Image courtesy Tierney Malone
Black music is the soundtrack to the struggle for self-determination and liberation of Black people in the New World. It is the musical history of our evolution in this country. Black music has been key to shaping American culture. Africans stolen from their homeland were forced to give up their languages, rituals, names, and the drum. Yet, they retained the essence of these things and created spirituals, gospel, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and hip hop - musical forms whose powerful influence is undeniable on the cultural fabric of this county and beyond. Black music is a connection to our past and a source of inspiration, a space-creating force that encourages and seeds dreams for the future.
In 1968, when singer Archie Bell said, “Hi, everybody. I'm Archie Bell of the Drells of Houston, Texas” on the hit record Tighten Up, he helped put Houston's music scene on the world map. The music for this song was created and performed by the TSU Toronadoes, a group formed by students from Texas Southern University in the heart of Third Ward, aka “The Tre.”
In the exhibition Black Stereo, I am telling the stories and connection that African American artists and institutions of Greater Houston have with the city and the country. The works presented take the forms of concert posters, showbills, and album covers, infographics meant to highlight, educate, and entertain like music. The message is in the music. - Tierney Malone
About Tierney Malone
Malone is a visual artist and modern-day storyteller who blends African American history and pop culture to create mixed media works that challenge contemporary culture and politics. He is the host of “Houston Jazz Spotlight,” a weekly program on Radio KPFT.
JOIN US
Opening Reception for BLACK STEREO with Tierney Malone | May 10, 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Events for Everyone
| DATE | TIME | EVENT | LOCATION | |
| Monday, June 9 | 2:00 - 3:00 PM | Musical Performance by Sax Ministry | Freed-Montrose Neighborhood Library | Register Here |
| Monday, June 16 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM | Musical Performance by Sax Ministry | McCrane-Kashmere Gardens Neighborhood Library | Register Here |
| Saturday, June 21 | 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM | Make Music Day Festival | Central Library | Register Here |
| Wednesday, July 16 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM | Musical Performance by Sax Ministry | Mancuso Neighborhood Library | Register Here |
Events for Kids
| DATE | TIME | EVENT | LOCATION | |
| Tuesday, June 3 | 10:30 - 11:30 AM | Instrument Explorers with Tom's Fun Band | Vinson Neighborhood Library | Register Here |
| Saturday, June 21 | 11:45 - 12:15 PM | Musical Storytime | Central Library | Register Here |
| Tuesday, July 15 | 3:00 - 4:00 PM | Instrument Explorers with Tom's Fun Band | Scenic Woods Regional Library | Register Here |
| Tuesday, July 22 | 2:00 - 3:00 PM | Music and Movement with AndyRoo | Stanaker Neighborhood Library | Register Here |
EXPLORE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Black Music in Houston Collection (MSS 0159)
The Black Music in Houston Collection contains newspaper articles, programs, correspondence, and photographs of African American musicians and musical activity in Houston during the 1980s. Between WWI and WWII, Houston became a regional center of jazz music, a style popularized during the 19th century. Houston experienced a flourishing music scene from the 1960s to the 1980s with a variety of prevalent genres including blues, jazz, and rhythm and blues. Blues music was popularized in Houston during the 1940s with Gold Star Studios, more recently known as Sugar Hill Studios, who produced several prominent musicians including Lighting in Hopkins and Bobby Blue Band.
Texas Jazz Archive (RG E 0071)
In 1986, Arnett Cobb and his daughter Lizette Cobb created the Jazz Heritage Society of Texas as a non-profit education, literary, and cultural arts organization. Arnett Cobb expressed an interest in creating a jazz archive. In 1987, the Jazz Heritage Society of Texas partnered with the Houston Metropolitan Research Center (now Houston History Research Center) to document the under-represented jazz scene of Texas by establishing the Texas Jazz Archive. The strong points of this collection are the oral history interviews and the number of photographs chronicling these musicians' professional careers.
The Jazz Education Inc. Collection contains records related to the operations of Jazz Education Inc. between 1990-2022. Jazz Education Inc. was established in 1970 by Bubbha Thomas, to provide training and educational opportunities to children about the history and culture of jazz music, which were unavailable at both private and public institutions. The organization also sponsors four main programs: Music in the Schools (Jazz and Poetry Series), Summer Jazz Workshop, SJW Scholarship Jazz Brunch, and the Houston International Jazz Festival.
Carlos Johnson Papers (MSS 0051)
This collection contains the personal and professional records of Charles “Carlos” Johnson during his career as a percussionist. Charles Harold “Carlos” Johnson was born on August 31, 1945, to Ernestine and T.Z. Johnson in Fifth Ward, Houston, Texas. He attended Kashmere Junior and Senior High School and performed under Conrad Johnson. He attended Texas Southern University and performed with the TSU Jazz Ensemble. During his 35-year career as a percussionist, he adopted the stage name “Carlos” and in addition to jazz, he performed with classical, country, rock, and pop musicians. Johnson taught music, performed as a solo artist through Congos By Carlos, and was part of music groups such as D.R.U.M. (Divine Rhythm United Motion).
