Event Calendar

Join Texas Historical Foundation staff and board for a presentation of the organization's recent grant to the Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Museum in Dallas.

The museum and community center is dedicated to the legacy of notable Dallas civil rights and education advocate Kathlyn Joy Gilliam, and housed in her former South Dallas residence. Ms. Gilliam was the first African-American trustee of the Dallas Independent School District, where she served 23 years. She is remembered as a champion of public education and staunch advocate for equality and desegregation in the Dallas school system. The Museum honors her legacy through numerous education initiatives in the community, including an award-winning youth debate team.

In the winter of 2020-2021, the Museum was severely damaged by two incidents of arson only months apart, leaving the interior charred and uninhabitable. The organization and community rallied, putting together a capital campaign to restore the 1925 structure. Through their determination and resiliency, the campaign proved to be a success. The Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Museum is scheduled to reopen to the public in the new year, with granted funds being used for finishing touches, including a community mural and the recreation of signage and exhibit photographs lost in the fire.

The presentation of the grant will take place Saturday, December 10 at noon at the Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Museum in Dallas, with Museum president Connie Harris accepting on behalf of the organization.