In Mrs. Johnson’s fourth grade math class, my fellow students dreamed of big wedding dresses with extended trains, just like the one Selena Gomez wore last fall. At recess in Sherman, Texas, I heard them talk about big, fancy wedding parties. In my barrettes and ponytails, I rehearsed for a different future. I’d peer out […]
Author Archives: Deah Berry Mitchell
Deah Berry Mitchell is a historian, food writer, and Ph.D. candidate specializing in cultural history. She is the founder of Nostalgia Black and Soul of DFW Tours, and serves as the City of Dallas’ Historian-in-Residence, where she developed an AR app on Black history. Her writing appears in
The New York Times, Texas Monthly, and more. She is the author of Cornbread & Collard Greens and a multi-time fellowship recipient.
Posted inCulture
If You Don’t Already Know Heman Sweatt’s Name, It’s Time to Learn It
This fall semester is my first time teaching college history. Incidentally, it also marks the 75th anniversary of the first time Black students were admitted into formerly segregated colleges and universities in this nation. As a Black adjunct professor, one of my goals is to teach younger generations how long ago events impact the lives […]
Posted inCulture
Don’t Forget That Juneteenth Is Black Texas History
I can still remember Sister Loria McQueen, a tall tawny-complexioned woman who I thought was the embodiment of elegance as a child. She wore eggshell blue tailored suits and elaborate hats on Sundays in our apostolic church in my hometown of Sherman. At some point in the 1980s, when I was around 8 or 9 […]