Every year for Gulf Coast Reads, local archivists scour their collections for photos, documents and other artifacts that relate to the GCR selection. The idea is to add historical context to the reading experience and to show in a tangible way that reading is never done in a vaccuum, amd that it never a strictly solitary act. We all bring our lived experiences to our reading. That's why discussion is such a big part of Gulf Coast Reads. Your view of the book, when shared, shapes and informs others' reading of it, and that builds community in a very real way. Gulf Coast Reads is all about making connections--between readers and with the world at large. In this year's Online Archive Exhibit, you'll find items from the world of music, the Civil Rights Movement from the 1960s to Black Lives Matter, the logging industry in East Texas, the Texas Rangers, and ranching, as well as beautiful historic photographs of Texans leading their workaday lives. Enjoy!
We want to thank the archivists and their institutions for sharing their time and resources:
Harris County Archives
Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library
Lamar University Archives
San Jacinto Museum of History
Rothko Chapel Archives & Library
Sam Houston Regional Library & Research Center, Texas State Library & Archives Commission
University of Houston, Special Collections
Woodson Research Center, Rice University
