MAY
FACEBOOK LIVE!
Board member Mister McKinney of Mister McKinney's Historic Houston has Dr. Kate Kirkland on “LIVE from The Heritage Society with Mister McKinney” on Wednesday, May 7, at 7:00 p.m. This is a free program on Facebook or Instagram Live.
Kate Kirkland is the author of two books on Houston, Texas, history: The Hogg Family and Houston: Philanthropy and the Civic Ideal (2009) and Captain James A. Baker of Houston, 1857–1941 (2012). She has been a guest speaker of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, the Houston Seminar, the Houston Metropolitan Research Center’s Friends of the Texas Room, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Dr. Kirkland earned a bachelor’s degree in British history from Wellesley College in 1966 and a Ph.D. in American history from Rice University in 2004.
Dr. Kirkland says that serving on the Briscoe Center Ambassadors Council nurtures a lifelong passion for history. She has spent long hours in various archives and is fascinated by the breadth of the Briscoe Center’s collection. Her current interests include philanthropy and its role in civil society, women who framed Houston’s story, and Texans in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
HISTORY ON TAP
Join us on Tuesday, May 13 for a presentation by board member and Professor Hank Deslaurier who will speak about “Jack Johnson: The Galveston Giant” held at North Shepherd Brewing, at 6:30 p.m., 4816 N. Shepherd Drive Houston, TX 77018.
Born in Galveston, Texas in 1878 to former enslaved parents, Johnson initially worked as a dock worker during his teenage years before embarking on a new path at the age of 16. Growing up in Galveston’s racially diverse Twelfth Ward and being part of a Black and White gang shielded him from experiencing significant amounts of racism, as he later admitted.
It was in the late 1800s that a shop owner in Dallas introduced Johnson to the world of boxing, recognizing his natural physical prowess. Standing over six feet tall and weighing around 220 pounds, with exceptional reflexes akin to a cat, Johnson’s physical attributes were ideal for the sport. Starting on the local boxing scene, he eventually made his way to Chicago, where he joined forces with a local promoter. Victories and defeats marked his journey, but one loss turned out to be promising. In 1901, Johnson was back in Galveston. As Texas had banned prizefighting authorities arrested Johnson and boxer Joe Choynski. During their 23-day incarceration, Choynski taught defensive techniques to Johnson, crafting his skills that would lead him to be considered one of the greatest defensive fighters of all time.
