Modern Times - Part of Our Heritage: Celebrating the Living Legacies of Austin’s Juneteenth Celebrations

  Emancipation Day celebration, June 19, 1900 held in "East Woods" on East 24th Street in Austin. Credit: Austin History Center.   Modern Times Lecture Series Part of Our Heritage: Celebrating the Living Legacies of Austin’s Juneteenth Celebrations Jacqueline Smith-Francis, Ph.D. Thursday, february 12, 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:30pm **Doors at 5:30pm; Lecture at 6:00PM In Person and online! Tickets $25 General Admission | $10 Student | $10 NCHM Member Includes complimentary cocktails for attendees 21 and older. GET TICKETS Travel back in time with your guide, archivist Jacqueline Smith-Francis, as she shares the history of Juneteenth celebrations in Austin using materials from the Austin History Center. Highlighting photographs, newspaper clippings, first-person accounts, and other sources about Austin’s ‘Emancipation Day’ celebrations, this lecture explores how individuals and community groups in Austin have commemorated, imagined, and shaped ideas of freedom, independence, and liberty for more than 160 years. This special evening Modern Times lecture includes a cocktail hour after the talk. Complimentary cocktails courtesy of Tito’s Handmade Vodka are available for attendees 21 and older. To attend online, register and receive the Zoom meeting link by email ahead of the lecture. Free parking is available behind the Museum accesible from 23rd St, with additional street parking in the surrounding neighborhood. About the Speaker Jacqueline Smith-Francis, Ph.D. Jacqueline Smith-Francis is a Community Archivist at the Austin History Center, a division of the Austin Public Library that serves as the archives for the City of Austin, as well as for individuals and community groups. Jacqueline’s dedication to community- focused archival description and collaboration is shaped by her extensive background in community education, non-profit leadership, philanthropy, and health and human services programming and outreach. She earned an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. from St. Mary’s College of California. Sponsors   Become a sponsor for this event? Contact Cristina Feldott at (512) 478-2335 or cfeldott@nchmuseum.org.