Son of Enfield, Father of Texas – A Look at the Life of E M Pease (1812 – 1883)

Austin based historian and archaeologist Dr. Fred L. McGhee lectures on the life of Elisha Marshall Pease (1812-1883), one of the most important Anglo settlers and nineteenth century figures in the history of Austin, the Lone Star State, and the United States more generally.  This lecture was delivered in September 2013 at the University of Texas in Austin.

2007 San Jacinto Forum Lecture – The Texas Revolution

Austin based archaeologist and historian Dr. Fred McGhee lectures about the Texas Revolution at the 2007 Battle of San Jacinto Symposium in Houston. His talk discusses various interpretations of the Texas Revolution as a historical event, including interpretations by African-American historians such as W.E.B. DuBois and Mexican scholars such as Josefina Zoraida Vázquez. It also discusses contemporaneous interpretations by people such as William Ellery Channing, Benjamin Lundy, and Frederick Douglass.

The Life and Career of John Saunders Chase

Austin based archaeologist and historian Dr. Fred L. McGhee lectures on the life of John Saunders Chase, a pioneering African-American modernist architect who was strongly influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright. This lecture was delivered in the Fall of 2013 at the Carver Museum in Austin and was sponsored by MidTexMod and DOCOMO, the U.S. chapter of the International Committee for the Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites, and Neighborhoods of the Modern Movement.

The Influence of Public Housing on African Americans

Noted public housing scholar and activist Dr. Fred L. McGhee explains how and why the penitentiary and public housing are two of the defining institutions that have influenced black life and culture in the twentieth century. He then discusses Rosewood Courts in Austin, Texas, the nation’s oldest USHA (United States Housing Authority) project built for African Americans.

2013 Nerd Nite Lecture: African Americans and U.S. Navy Diving – A Legacy of Performance Under Pressure

One of the first African-American diving officers in U.S. Navy History, Austin based anthropologist and historian Dr. Fred L. McGhee lectures on the history of the Navy diving community and offers a personal as well as scholarly take on the role black divers such as himself have played in the history of the Navy.  This talk was delivered in February of 2013 at Austin’s North Door as part of Nerd Nite Austin’s Black History Month commemoration.