 5499 Market Street at Lockwood

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