By Caitlyn JonesHouston Women’s Advocate Nikki Van Hightower, far right, addresses a crowd in front of the Sam Houston Coliseum alongside torch runners and NWC presiding officer Bella Abzug to kick off the four-day convention. Photo courtesy of Janice Rubin. When organizers of the National Women’s Conference (NWC) announced in October 1976 that Houston, Texas, would […]
By Miranda Ruzinsky The official conference report published in 1978 for President Jimmy Carter and the public featured, left to right, Sylvia Ortiz, Peggy Kokernot, and Michelle Cearcy on the cover page. Photo by Adela Alonso, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. “WALK A CELEBRITY MILE!”: This call to action circulated around Houston in 1977 on a poster advertising […]
By Jacob KingCongresswoman Barbara Jordan delivers a rousing message at the National Women’s Conference in 1977, flanked to her right by Bella Abzug and Rosalyn Carter. Photo by Dorothy Marder, courtesy of the Swarthmore College Peace Collection. On November 19, 1977, in Houston, Texas, U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan (D-TX) approached the National Women’s Conference (NWC) podium. […]
By Mackenzie Vance Participants at the NWC used their crafting skills to create buttons and pins, as well as other graphics, to visually communicate their ideas and beliefs. Photo courtesy of the Dorothy Marder Papers, Peace Collection, Swarthmore College. As more than 20,000 attendees flocked to the 1977 National Women’s Conference (NWC), they did so with excitement […]
No one at the time of founding would guess that the runner up town of Houston would supersede the notable town of Harrisburg. However, such was the fate of Harrisburg; a promising town with enormous potential became just another acquisition of the younger, more accomplished neighboring city of Houston.
A call to action begins “A Plea for County Historical Societies,” published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) in the July 1923 issue of The Southwestern Historical Quarterly. The people of Harris County were the first to answer, founding the Harris County Historical Society (HCHS) in the fall of 1923. HCHS exemplifies how the […]
Tucked between the high-rises that make up Houston’s iconic skyline sits Sam Houston Park. The city’s first municipal park, which was known as City Park until 1902, Sam Houston Park has long been a place where Houstonians go to escape the hustle and bustle of downtown, but it is more than that. With several of […]
The soul of Houston has been shaped by the journeys of its people. One of the most ethnically diverse large cities in the United States, Houston reflects a mosaic of experiences from people all over the world. The path to this distinction began at the onset of the twentieth century, as the migrations of three […]
I remember the first time I saw the sign that read “Independence Heights: Historic Houston Community.” It piqued my curiosity, and that interest stayed with me. As the years went by, townhomes that reigned on the other side of the 610 Loop began creeping into the historic neighborhood. As the landscape changed and the old […]
Kathy Whitmire brought many firsts to Houston during her rapid rise in local politics. A native Houstonian, she spent her childhood in Huntsville and Houston, attending Berry Elementary School and Marshall Junior High in Northeast Houston, before graduating from San Jacinto High School. Acknowledging her keen interest in politics in her youth, Whitmire’s path towards […]
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