Survival in general was hard in the 1800s, and brutal if you were enslaved.  This exhibit covers three critical periods of inhumanity and efforts toward humanity - slavery, emancipation, and reconstruction. 

Visitors will discover what enslaved people endured based on the historical case of Agatha Babino’s published Slave Narrative in the Library of Congress. 

What is a Slave Narrative?  During the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Writers' Project Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives, 1936-1938, collected over 2,300 interviews from formerly enslaved African Americans. Over 300 of these interviewees were taken from people living in Texas.  The WPA narratives evidence the intention of formerly enslaved people to reconstruct and reshape their lives despite the hardships and challenges surrounding them. 

When our visitors look into one person’s journey, we hope to inspire families to dig deep into their families’ journeys, discover the hardships and lifestyles their ancestors endured, and find out what brought their families to Texas.  Why?  Individuals and families will appreciate the present by viewing how oppression was real and why equality for everyone matters.

Before 1865, Agatha Babino, her parents, and siblings were enslaved on a plantation in Southern Louisiana. In her narrative, she recalls her existence in slavery, the moment of abolition, her marriage, her family members, and details of her life thereafter. Freed persons, like Agatha Babineaux, navigated the turmoil of war, economic disaster, and social unrest, in addition to the oppression of violence, racism, and segregation. This exhibit will make the story and experiences of Agatha Babineaux's life visible by rebuilding a family tree, plotting and exploring key locations discussed in her narrative, recalling related historical moments, and reestablishing connections among Agatha Babineaux's descendants. 

With this exhibit, comes Connection. Just as the curator dove into her family’s past for this exhibit, we would like to offer how you too can find your roots. The Heritage Society is organizing family tree and genealogical research workshops once a month, so families can share their discoveries with their relatives. Sharing your families’ pasts is a great gift to share with your family for the holidays.

About the Exhibitor:

Museum of Undertold Texas History

The MOUTH Project is a growing collection and resource for others wanting to know more about Texas' multidimensional past. Digging through history is a massive undertaking. The process is slow and time-consuming - searching records, reading countless books, scanning collections, visiting historical sites, and reviewing existing research.  As increasingly visual learners and very selective readers, we require uninhibited access to useful information. MOUTH makes Black Texas history more accessible and more engaging by tracing Texas' history through countless resources for others to discover. 

Dionne Babineaux, Founder

Dionne Babineaux is a graduate student from Rice University focusing on the lives and communities of African-descended peoples in Texas, the US South, and the Caribbean during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Dionne uses various data compilation and analysis tools to support her research. She converts findings into meaningful digital humanities projects meant to engage the wider historical community and promote the learning of African American history. Her research areas are as follows: Nineteenth and Early Twentieth-Century US South with emphasis on Black Texas; Slavery and Post-Slavery African American Communities; Migration throughout the African Diaspora; Black Women and Families.

“Through MOUTH, I have discovered a way to combine my love for history, research, teaching, and communities. MOUTH was founded to collect the stories of African Americans in early Texas. Throughout history, African American Texans, tools in hand, built the infrastructure from which much of Texas would grow. It is my greatest pleasure to learn and share their stories.”