Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Stone Fort Museum will host a book signing and reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, honoring the release of “African Americans in Nacogdoches County,” by Jeri Mills.

Mills, a retired educator and contributing writer to The Daily Sentinel, will share images from her book and describe the process of collecting community history. Copies of her book will be available for purchase for $21.99 each.

After the Civil War and the end of slavery, African-Americans throughout the United States faced the challenge of survival while attempting to repurpose their lives. Through the images in this book, readers will get a glimpse of the unique culture that developed in the small African-American communities in Nacogdoches County.

Part of “The Images of America” series, there are sections that highlight occupations, religion, education, social opportunities and prominent families during the growth of the African-American society. The book uses archival photos to explore the distinctive local history of this area while striving to make history available and accessible.

Mills received her Bachelor of Science from Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas, and a master’s degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta. An active researcher and writer on African-American history, her works have been published in local schools, state and national publications.

The Stone Fort Museum is a regional history museum located on the campus of SFA. Museum exhibits interpret the natural and cultural history of the region. The current exhibit, “Misery & Remedy: the Rise and Eradication of Epidemic Diseases in East Texas,” will run through December 2015.

For more information or museum hours, call (936) 468-2408, email stonefort@sfasu.edu or visit www.sfasu.edu/stonefort.

Stephen F. Austin State University will host guest speaker Dr. John Smith for the Robert Maxwell Lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, in the Grand Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student Center.

Smith, assistant professor of history at Georgia Tech, specializes in American sports history and will present “Basketball Under The Big Top: UCLA, Houston, and the Game of the Century.” Smith will discuss how this single game, which was played at “the Eighth Wonder of the World,” the Houston Astrodome, in front of a record-breaking attendance of more than 52,000 fans, transformed college basketball into a national pastime.

Smith also is the author of “The Sons of Westwood: John Wooden, UCLA, and the Dynasty That Changed College Basketball,” and is currently writing a book about Muhammad Ali and the 1960s.

The Robert Maxwell Lecture is presented by the Department of History and Phi Alpha Theta History Honors Society. Maxwell, former chair of the SFA Department of History from 1969 through 1983, received a Bachelor of Arts from Kentucky Wesleyan College, a Master of Arts from the University of Cincinnati and a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin.

Additionally, Maxwell served as an infantry captain in World War II and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Prior to arriving at SFA in 1952, he taught at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Kentucky. Maxwell died in 1990.

The Maxwell family has generously endowed this lecture series in his name to bring distinguished scholars to SFA to enhance the educational experience of the students and to inspire faculty members across the university to reach their potential not only as teachers but as scholars. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Dr. Karl Baughman, assistant professor of history at SFA, at (936) 468-2245 or email baughmanke@sfasu.edu.