History is memorable, which is why the National Juneteenth Museum and the University of North Texas Libraries are teaming up to preserve a special part of history.
They held the first-ever community harvest festival to build a digital archive of African-American history.
On Saturday, a large crowd gathered at the Ella Mae Chamblee Library in Fort Worth to preserve Black history through an event they dubbed “History Harvest.”
“That’s my dad standing here before this was a college,” attendee Dorothea Barbee said, holding up an old photo. “He had a barber shop.”
Barbie’s father was a barber on Fort Worth’s south side and later opened a barber school.
“This is evidence,” Barbee said. “Evidence speaks volumes.”
Barbie explained why she wanted to archive and share her family history.
“It’s important to know the history and have evidence of the history of the South Side and the history of the businesses that were in this area,” Barbee said.
The National Juneteenth Museum and UNT Special Collections have collected a wide range of documents, historical pieces and stories.
“Family photos, family Bibles, family documents,” said Morgan Gearinger, collections director for the UNT Libraries. “Some people bring in stories they’ve written about their family history. They’re bringing in not only physical materials, but electronic materials, too, and we’re able to transfer that. It’s a really nice breadth of content.”
The items were handled with great care and digitally scanned, and will be made available online through the UNT Libraries and, in the future, in the museum.
“Part of uncovering a representative history is listening to and understanding individual stories,” Gearinger said. “While the big historical events are well known, the stories of each individual are important.”
Barbee added that this history could serve as inspiration for future generations.
“It’s interesting to look at these photos to see how people came together, collaborated and worked together to get things done,” Barbee said.
This was their first History Harvest, but it was such a success that they say there will likely be more in the future. If you have items you’d like to have archived, you can contact the National Juneteenth Museum or the UNT Libraries.
