Professor Fills in History’s Gaps with Afro-Texans Book Series

08.09.2021

Dr. Kimberly Hill

The story of African Americans in shaping Texas history has not been fully told, according to Dr. Kimberly Hill, assistant professor of history in the School of Arts and Humanities at The University of Texas at Dallas. But she is working toward filling in the gaps of the missing aspects of Texas history lessons through her work as co-editor of a Texas Tech University Press book series called Afro-Texans.

“This series is going to emphasize the influence of African and African American people on Texan identity,” she said.

Co-editing the book series with Hill are Prairie View A&M University faculty members Dr. Will Guzmán, professor of history, and Dr. William Hoston, professor of political science. The editors are building a database of scholars and doctoral students in the state who could potentially contribute to the series.

Hill is particularly looking for potential authors for books focused on Texas civil rights activities, which, she said, are often not discussed in classrooms.

“There are several history books and articles about aspects of the civil rights movement in Texas, but none is a comprehensive account,” she said. “To help with the creation of relevant courses, I’m hoping to fill the gap by co-editing and releasing a textbook that is focused on Texas.”

Hill said there has been a lot of activism in Texas that has been mostly overlooked in history books.

“Many people don’t know that there were violent and nonviolent protests in Texas related to the civil rights movement,” she said. “And a number of important civil rights court cases began in Texas, such as the Sweatt v. Painter decision, which led to the end of segregation at UT Austin and was influential in Brown v. Board of Education four years later, and Smith v. Allwright, which defeated the Texas white primary law that restricted people of color from voting.”

Hill currently is researching the role of YMCAs and YWCAs in the Texas civil rights movement. She said she might include some of that information in a future book in the series.

The Afro-Texans book series will kick off in November with the release of Emmett J. Scott: Power Broker of the Tuskegee Machine, which completes an unfinished manuscript written by Texas historian Maceo C. Dailey Jr. Hill estimates that one or two new titles in the series will be published each year.

“I’m excited to start this project,” she said. “It’s important to me, and it’s important for Texans.”

–Phil Roth