Houston Oral History Project

Now this is cool. I plan to share this with as many Houstonians as I can. Please help me get the word out so we can ensure that blacks are properly represented and acknowledged for their contributions. From the Chronicle:

Did you help build the Galleria or Astrodome? Did you work as a black policeman during the Jim Crow era? Are you an oilman with thrilling stories from the boom and the bust? Houston's Oral History Project is looking for local residents to share their personal tales about Houston.

...the historians want to find Houstonians from all walks of life who are not necessarily famous.

...Organizers are interested in the following:

•black police officers from Jim Crow era
•Bankers/drillers from the boom and bust of the 1970s and the 1980s
•Civil rights lawyers from the 1950s
•Chinese-American community members
•Early city and county environmental officials
•Early Mexican-American activists
•Early TSU Law School students
•Long-time firefighters
•People involved in the planning and construction of the Astrodome, Downtown, Galleria, Gulf Freeway, NASA, parks (Hermann, Memorial, Hershey, Ship Channel.
•Refinery workers/union organizers
•Reverends and pastors who housed Katrina refugees.
•Ronald McDonald House associates
•Vietnamese-American community members

If you fit any of these descriptions, here's the information you need. To participate, an appointment is encouraged. Call Judith Hiott at 832-393-1476 or write her at judith.hiott@cityofhouston.net. Interview screenings are scheduled for:

• Saturday: 11a.m.-4p.m., Johnson Branch Library

• April 12: 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Flores Branch Library

• April 19: 11-4 p.m., Henington-Alief Regional Branch Library

• April 26: 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Hillendahl Branch Library