At The Carver Museum –Austin

The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center in Austin is located on the city’s near east side. It’s next to the Carver Branch Library, which once was the only public library open to Blacks in Austin.

The museum has a wonderful light filled atrium lobby. Please see the photos below. It’s like walking into a forest clearing. The museum encourages people to think about and to be proud of their family’s history, no matter who their family may be.

I saw a wonderful exhibit on Juneteenth, a celebration of the end of slavery in the U.S. I did  not realize until I saw the exhibit that slaves in Texas were the last in the US to learn that they had been set free. They learned this two and half years after President Lincoln’s  Emancipation Proclamation was official.  That’s a long time to be forced to work for free.

The Emancipation Proclamation was first read in Texas at Galveston in 1865. As far as I know, no plaque has been placed in Galveston to commemorate this historical event, but one has been planned.

Also in the museum are photographs and historical accounts of Austin African-American families. I found the map displaying locations of early African American communities in Austin to be very interesting. I knew about a couple of early communities on the West side of town, but I did not realize that there were others around town.

Bernadette M. Phifer (above) is the Carver Museum’s Curator. When I inquired about Austin’s original Emancipation Park, she told me that it was now a housing development located across from Rosewood Park, where Austin’s official Juneteenth is now celebrated.

Jewel Boswell Hudson, is a docent at the Carver Museum.  Her radiant smile welcomes visitors to the museum.

Both women are impeccably and professionally groomed. They are a credit to Austin and to the George Washington Carver Musuem.

At Barton Springs Pool –Austin

Barton Springs is an Austin jewel. At a temperature of around 68 degrees F, it’s one of the best places to cool off when it’s hot. The early Native Americans called it a place of healing.

This is the Philosophers’ Rock sculpture at the entrance of Barton Springs Pool. The men are J. Frank Dobie, Roy Bedichek, and Walter Prescott Webb– known as The Salon of The West. During the 1930s-50s, they enjoyed cooling off at Barton Springs Pool while conversing.

Women authors were pretty much ignored, and Austin was segregated much of this time. Blacks were not allowed to swim at Barton Springs Pool. Instead a separate pool in East Austin, Rosewood Swimming Pool, was opened for them in 1944.

The sculpture shows the trio wearing loose fitting shorts or pants with a long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up. No tight fitting garments here.

Now, conversations around Barton Springs involve both men and women. These present day philosophers are discussing triathlon events and techniques. Some wade or jump in after their runs, hence the jogging shorts on the woman at the left.

More athletes and philosophers–I love the color of this woman’s suit–not the usual black. The man is wearing a wet suit to give himself buoyance while learning to swim and preparing for a triathlon.

Here, an Hispanic teen clad in capri length athletic pants, jumps off the diving board.

barton springs austinsegregation austin

At Ter’ell Shahid Concert –Austin City Hall Plaza

On Fridays at noon, the Austin City Hall Plaza holds free concerts. The Austin City Hall is new. The plaza faces Town Lake and Cezar Chavez Street.I attended the Ter’ell Shahid Concert on July 14. Mr. Shahid classifies himself as neosoul. He has an excellent sound.African Americans reportedly make up about 10% of the population of Travis County, which includes Austin.Last year, the City of Austin released an African American Quality of Life Scorecard.I like the knit hat and necklace that Mr. Shahid is wearing. The woman vocalist has a great haircut, and I love the paisley print blouse. Denim in skirts and pants are really in style in Austin. These three ladies enjoying the Shahid concert have great style.The woman on the right has wonderful braided hair. I wish that I could have gotten a closeup photo of the back of her head. Like the female vocalist, she too is wearing a denim skirt and V-neck blouse. Also at the concert was this woman on her scooter. I like her well coifed auburn hair and her color–the pale green shell with pale peach shorts.