Documents used in this exhibit cover an era from Spanish rule to the end of the Civil War, including petitions signed by Spanish Governors, survey maps, and emancipation papers for entire families. These personal, often complex, stories show how the legacy of enslavement permeates American history.   “Freedom Papers: Evidence of Emancipation” highlights examples of how […]

“Freedom Papers: Evidence of Emancipation” highlights examples of how enslaved people gained freedom before the Civil War in the American south. Through the purchase of bonds, travel to states where the right to freedom was inherent, and other methods, these people secured a fragile hold on their freedom and sometimes the freedom of their children […]

After establishing himself as a pioneer in the news media industry in Texas, Will Hobby served as Lt. Gov. of Texas from 1915 until September 1917, when he became Governor. He led Texas’ effort to support the American military during World War I, and he had to resolve significant political and social issues that swept […]

First drawn into the fight against racial segregation in the 1960s, Alice Embree became a leader of Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Texas at Austin and embarked on a lifelong journey of social activism involving a wide array of grassroots political, economic, social, and cultural causes. The Briscoe Center has recently […]

It might surprise you that the Briscoe Center’s collections are not only global in their reach—they are, literally, astronomical. In this episode, we will explore outer space through the art of quilts. While living on the International Space Station in 2013, astronaut (and UT alum) Karen Nyberg stitched a nine-inch, star-themed quilt block. She and […]

Americans have been shocked by the stream of visual information that has flooded the news and social media over the past year. We have also witnessed the deplorable treatment of many journalists covering these events. In this episode, we’ll hear from Carolyn Cole, a photojournalist with the Los Angeles Times whose archive is part of the Briscoe […]

The passage of the 19th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote for women — a significant constitutional milestone. But women’s activism has not always united disparate groups into collective action, nor have its aims and achievements always resulted in equity. In this episode, the Briscoe Center’s Dr. Sarah Sonner and filmmakers Ellen Temple and Nancy […]

A pioneer of a street-theater approach to activism, Abbie Hoffman played a key role in the Chicago police riot of 1968 and the ensuing court case known as the trial of the Chicago 7. Johanna Hoffman Lawrenson discussed their shared life together, both in the spotlight and on the run. Robert Abzug and Thorne Dreyer […]

A pioneer of a street-theater approach to activism, Abbie Hoffman played a key role in the Chicago police riot of 1968 and the ensuing court case known as the trial of the Chicago 7. Johanna Hoffman Lawrenson discussed their shared life together, both in the spotlight and on the run. Robert Abzug and Thorne Dreyer […]

Don Carleton speaks with Daina Berry, chair of the Department of History at UT Austin. Her research and teaching—which focuses on the history of the enslaved—has utilized many of the Briscoe Center’s collections, in particular the Natchez Trace Collection, a which documents life in the Lower Mississippi River Valley from the 1760s to the 1920s. […]