Past Programs

A series of public forums across Texas, Pivotal U.S. Elections: Then and Now analyzed the political forces, issues, and consequences of critical presidential elections in U.S. history and their relevance to current conditions of our national life. These forums were designed to engage educators, students, first-time voters, humanities scholars, representatives from local civic organizations, and members of the general public.

Pivotal U.S. Elections: Then and Now, a series of public forums across Texas.

In 2000, Humanities Texas introduced Parallel and Crossover Lives: Texas Before and After Desegregation, an initiative developed in partnership with the Texas Association of Developing Colleges and the Texas African American Heritage Association. This pilot oral history project conducted at Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins and Huston-Tillotson University in Austin was created to document personal experiences with school desegregation in Texas communities.

Students outside L. C. Anderson High School, March 1, 1956. Photo by Neal Douglass. Photo ID ND-56-1753(A)-01. Courtesy Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.

In December 2014, Humanities Texas discontinued its Speakers Directory. Please call or email the Humanities Texas staff for suggestions in identifying scholars and experts prepared to provide public presentations on literary, cultural, and historical topics. Our staff is also available to discuss the procedures for applying for grants, renting traveling exhibitions, and planning and promoting public humanities programs in your local community.

Former president of the Texas State Historical Association, Félix D. Almaráz Jr. performs "An Evening with Senator Sam Houston."

The Humanities Texas Awards recognized imaginative leadership in the public humanities on a local, regional, or state level. Two awards were presented: one for individual achievement and another for organizational achievement. The winning individual and organization each receive a cash award of $5,000.

Former governor Rick Perry, Priscilla Rodriguez and Larry Lof of the Brownsville Historical Association, Brownsville City Commissioner Edward Camarillo, and Humanities Texas Executive Director Michael L. Gillette. Photo by Bill Wright.