CHECK OUT THE CATALOG
Kid/Juvenile
- Adoff, Arnold, Roots and Blues: A Celebration
- Dell, Pamela, The Blues: Birth of an American Sound
- Earl, C. F., Hip-Hop: A Short History
- Koopmans, Andy, The History of the Blues
- Loney, Andrea J., The Double Bass Blues
- Mour, Stanley I., Innovators of American Jazz
- Myers, Walter Dean, Jazz
- Wheeler, Lisa, Jazz Baby
- Williams, Jarrett, Hip-Hop: The Beat of America
- Winter, Jonah, How Jelly Roll Morton Invented Jazz
Adult
- Bradley, Andy, House of Hits: The Story of Houston's Gold Star/SugarHill Recording Studios
- Corcoran, Michael, Ghost Notes: Pioneering Spirits of Texas Music
- Corcoran, Michael Joseph, All Over the Map: True Heroes of Texas Music
- Faniel, Maco L., Hip-Hop in Houston: The Origin & the Legacy
- Steptoe, Tyina L., Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City
- Walker, Lance Scott, Houston Rap Tapes: An Oral History of Bayou City Hip-Hop
- Wood, Charles Roger, Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues
Watch
Listen
- Rhino Hi-Five: Archie Bell & The Drells
- Arnett Cobb
- Thelonius Monk: The London Collection Vol. 1
- The Dixie Hummingbirds
- The Crusaders
This exhibition is generously supported by Houston Public Library, Houston Public Library Foundation, and the City of Houston.
Houston Public Library is one of 15 public libraries around the country chosen to host World on the Move: 250,000 Years of Human Migration. Developed by the American Anthropological Association and the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, this traveling exhibition is organized according to four main questions:
Where do we come from?
Why do we move?
How does migration change us?
Where are we going?
By presenting case studies from across human history and an array of cultures, World on the Move invites visitors to recognize that migration is a complex and diverse shared human experience. The exhibition aims to expand the public conversation on the topic of migration and displacement through narrative and interactive displays.
WORLD ON THE MOVE EVENTS AT WALKER NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY
RELATED EVENTS AROUND HOUSTON
CHECK OUT OUR CATALOG
Picture Books and Kids Fiction
They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles
Do I Belong Here? | ¿Es este mi lugar? by René Colato Laínez
What Is a Refugee? by Elise Gravel
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
We Are a Garden: A Story of How Diversity Took Root in America by Lisa Westberg Peters
A Different Pond by Bao Phi
Somewhere for Little Bear by Britta Teckentrup
How I Became a Ghost: A Choctaw Trails of Tears Story by Tim Tingle
Kids Non-Fiction and Biographies
The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande
Out of Hiding: A Holocaust Survivor's Journey to America by Ruth Gruener
Uprooted: The Japanese American Experience During World War II by Albert Marrin
In the Spirit of a Dream: Thirteen Stories of American Immigrants of Color by Aida Salazar
Dear America: The Story of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas
Teen Fiction and Graphic Novels
Come On In: 15 Stories About Immigration and Finding Home by Adi Alsaid
Through Fences by Frederick Luis Aldama
Brighter than the Sun by Daniel Aleman
Manuelito: A Graphic Novel by Elisa Amado
Love in English by Maria E. Andreu
Don't Ask Me Where I'm From by Jennifer De Leon
Someday We Will Fly by Rachel DeWoskin
The Freezies by Farrukh Dhondy
Lobizona by Romina Garber
Refugee by Alan Gratz
Butterfly Yellow by Thanhha Lai
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb
Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza
Bridge Across the Sky by Freeman Ng
Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera
We Are Not from Here | No somos de aquí by Jenny Torres Sanchez
The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante
Game Seven by Paul Volponi
Teen Non-Fiction and Biographies
The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown
A Hope More Powerful than the Sea: One Teen Refugee's incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Melissa Fleming
Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
Call Me American: The Extraordinary True Story of a Young Somali Immigrant by Abdi Nor Iftin
We Are Here to Stay: Voices of Undocumented Young Adults by Susan Kuklin
Next Round: A Young Athlete's Journey to Gold by John Spray
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
The Other Side: Stories of Central American Teen Refugees Who Dream of Crossing the Border by Juan Pablo Villalobos
Adult Fiction and Graphic Novels
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende
Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
Where We Come From by Oscar Cásares
Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capó Crucet
Dominicana by Angie Cruz
What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad
A Replacement Life by Boris Fishman
Coleman Hill: A Biomythography by Kim Coleman Foote
Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh
The Leavers by Lisa Ko
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
LaGuardia: A Very Modern Story of Immigration by Nnedi Okorafor
There is a Rio Grande in Heaven by Ruben Reyes
Sweetness in the Skin by Ishi Robinson
Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran
My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
The Refugee Ocean by Pauls Toutonghi
The Next Ship Home by Heather Webb
Snow Hunters by Paul Yoon
Adult Non-Fiction and Biographies
The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives edited by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui
Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants by George W. Bush
Deported Americans: Life After Deportation to Mexico by Beth C. Caldwell
The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border by Francisco Cantú
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
A Good Provider is One Who Leaves: One Family and Migration in the 21st Century by Jason DeParle
A Hope More Powerful than the Sea: One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Melissa Fleming
Kid Quixotes: A Group of Students, Their Teacher, and the One-Room School Where Everything is Possible by Stephen Haff
A Beginner's Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious by Ru'ya Hakkakiyan
Children of the Land by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo
Patriot Number One: American Dreams in Chinatown by Lauren Hilgers
My Boy Will Die of Sorrow: A Memoir of Immigration from the Front Lines by Efrén C. Olivares
The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move by Sonia Shah
Family Papers: A Sephardic Journey Through the Twentieth Century by Sarah Abrevaya Stein
Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
Library of Things
Catan
Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride: Asia
Ticket to Ride: First Journey
Tonie Box: World Stories, Set 1
Tonie Box, World Stories, Set 2
World on the Move: 250,000 Years of Human Migration was developed by the American Anthropological Association, together with the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Smithsonian Exhibits. It is administered by the American Library Association's Public Programs Office. View the exhibition and learn more at https://understandingmigration.org/.