Preserving African American history

HOUSTON, Texas -- The African American Research Center at the Gregory School is committed to preserving African American history including the establishment of Freedmen's Town.

Located in what is now the Fourth Ward, Freedmen's Town was a thriving black community created after Juneteenth. The Gregory Insitute was built by members of the town and served as the first educational center for former slaves and their children.

"It offered them reading and writing, which was forbidden for them to learn as a slave" Manager Miguell Caesar said.

The building served as a school through 1984. It was shuttered for several years until the Houston Public Library system took over and renovated the building to what it is now.

The African American Research Center at the Gregory School is located on 1300 Victor Street.

You can learn more about the school's history and how the research center is preserving history in the video above.