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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2004
Contact: Patricia Fraga, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7528
Fax: (512) 974-7442
Austin History Center, Austin Public Library,
Take Home Highest Statewide Award
Public now has access to award-winning documentary on
local slave narratives at Austin Public Library locations
Austin, Texas—The Austin History Center, of the Austin Public Library received the Texas Library Association (TLA) 2004 Project of the Year Award. This award, one of the most prestigious granted by TLA, recognizes projects that best exemplify the highest levels of achievement in Texas libraries over the past year and that result in improved library services for communities. The award was granted for the documentary film "THE BLUE BELLIES ARE IN AUSTIN": READINGS FROM THE TRAVIS COUNTY SLAVE NARRATIVES.
 In celebration of Black History Month in February 2003, the Austin History Center in collaboration with the Austin History Center Association and ProArts Collective, produced a film based on interviews conducted in the 1930s with Austin and Travis County African-Americans who lived during emancipation. After HBO selected the Austin History Center as one of 50 historical institutions nationwide to premier the HBO documentary film which was produced in association with the Library of Congress—Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narrative, the Austin History Center in collaboration with the Austin History Center Association,came up with the idea for this project. Copies of the transcripts of the narratives of citizens of Austin and Travis County who were once enslaved are housed in the Austin History Center. The local film features readings of the Austin and Travis County slave narratives by members of Austin’s African-American community, as well as historical photographs from the Austin History Center, including images of the former enslaved individuals who were interviewed in the WPA Travis County slave narrative project.
Copies of the film in DVD and VHS format are available at all library locations. Many thanks to Russ Rhea of the Austin History Center Association and Tate Austin for making copies available for the Library's collection.
About the Austin History Center
As the local history collection of the Austin Public Library, the Austin History Center provides the public with information about the history, current events, and activities of Austin and Travis County. The Center collects and preserves information about local governments, businesses, residents, institutions, and neighborhoods so that generations to come will have access to Austin history.
About the Austin History Center Association
The Austin History Center Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the support of the Austin History Center, the local history collection of the Austin Public Library which houses over one million items of current and historical interest. Visit www.ahca.net for additional information about the Association.
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