Why Regional Branches of the National Archives Matter 🗃️: https://updates.wcaleb.org/2026/07/23/why-regional-branches-of-the.html
W. Caleb McDaniel
@wcaleb.org
I am a historian at Rice University. I use this account for updates about my work, cross-posted from my website at https://updates.wcaleb.org.
I’ll be at #SHEAR2026 in Philadelphia this Saturday to chair a hybrid roundtable session honoring the late James Brewer Stewart. In preparation, I have had the pleasant task of going back through some of Jim’s scholarship, to which I a... https://updates.wcaleb.org/2026/07/15/ill-be-at-shear-in.html
I submitted a public comment on the OMB’s proposed changes to federal grant-making procedures, indicating my agreement with the warnings of the American Historical Association about the revisions. Here’s what I said: "As a p... https://updates.wcaleb.org/2026/07/10/i-submitted-a-public-comment.html
The full June 2026 issue of the open-access Journal of Texas History is out now from the Alliance for Texas History. It includes my article on “The First Juneteenth: Black Churches, Reconstruction Politics, and the Houston Origins of June 19 Celebrations.”
Summer is sometimes for throwing together what Robin Sloan calls home-cooked apps, like a simple page that just lets me search the stacks of my university library the way God intended.
Hawkins Wilson’s Fourth of July: https://updates.wcaleb.org/2026/06/27/hawkins-wilsons-fourth-of-july.html
My family made me a Father’s Day playlist of random earworms I woke up singing over the last year. From the Marx Brothers to Mavis Staples, it’s quite a journey (but no Journey).
As part of this morning’s ceremony, four historical markers of lynchings in Harris County were unveiled in downtown Houston. In the background stands the county jail. These markers are part of EJI’s Community Remembrance Project.
Powerful ceremony this morning in Harris County for the unveiling of design plans for Remembrance Park in Houston.
“But Houston also played a crucial role in the origins of Juneteenth. In fact, my new research, just published in the Journal of Texas History, shows that the very first documented public celebration of the June 19 anniversary took place here — in Houston.”
W. Caleb McDaniel@wcaleb.org · 2mo agoMy essay in the Houston Chronicle shares my new research on the first anniversary of June 19 in Houston and the lessons of Juneteenth for today. Read here or use the gift link.
“While Galveston is rightly renowned as the birthplace of #Juneteenth, Houstonians played an equally foundational role in the origins of the holiday.” New research on #Juneteenth from @wcaleb.org: www.alliancefortexashistory.org/juneteenth
I spoke with “Houston Matters” this morning about the Houston origins of Juneteenth. Watch on YouTube …
New research by Pulitzer-winning historian Caleb McDaniel on the first Juneteenth anniversary reveals what Houstonians risked to celebrate freedom and struggle for equality. bit.ly/3S71Ov3
Rice News has a story about my new research into Houston’s inaugural celebration of Juneteenth.
Updated some notes in my open research notebook: Arlington House, Juneteenth, Refugeed Slaves.
On June 19, 1866, Black Texans marked the first anniversary of Juneteenth. But where and how was that day first publicly celebrated? My new article, “The First Juneteenth,” explores those questions and finds some surprising answers in Houston. www.alliancefortexashistory.org/juneteent…
Nearly 9 years since Hurricane Harvey, we still occasionally get submissions to the Harvey Memories Project. Yesterday another story came in, and the Contribution form remains open. https://harveymemories.org/
I’ve uploaded a PDF version of my new post on the history of Arlington House to Rice’s Research Repository. DOI: 10.25611/3KFS-1A94
Today I’m at the annual conference of the Alliance for Texas History, which is off to a great start!
The AI-generated, fake book club solicitation emails are getting pretty weird …
It’s commencement season! That’s me in the bumblebee suit on Saturday night, seated next to my dear colleague José Aranda. (Credit: Rosie Nguyen)
I never know how to respond when the robot coffee machine in the business school asks me how my day is going.
A student in my Civil War history course brought by an interesting artifact she once found in a Baltimore used book store. It appears to be a scrapbook kept by a journalist during the 1860s, with an index of topics in the front. Very cool!
Maybe it’s the historian in me, but one of the things I like about Record Store Day is the occasional opportunity to relive the experience of hearing music for the first time on a physical medium, never before available or stre... https://updates.wcaleb.org/2026/04/18/maybe-its-the-historian-in.html