This report was written by Anna Gallegos of the Houston Chronicle staff.
The binder of yellowing papers may look like trash, but its part of the family and political history of one Houston woman’s life.
“I’d hate to see them destroyed. When you have papers from the 1890s, you’d just hate for them to end up in the trash,” said Gloria Rainwater, a 59-year-old Missouri City resident.
Rainwater brought poll tax receipts from 1903 and 1904 to be examined by Smithsonian experts as part of “Save Our African American Treasures: A National Collections Initiative of Discovery and Preservation” at the Houston Public Library on Saturday.
“I have tons and tons of family papers and photos so I came today to learn how to preserve that and to get some answers,” said Rainwater, who wanted to find out how her great-grandfather from Bastrop County was able to vote when most African-Americans could not.
Handled with care
Professionals reviewed artifacts and offered advice on how to care for them, including giving participant white gloves and boxes to properly handle and store the items.
Geneva Flora, a self-described African-American history buff, brought slave chains and the head of an African statue dating back to 100 AD.
“I’m a nurse so I had older patients who were going to destroy some of the artifacts,” Flora said. “I asked them if I could keep them and I just started collecting them.”
Experts advised her to preserve a child-sized slave collar from 1855 in silica, Flora said.
Artifact preservation helps historians and residents understand how Houston developed.
“Houston has such an important history. It’s got a history of communities being created … it’s got a history of striving to achieve,” said Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the Nation Museum of African American History and Culture.
Some are afraid the African-American history would be lost as Houston celebrates its 175th birthday.
“There used to be a lot of families that had the ancestral homeland that they go and visit and those folks are now passing,” said Bunch. “We feel very strongly that in the next decade a lot will be lost.”
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, said she hopes the city and museum’s joint effort “will wake people up about the value of African-American history.”
“Hopefully this will lead to a burst of energy to educate people about our own history,” Jackson Lee said.
Mayor Annise Parker also applauded the effort, saying she felt a particular connection to a photograph of a World War I Army regiment that reminded her of similar family photos.
“The first place that we preserver history is in families,” Parker said. “There is a much greater awareness of the history that is hidden in trunks, in attics and under beds.”
Rainwater, a substitute social studies teacher in the Fort Bend ISD, is hoping that her family will continue to preserve her grandfather’s receipts and legal papers.
If not, she’ll donate them to a museum.
“They’re family possessions but with historical context,” said Rainwater.