Houston’s roots run deep—and thanks to the soulful work of Alexus Grace Rhone, those roots are being celebrated, re-imagined, and revived through a vibrant fusion of performance, history, and healing.

This summer and fall, the Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) proudly welcomes Rhone as a guest curator in a groundbreaking initiative titled “Re-Storying the Stories of Historic Communities.” Through her visionary platform Truth Meets Story, Rhone is re-centering the voices of Black Houstonians with two transformative live storytelling events — “Re-Storying The Story of Sunnyside” on Wednesday, July 2, and “Re-Storying The Story of Fifth Ward” on Thursday, September 18.

Both events are free, open to the public, and steeped in the community pride and lived wisdom that so often go underrepresented in mainstream narratives. But Rhone isn’t just creating art—she’s creating space. And not just for performance, but for truth, ownership, and belonging.

“The community storytellers will tell it right, so the audience can carry it right,” Rhone affirms with unmistakable purpose.

A Native Daughter with a Pen and a Purpose

Born and raised in South Park Village, Rhone recalls what it felt like to grow up as a reluctant reader in a literary world that often showed her everyone else’s world but her own. That changed the moment she discovered Rainbow Jordan by Alice Childress—a pivotal book that became a mirror rather than just another window.

“I saw myself, and it felt great. Then I wondered why I didn’t see as much of ‘me’ as I saw of ‘them’?” she reflects.

Now an acclaimed author and cultural memory-keeper, Rhone has built a career around uplifting the untold and reframing the misrepresented. Armed with a background in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and a theological lens developed at Fuller Theological Seminary in Los Angeles, she is both a researcher and revivalist—equal parts scholar and spirit-led storyteller.

Her upcoming work at HMAAC blends personal memory with public history, inviting neighborhoods like Sunnyside and Fifth Ward to reclaim their place in the storybooks—loudly, proudly, and on their own terms.

From Policy to People: Reclaiming the Narrative

Rhone’s passion for re-storying was ignited in part by the glaring gaps she saw in historical reports like the infamous 1965 Moynihan Report, which, while influential, often failed to capture the complexity and dignity of Black family life. Sixty years later, Rhone is turning the tables.

“What fascinates and annoys me is how much power it had in telling a story about a community from which the writers enjoyed social distance,” she notes. “That’s why I do this work.”

Each event is designed as a living installation, fusing performance art, community memory, and cultural truth-telling. And while notable storytellers such as Constable Smokie Phillips (Precinct 7) and Kristi Rangel of the Bear Witness Series will lend their voices, it’s the neighborhood itself—its people, places, and spirit—that takes center stage.

HMAAC: Preserving Culture Beyond Walls

According to Davinia Reed, HMAAC’s Chief Operating Officer, this initiative is right on mission.

“At HMAAC, we preserve Houston’s rich African American history: within and beyond our walls. Our mission is empowerment through organic engagement in the arts, bridging generations, and keeping the collective memory of resistance and renewal in Houston’s African American communities.”

With that in mind, these re-storying events serve not just as performances, but as cultural preservation projects. They are soulful salutes to the past and rallying cries for the future.

✨ EVENT DETAILS:

“Re-Storying The Story of Sunnyside”
🗓 Wednesday, July 2 at 7:00 PM
📍 Sunnyside Multi-Service Center, 4410 Reed Rd, Houston, TX
🎟 FREE TICKETS: Click Here to Register

“Re-Storying The Story of Fifth Ward”
🗓 Thursday, September 18 at 7:00 PM
📍 The DeLUXE Theater, 3303 Lyons Ave, Houston, TX
🎟 FREE TICKETS: Available in June 2025

In a world thirsty for authenticity, Alexus Grace Rhone and HMAAC are serving up the soul of Houston—unfiltered, unbought, and unforgettable. These events are more than performances. They are declarations—that Black stories matter, that Houston’s neighborhoods are sacred, and that when truth meets story, history gets rewritten with dignity.