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In this special episode, Miranda Ruzinsky and Katie Truax – UH graduate students in public history – highlight the tradition of community support in Third Ward demonstrated through the institutions and public spaces associated with the funeral process. The role of black-owned businesses, churches and religious leaders, and public remembrance like murals are central to the neighborhood’s resilience in difficult times of death and grief.

This episode was researched, recorded, and produced by Miranda Ruzinsky and Katie Truax for the Center for Public History at the University of Houston.

To learn more:

Beverly, Trevia Wooster. “At Rest: A Historical Directory of Harris County, Texas Cemeteries (1822-2001).” Reference Material, n.d. Genealogy Collection. Houston History Research Center.

Bruines, Myron. “Walter Allen Ford.” Funeral Program. McCoy & Harrison Funeral Home: 4918 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Houston (Tex.), 77021; Jones Memorial United Methodist Church: 2504 Almeda Genoa Road, Houston (Tex.), 77047; Houston Memorial Gardens: 2426 Cullen Boulevard, Pearland (Tex.), 77581, April 14, 2016. African American Funeral Programs. Houston Public Library Digital Archives.

Houston Mural Map. https://houstonmuralmap.com/.

Najarro, Ileana. “Black Funeral Homes in Danger in Some U.S., Houston Communities.” Houston Chronicle, January 23, 2019.

“Our History - McCoy & Harrison Funeral Home,” June 11, 2018.

Wilson, Ezell. “Third Ward, Steeped in Tradition of Self-Reliance and Achievement.” Houston History, April 18, 2011.

All check out the amazing collections at the African American History Research Center at the Gregory Campus.

Oral Histories conducted by Miranda Ruzinsky:

Dickson, Pastor Donald, Interview, March 9, 2024.

McCoy Abernathy, Helen. Interview, February 24, 2024.

Music courtesy of:

Freesound.org

"remix of 45145__hammerklavier__GOSPEL_INTRO_TRADITIONAL_even_BRIGHTER_reverbed.wav" by Timbre. CC BY-NC 4.0.

"Street Gospel Hip Hip Piano - 75bpm - Bbmaj" by nnaudio. CC BY 4.0.

Freemusicarchive.org

"Little Wooden Church" by The Trumpeteers. PDM 1.0.

"Free Spacy Organ (F 003)" by Lobo Loco. CC BY-SA 4.0.

https://sarah-bereza.com/hymn-accompaniments/

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

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All over the United States, communities and individuals banded together to support the country during the Second World War. Houston’s Third Ward was no different in this respect. In this special episode, UH graduate students Austin Lee and James Burke weave together accounts originally documented in the African American newspaper, The Houston Informer. From the men and women in the armed forces to the merchant marine sailing supply ships and the volunteers on the home front, Third Ward residents supported their country even amid segregation and racism. After the war, many of these same volunteers returned to their community and gave back in the form of long careers serving their neighbors.

This episode was written and recorded by Austin Lee and James Burke for the Center for Public History at the University of Houston.

An archive of the Houston Informer can be found at the African American History Research Center at the Gregory School, a part of the Houston Public Library system.

Music courtesy of:
OpenMusicArchive.org
Don’t Go ‘Way Nobody performed by George Lewis & His New Orleans Stompers and written by Buddy Bolden. PDM.
In The Dark-Flashes performed by Jess Stacy and written by Bix Beiderbeck. PDM.

freemusicarchive.org/
“Taboret,” “Rate Sheet,” “Lacquer Groove,” “The Coil Winds,” and “Ray Gun – FasterFasterBrighter” by Blue Dot Sessions. CC BY-NC 4.0.

https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/
Anchor's Away. Performed by Navy Band.

Sound Effects by:
Freesound.org
S17-10 Depth charge with water sounds.wav by craigsmith. CC0 1.0.
old typewriter sounds by Grauda 1982. CC0 1.0.
06 Warsaw Długa street in february 2012 about 3 PM.wav by MaciekKubera. CC0 1.0.
Waves by Bittermelonheart. CC0 1.0.

Day of Infamy Speech courtesy of the National Archives:
President Franklin Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” Speech. John G. Bradley. PDM.

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

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In 1977, thousands of women gathered in Houston, Texas, for the first and only federally funded National Women’s Conference (NWC) in U.S. History. Their purpose was to set and deliver an agenda to the president that would ensure that women’s rights would be a central focus in the wider human rights debate.

The Sharing Stories from 1977 Project, led by Dr. Leandra Zarnow (Associate Professor of History, University of Houston) and Dr. Nancy Beck Young (Moores Professor of History & Director of CPH, University of Houston), seeks to preserve and amplify this important political moment through a massive, crowdsourced digital archive. In Part I of their conversation, Drs. Zarnow and Beck Young introduce their practice of “big biography” - capturing the lives and demographics of over 2,000 delegates, 30,000 conference observers, and 150,000 regional participants. They emphasize that the success of this monumental project is only possible through the collective efforts of educators, students, researchers, archivists, and NWC participants from across the country.

In Part II of this episode, Drs. Zarnow and Beck Young are joined by three such collaborators - Dr. Judy Tzu-Chun Wu (Professor of History and Asian American Studies, University of California, Irvine), Dr. Stacie Taranto (Associate Professor of History, Ramapo College), and Dr. Emily Westkaemper (Associate Professor of History, James Madison University). They discuss how Sharing Stories has promoted strong intergenerational exchange, especially as students realize that many of the issues of the 1970s are still the issues of today.

Check out this amazing project: https://sharingstories1977.uh.edu/discover

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph