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Hip Hop Conference Site Now Live

Department News, Events, Exhibits, Houston Hip Hop

According to Urban Dictionary, awready is “slang for agreeing with something or an affirmation.”

This seems like a great name for the upcoming conference on Houston hip hop, since it’s easy to agree that AWREADY! The Houston Hip Hop Conference is going to be a great event! The conference will include an exhibit of Special Collections materials related to DJ Screw and Houston hip hop, along with panels and presentations about Houston hip hop.  Take a look at the web site for dates and details, and visit the site often as the conference dates approach and more information becomes available.

The conference is presented by the University of Houston Libraries, Rice University’s HERE Project, UH’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, and African American Studies in UH’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. For more information about the exhibit and conference, contact librarian Julie Grob at jgrob@uh.edu. For updates about the exhibit and the Houston hip hop collection, follow Julie on Twitter.

New Women’s Archives Finding Aids Available

Carey C. Shuart Women's Archive and Research Collection, Department News, Finding Aids

Two new finding aids for collections in the Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archives and Research Collection have been published in Archon.

The first finding aid is for the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence Records. This organization was founded in 1998 to provide training and consultation on domestic and sexual violence issues at the national level and has played a national role in several arenas, including participating in the passage of the Violence Against Women Act. The collection contains a wide range of materials, including correspondence, business and legal documents, publications, audiovisual materials, and ephemera.

The second finding aid is for the Houston Gorilla Girls collection. The Houston Gorilla Girls were an anonymous art collective of gorilla-masked women who demonstrated against what they perceived as sexism and racism at high-profile Houston art venues such as the Menil, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Lawndale Arts Center. They were active from 1987 to 1997, and the identities of the women involved remain a mystery. The collection contains the records, written works, collected writings, and photographs that document the development of the group.

This Day in History: Houston Awarded National League Expansion Team

Collections, Houston & Texas History, In the News

On this day in 1960, Houston was awarded a National League expansion team. That team, first called the Colt .45s, played its first game nearly two years later, on April 10, 1962. In 1965, with the opening of the Astrodome, the team became the Astros.

A major factor in bringing major league baseball to Houston was the work of the Houston Sports Association, whose detailed plans included a scale model of the Astrodome. The association was formed in 1957 by a group of men that included sportswriter, traveler, and baseball promoter George Kirksey. Kirksey held the position of Vice President of the Houston Sports Association until 1966. During that time he was instrumental in the promotion of the team and the Astrodome.

Special Collections holds the George Kirksey Papers, which include a variety of materials dealing with Kirksey’s work as part of the Houston Sports Association. These materials include press kits, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs.

New Houston History Archives Finding Aids Available

Department News, Finding Aids, Houston History Archives, University Archives

Two new Houston History Archives finding aids have recently been published in Archon, both dealing with environmental subjects and activists.

Hana Ginzbarg Papers: This collection contains the papers of Hana Ginzbarg related to efforts to preserve Armand Bayou. Starting in 1970, Ginzbarg spearheaded the campaign to rename and preserve the bayou, which was then known as Middle Bayou.

Sarah and Army Emmott Environmental Papers: The Emmotts were among Houston’s preeminent environmental activists, working on the Texas Beaches Unlimited initiative, supporting the Save Buffalo Bayou campaign, and founding the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition. This collection contains Sarah Emmott’s personal papers.

In other finding aid news, the Athletic Department Records finding aid has recently been revised.

Tina and Beyoncé Knowles Visit the Library for “Living Archives” Interview

Carey C. Shuart Women's Archive and Research Collection, Events, In the News

Yesterday, M.D. Anderson Library was buzzing with activity, but it wasn’t the usual group projects, study sessions and casual conversation. Instead students crowded into the front of the library to catch a glimpse of Grammy winning singer and native Houstonian Beyoncé Knowles.

Beyoncé was in the Library’s Rockwell Pavilion to support her mother, Tina Knowles, who was being interviewed for the Women’s Studies “Living Archives” series. These interviews, which celebrate the diverse lives of influential women, are recorded and become a part of Special Collection’s own Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archives & Research Center.

Previous recordings from the “Living Archives” series can be viewed in the Special Collections Reading Room. Women featured include former Houston mayor Kathy Whitmire, Eleanor Tinsley, the first woman elected to the Houston City Council, women’s activist Nikki Van Hightower, and UH Chancellor Dr. Rena Khator. For the full list of interviews and panels, take a look a the catalog record.

Read more about Tina & Beyoncé Knowles’ visit at The Daily Cougar and on CultureMap.