Dolph Briscoe Center for American History

The Briscoe Center’s podcast, American Rhapsody, is back! The first two episodes explore “Freedom Papers: Evidence of Emancipation” featuring interviews with head curator Sarah Sonner and scholar Dr. María Esther Hammack. Both podcasts take a deep dive into the exhibit and the larger Southern history holdings at the Center. (Links in bio!)

American Rhapsody A different kind of history podcast, one focused on archives, specifically the people who create them as well as those who use them.

This month is the 133 anniversary of the founding of Velasco, Texas, though the area had a momentous history before its official recognition. It was an important port for Anglo settlers of Mexico-owned Texas and, in 1832, one of the first major battles of the Texas Revolutionary War was held there. Velasco pops up in multiple Briscoe-held collections, including the Stephen F. Austin map collection and the diary of Thomas Nunn in the Texas History holdings.

Exactly 101 years ago, soft drink giant Dr. Pepper was incorporated in Dallas. The soda had been made since 1885 (first created in Waco) and was originally named "Dr. Charles T. Pepper." The Briscoe Center holds pictures showing the corporation in its prime in the '60s from the Bob Bailey Studios collection.

As part of the University's celebration of joining the Southeastern Conference, the Briscoe Center will be open on Sunday, June 30th. From 1 to 5 pm, come by and see our exhibits and tour the rest of campus as the Longhorns party.

Texas Athletics - SEC Celebration SEC Celebration for University of Texas Longhorns Texas Athletics

You've only got one week to see the Briscoe Center's exhibit "Freedom Papers: Evidence of Emancipation" in person! The exhibit showcases documents and bonds that led to the freedom of enslaved people in the south before the Civil War. The stories shown include Silvia Webber, for whom Webberville is named, who used her land and freedom to help others escape to Mexico on the Underground Railroad. The exhibit will be open until June 28th, but can still be accessed online.

Freedom Papers: Evidence of Emancipation - Dolph Briscoe Center for American History February 5 — June 28, 2024 Briscoe Center for American History, Austin, Texas Weatherby Gallery, Sid Richardson Hall Unit 2

A recent article on Juneteenth in the New York Times featured a photo from the Briscoe Center's Natchz Trace Collection. Columnist Charles M. Blow traces the history of Juneteenth, noting that laws were quickly put in place to make sure Black Southerners were still second-class citizens. "Perhaps the best way to consider Juneteenth is not as the moment Black people attained freedom but as a moment in the long-running struggle to realize freedom," says Blow.

Opinion | On Juneteenth, Freedom Came With Strings Attached (Gift Article) The best way to think of the holiday is not as the moment Black people attained freedom but as a moment in the struggle to realize freedom.

In honor of Juneteenth, NBC featured the Briscoe Center's Freedom Papers exhibit. Their article and video interview with Center curator Sarah Sonner focuses on the story of Silvia Hector Webber, who helped enslaved people escape to Mexico through the Underground Railroad. The Freedom Papers are on display at the Center until June 30 and are available online.

Mexico was a destination for escaped slaves — one woman risked everything to get them there A Texas exhibit honors the life and work of Silvia Hector Webber, who became known as the "Harriet Tubman of Texas" for helping enslaved people flee the States.

On this day in 1977, the first Texan to sit on the United States Supreme Court passed away. Thomas Campbell Clark, born in Dallas, worked in the FDR administration and later was the Attorney General under Truman. He served on the Supreme Court for nearly 20 years. In the Sam Rayburn papers, located at the Briscoe Center, there are glimpses of Clark's personal and political life in correspondence and documents.

Last weekend marked the 130th anniversary of a monumental discovery when water-well contractors in Corsicana found a massive oil field hiding beneath the town. The accidental find would reshape energy and the economy for Texas and the United States as a whole. The Briscoe Center holds a stunning amount of items documenting the rise of big oil from our Eberstadt Collection and the larger holdings on the history of American energy.

Today, we honor those who stormed the beaches of Normandy to liberate France. D-Day was a major turning point in World War II, and the wounds of the battle are still seen on the shores. The Briscoe Center holds a number of collections related to the Normandy invasion, from the Cynthia Johnson Collection that photographed the 50th anniversary of the battle to the Ben Martin Archive, which took aerial photos of the land showing the scars of war slowly healing.

Thank you to 15 Minute History and Jeremi Suri for a Briscoe Center shout out in their most recent episode. Professor Suri works at the department of history and his work entwines with the Center's own, using photojournalism to look back at the protests of the 1960s in the United States.