The National Juneteenth Museum and the University of North Texas libraries have collaborated to preserve African American history through a special initiative called a History Harvest.
At the Ella Mae Shamblee Library in Fort Worth, a large community gathered for the first community harvest event. Participants, like Dorothea Barbee, shared personal artifacts and stories, such as an old photo of her father who was a barber in Fort Worth’s southside and later opened a barber college.
Barbee emphasized the significance of preserving her family’s history: “It’s important to know the history and to have proof of the history of the southside and the businesses we had in this area.”
The event, organized by the National Juneteenth Museum and UNT Special Collections, attracted a diverse collection of documents, historical items, and narratives. Morgan Gieringer, Head of Collections at UNT Libraries, highlighted the range of materials gathered, including family photos, bibles, and written stories about family histories.
Each item was treated with care, digitally scanned, and will be accessible online through UNT’s library and potentially displayed at the museum in the future.
Gieringer emphasized the importance of individual stories in uncovering representative history: “A lot of times in history, we know the big things that happened, but everyone’s history is important.”
Barbee reflected on the significance of these historical records for future generations: “It’s interesting to see those pictures just to see how people did come together and work together and accomplished the things they accomplished by working together.”
Given the success of this first History Harvest, organizers anticipate more events in the future. Those interested in contributing their own historical items for archiving can contact the National Juneteenth Museum or UNT libraries directly.
