In celebration of Black History Month, the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) proudly presents a compelling and illuminating installment of the 2025 President’s Lecture Series: Searching for Black Ancestors in the American West featuring Dr. Alicia Odewale, an African diaspora archaeologist and distinguished professor at the University of Houston. This anticipated event will take place on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in UHD’s TDECU Tour Room at the Welcome Center, 201 Girard St. 

Reclaiming the “Disremembered Past”

Dr. Odewale’s research is rooted in what acclaimed novelist Toni Morrison described as the “disremembered past.” With a scholar’s rigor and an explorer’s spirit, she embarks on a historical odyssey to unearth stories long buried under the sands of time. This lecture promises to take participants beyond traditional genealogical research, unveiling a vivid tapestry of Black cowboys, outlaws, and forgotten towns in the American West.

The landscapes of Black heritage, often erased from mainstream historical narratives, will come alive as Dr. Odewale shares her discoveries about the Black towns and freedom colonies lost to time—whether burned down, abandoned, or systematically erased. Attendees will be treated to a powerful synthesis of archaeology, storytelling, and community memory that reclaims the voices of ancestors who once thrived on America’s western frontier. 

  

A Scholar’s Personal and Professional Quest

Dr. Odewale’s scholarship is more than academic—it is deeply personal. As the great-grandniece of Robert Ware, a survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, and a proud graduate of the historically Black Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, she carries a lineage of resilience. Her groundbreaking research includes Mapping Historical Trauma in Tulsa (1921-2021), a project using GIS technology to visualize the Greenwood District before and after the infamous massacre.

Her latest initiative, The Black Heritage Tree Project, launching in January 2025 with support from the National Geographic Society, is dedicated to documenting and mapping spirit trees that have silently witnessed centuries of Black history. This effort intertwines environmental conservation with ancestral remembrance, ensuring that these sacred markers of Black heritage are preserved for future generations. 

Bridging the Past and Present at the University of Houston

Dr. Odewale, who joined the University of Houston faculty in 2024, has developed two pioneering courses: Before Cowboy Carter: Black Towns, Black Freedom and Finding Black Ancestors. These courses challenge conventional narratives by highlighting the agency, ingenuity, and resilience of Black pioneers who forged paths of freedom and self-sufficiency in the West.

Her work redefines what it means to search for Black ancestry, transforming it from a solitary pursuit into a collective act of reclamation. As she eloquently states, “The search for Black ancestors requires unearthing buried histories, reclaiming erased narratives, and seeing with new eyes the landscapes that have been systematically forgotten.”

A Must-Attend Event for History Enthusiasts and Future Scholars

Dr. Alicia Odewale’s lecture is not just a history lesson—it’s an invitation to rediscover and honor the untold stories that shape our present. Whether you are an aspiring historian, a genealogy enthusiast, or someone passionate about the rich and complex history of Black America, this event at UHD promises to be an eye-opening experience.

For more information on this event and UHD’s commitment to fostering inclusive education, visit www.uhd.edu.

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