OPENING EVENT - Agatha Babino: A Narrative of the Formerly Enslaved at the Beaumont Heritage Society

The exhibit will open with a free public reception on Thursday, August 7, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the John Jay French Museum.

Guests are invited to enjoy refreshments and a Q&A with Dionne Babineaux, Director of the Museum of Undertold Texas History and the exhibit’s creator, moderated by scholar and filmmaker Gordon S. Williams, who will speak on the historical and cultural significance of Babino’s narrative.

Dionne has always been passionate about building spaces where history, creativity, and community converge. Her journey began with a simple question: "How can we make history more accessible to everyone?" This question fueled her drive to establish a museum that not only showcases the big-picture stories of history but also highlights the lesser-known people behind it.

Gordon S. Williams is the Lamar University Television Studio Operations Manager and adjunct instructor for LUTV News. Gordon is an accomplished creator whose work includes the critically acclaimed short films "The Example" and "They Will Talk About Us: The Charlton-Pollard Story" to shed light on the history of African Americans in Beaumont.

Join them for a discussion on local history, research, and more details behind the exhibition.

This special program is generously sponsored by The Center for History and Culture of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast.

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See https://beaumontheritage.org/ for updates on programming and related events.

The Exhibition

Exhibit viewing is open to the public during regular John Jay French Museum hours:

Tuesday–Friday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Admission is included with the museum’s tour fee of $5 per person for ages 4 and older.

As part of the Museums for All initiative, admission is free for up to four visitors per group with a SNAP benefit card and a valid ID.

The Beaumont Heritage Society extends its deepest thanks to the Museum of Undertold Texas History for bringing this exhibit to Southeast Texas. We also gratefully acknowledge our grantors, the Foundation for Southeast Texas and the Southeast Texas Arts Council, for their support.

This program is also supported by Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Rice University Humanities Research Center. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition and its programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Humanities Texas, or the Rice University Humanities Research Center.