Interview with Edward D. Moore, city councilman from Tyler, Texas. In the interview, Moore discusses his family background, childhood, education, desegregation, his work for Kelly-Springfield Tire, labor unions, community activism, and city politics.

Discussed the history of labor unionism in the area, the connections between labor and civil rights, and the political implications of organized labor.

Discussed his working-class family background, the educational and social barriers to social mobility for Hispanics in the area, and the importance of being active in civil rights struggles.

Discussed the history of LGBT activism in the Golden Triangle, her memories of Klan activity in Port Arthur, and the continuing struggles of the gay community.

Discussed the labor movement since the 1950s, the nature of work in the oil industry, and the challenges that have faced organized labor since the mid-20th century.

Richard Orton's family came from Nacogdoches, but he spent most of his childhood in Midland. He went to UNT and then moved to Austin, where he worked at one of the first rape crisis centers in the nation. He also founded an organization to help and educate others about child sexual abuse. Orton is a photographer, which is how he became involved with the Upshaw family, who are the descendants of freed slaves who founded County Line, a community near Nacogdoches. Mr. Orton began a photograph project documenting the community, which is now a book. Mr. Orton described his career helping to found rape crisis centers, working with child sexual abuse victims, and his connections to the County Line community, founded by freed slaves.

Mr. Garrett was born just outside Marshall, Texas in the late 1940s. He went to college at Wiley College in Marshall and participated in a March after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Soon after graduating, Mr. Garrett began his career working in the Lufkin State School. During the interview, Mr. Garrett discussed his life working for the Lufkin State School which housed (voluntary and involuntary) disabled individuals in multiple capacities (40+ years), he discussed his role in trying to provide social services for the Lufkin community as well through various organizations.

Macario Ramirez was born in 1937 in San Antonio. His family were migrant farm workers and traveled to the Midwest every year. He was in the military from 1956-59. Upon his return from the war, he gets involved in War on Poverty programs. Mr. Ramirez worked in Labor Training Programs in San Antonio, which eventually leads him to move to D.C. and work with a Man Power Training Program through the Department of Labor. He arrives in Houston and founded Casa Ramirez, a space that celebrate and provides culture and folklore to the Mexican American community of Houston.

Louise Villejo was born in 1953 in San Antonio, TX. She migrated to Houston when she was three years old and grew up witnessing white flight in the Sunnyside neighborhood in Houston. After attending Catholic schools, she become involved in the University of Houston Mexican American Youth Organization. Villejo talks about how she was a leader in Mujeres Unidas, an organization where Chicana feminists addressed women's issues and developed Teatro Mujeres Unidas. At this time, she was involved in cross-racial efforts as a ethnic student council representative. Villejo also discusses her participation in and experiences with some of the major Chicana and mainstream feminist conferences, including the 1975 Chicana Identity Conference, the 1975 International Women's Year Conference in Mexico City, and the 1977 International Women's Year Conference. She describes the Jose Campos Torres incident and the Moody Park Rebellion. She ends the interview by talking about her involvement in Latina/o patient advocacy, something she has dedicated her adult life to.

Butch Escobedo recounted role in the Alonzo I & II decision & political reform in Corpus Christi.

Ms. Ellis works for the hospital system in Lufkin and San Augustine. While attending SFA, she became involved in local politicss after noticing other active Democrats. She is the current chair of the Democratic Party in Nacogdoches County. She describes, in her interview, the current political climate in Nacogdoches, the people running for office, and their political platform.

Vilsen Salinas was born and raised outside Lubbock, Texas. After graduating from Texas Tech University, Salinas joined the military and saw action in Vietnam. In Vietnam he suffered injuries and was exposed to Agent Orange. When returning to the U.S., Salinas held various professional jobs and eventually entered and graduated from George Washington University’s law school. He then began to practice law in Lubbock, Texas.

Video footage from The Black Academy of Arts and Letters recorded during the 2013 "Juneteenth Jazz Jam" featuring jazz singer Martha Burks held at the Clarence Muse Café Theatre. The footage shows the opening of the concert with performances by the small jazz ensemble with Burks coming onstage at the 14:57 minute mark in a black dress. The tape skips the intermission and jumps to the second set at the 1:15:07 time mark.

During his 44 year career, Daniel Noyola worked as an educator, coach and administrator for the Corpus Christi and West Oso independent school districts. Noyola spent 26 years of his career at West Oso ISD and 18 years at Corpus Christi ISD. Noyola grew up in West Oso's Molina neighborhood.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Voertman Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

Gilbert Rivera is a retired energy professional, author, and activist. He and his wife have lived in the historically black Rosewood neighborhood of Austin for over 30 years. Gilbert was a member of the Brown Berets in Austin and other Chicano civil rights groups. In his interview, he talks about his early years; and resistance against rules against Spanish in schools.

Video of practice footage from the Black Academy of Arts and Letters (TBAAL) Summer Youth Arts Institute on June 9, 2016.

Video of interviews and other footage from the Black Academy of Arts and Letters (TBAAL) Summer Youth Arts Institute on June 13, 2016.

Video recording of the partially animated introduction to The Black Academy of Arts and Letters' 2016 Summer Youth Arts Institute behind-the-scenes video.

Video footage from The Black Academy of Arts and Letters recorded during the 2013 "Juneteenth Jazz Jam" featuring jazz singer Martha Burks held at the Clarence Muse Café Theatre. The footage shows Burks taking a short break to interact with the audience before closing out the concert with a final song. The concert concludes at the 20:14 minute mark with the tape switching to unrelated content.

Interview with Ernest Deckard, labor organizer from Tyler, Texas. In his interview, Deckard discusses his childhood and education, his military service in the U.S. Army Air Corps, his work with labor unions, and his experiences with racial discrimination.

Recording of a string bass ensemble performance during a double bass camp at UNT.

Original composition recital performed at the UNT College of Music Voertman Hall.