Growing Your Roots 2020

Thursday, January 30, 2020

6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

PREVIEW: Our Community, Our Voice: Photographs from the Villager Newspaper opening reception. Conference On-Site Registration, Hosted by the Douglass Club of Austin, The Austin History Center, Holt Gallery 

Friday, January, 31, 2020

5:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Conference Evening Highlights

On-Site Conference Registration 
Time |  5:00 PM – 6:00 PM, Austin Public Library, Special Events Center

Kris Graves’ Testament Project (Self-Guided Tour) Photography Exhibition 
Time | 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Austin Public Library, Gallery

Genealogy Conversations Networking Social
Time | 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Austin Public Library, Special Events Center

6:15 pm to 7:00 pm

Opening Ceremonies

Welcome, Austin Public Library, Director Roosevelt Weeks 
Time | 6:15 PM (10 Min), Austin Public Library, Special Events Center

Intro to Keynote, Austin  Assistant City Manager, Christopher Shorter 
Time | 6:25 PM  (5-7 Min) ), Austin Public Library, Special Events Center

Dr. Edmund Gordon, Jacob Fontaine Distinguished Keynote Speaker, Vice-Provost University of Diversity, University of Texas at Austin
Time | 6:35 PM  (40 Min) ), Austin Public Library, Special Events Center

7:15 pm – 9:00 pm

African American Film Mini-Reel

Film Reel #1 
The Changing Same (short film): In the Florida Panhandle, lies the town of Marianna, Florida where one resident runs a particular marathon in hopes to lift the veil of racial terror caused by the towns buried history.

Film Reel #2
Edgecombe (short film): Revealing the deeply personal truths of three local residents of the titular county, a predominantly African-American agricultural community in eastern North Carolina, Edgecombe is an examination of the ways trauma repeats and reinvents itself in rural Black communities.

Film Reel #3
Featured Film of the Evening: 
Brother Outsider: During his 60-year career as an activist, Rustin formulated many of the strategies that propelled the movement. However, his open sexuality forced him to remain in the background.

February 1, 2020

9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Conference Day Highlights

On-Site Conference Registration 
Time | 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM, Austin Public Library, Special Events Center

Genealogy Coffee Cafe
TIME | 9:00 AM -12:00 PM, Austin Public Library, Special Events Center

Kris Graves’ Testament Project
Self-Guided Tour: Black History Month Photography Exhibition 
Time | 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Austin Public Library, Special Events Center

Genealogy Resource Hub 
TIME | 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Austin Public Library, Gallery

City-Wide Genealogy Self-Guided Tours 
TIME | 10:00 AM – 2:00  PM, Austin, Texas

9:00 am – 9:03 am

Conference Welcome

Welcome, Conference Organizer & Coordinator, kYmberly Keeton (3 Min), Austin Public Library Special Events Center

9:05 am – 10:00 am

Conference Presentation & Short Film

African American Cultural Preservation Storytelling, Presenters, Rachel E. Winston & Stephanie L. Lang, Austin Public Library Special Events Center

10:05 am – 11:00 am

Conference Presentation & Panel

Connecting Roots: Huston-Tillotson University, African American Cemeteries and Burial Sites in Austin, Texas, Presenters: Danielle McGhee, Huston-Tillotson University; Greg Farrar, Oakwood Chapel; Stuart King, King Tears Funeral Home; Moderated by Jennifer Chenoweth, Oakwood Cemetery Chapel and Melissa Rogers, Save Austin’s Cemeteries, Austin Public Library Special Events Center

11:05 pm – 12:00 pm

Conference Panel & Discussion

Black Roots in Austin, Texas: A Discussion with African American Legacy Families, Moderators, Roxanne Evans & Jacobi Smith, Austin Public Library Special Events Center

12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

LUNCH – Provided by Conference Committee - Self Served, Demo Area

12:00 pm – 1:45 pm

Genealogy Conference Workshop

Digging Up Roots  in Your Own Backyard: African American Genealogy for Novice Users
Facilitator, kYmberly Keeton, Austin Public Library, APL Computer Training Room  

12:00 pm – 1:45 pm

Genealogy Conference Workshop

NAMING THE LINEAGE:  We Will Walk Through *Who Awakened Your Senses? *Who Politicized Your Experiences of Body, Identity? *Who Taught You The Value of Feeling Good?  
Facilitator, Emma Robinson, Austin Public Library, APL Conference Room

12:30 pm – 2:00 pm

Genealogy Conference Workshop

Brown Teens Read Presents: Oral Fixations, Family Histories Retold
Facilitator:, delmetria millener, Austin Public Library, APL Teen Lounge

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Genealogy Conference Workshop

Blog About It! Making WordPress Work For Your African American Family History
Facilitator, Olivia Dorsey Peacock, Austin Public Library, APL Computer Room

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Genealogy Conference Workshop

GenKnowledge: African American Genealogy for Intermediate and Advanced Users
Facilitator, kYmberly Keeton, Austin Public Library, APL Conference Room 
Bring Your Own Device

February 2, 2020

10 am – 2:00 PM

Conference Day Highlights

City-Wide Genealogy Self-Guided Tours 
TIME | 10:00 AM – 2:00  PM, Austin, Texas

Kris Graves’ Testament Project
Self-Guided Tour: Black History Month Photography Exhibition 
Time | 12:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Austin Public Library, Gallery

2:00 pm – 2:40 pm

Closing of Conference

Kris Graves, Photographer/Documentarian, Algerene M. Akins Craig Distinguished Closing Keynote, Austin Public Library, Gallery

2:45 PM – 4:00 pm

Exhibition Opening & Reception 

Kris Graves’ Testament Project | Photography Exhibition, Austin Public Library, Gallery

4:00 pm

Conference Ends