Bullock Museum wins two national awards

June 23, 2016 (AUSTIN, TX) — The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) proudly announces that the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas’s official state history museum, is the recipient of two nationally recognized Leadership in History Awards. The Texas Story Project won an Award of Merit for an innovative user-generated website that celebrates the stories of Texans and their communities. The exhibition,  Life and Death on the Border 1910-1920, won an Award of Merit for its ground-breaking look at the struggle and legacy of early 20th century Texas-Mexico border violence. The Bullock Museum is honored to receive the AASLH Leadership in History Awards, the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.

The Texas Story Project launched in November 2014 on the Bullock Texas State History Museum’s award-winning website. Designed to expand the reach of the Bullock Museum beyond the institution's walls, the on-going project collects and features stories from Texans in 254 counties and 1,784 communities throughout the state. Mapping experiences over 270,000 square miles, the project is an expansive digital undertaking that acknowledges every individual, family, and community has a role in Texas's history. Encouraging life-long learning and intergenerational dialogue, the Texas Story Project has collected more than 400 stories to date. Learn more at TexasStoryProject.com.

Life & Death on the Border 1910–1920 was on view in the Bullock Museum's Rotunda gallery from January 23 through April 3, 2016. Created by the Museum in collaboration with nationally known scholars and advisors, the exhibition was credited in local, national, and international press as presenting a balanced and thoughtful analysis of state-sanctioned racial violence along the Texas-Mexico border during a period of revolution and westward expansion. The first of its kind to investigate the systemic targeting of people of Mexican American descent, the exhibition was an in-depth view of context, struggle, and legacy revealed through family photographs, archival documents, eyewitness accounts, and rare artifacts. Through the voices of descendants exposed in 1919 Texas state legislative hearings, visitors examined a pivotal decade in the historical narrative of law enforcement and racial strife in Texas. Tejano illustrations, posters, paintings, and a music listening station with recordings of música Tejana portrayed the formation of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in 1929 and the Chicano movement that flourished in the 1970s. For more information about this and other exhibitions, please visit TheStoryofTexas.com.

This year, AASLH is proud to confer sixty-three national awards honoring people, projects, exhibitions, and publications. The winners represent the best in the field and provide leadership for the future of state and local history. Presentation of the awards will be made at a special banquet during the 2016 AASLH/MMA Annual Meeting in Detroit, Michigan, on Friday, September 16. The banquet is supported by a generous contribution from the History Channel.

The AASLH awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards not only honor significant achievement in the field of state and local history, but also bring public recognition of the opportunities for small and large organizations, institutions, and programs to make contributions in this arena. For more information about the Leadership in History Awards, contact AASLH at 615-320-3203, or go to www.aaslh.org.

The American Association for State and Local History is a not-for-profit professional organization of individuals and institutions working to preserve and promote history. From its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, AASLH provides leadership, service, and support for its members who preserve and interpret state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful in American society. AASLH publishes books, technical publications, a quarterly magazine, a monthly newsletter, and maintains numerous affinity groups and committees serving a broad range of constituents across the historical community. The association also sponsors regional and national training workshops and an annual meeting.

Support for the Bullock Museum's exhibitions and education programs provided by the Texas State History Museum Foundation.

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​​The Bullock Texas State History Museum, a division of the State Preservation Board and an accredited institution of the American Alliance of Museums, creates experiences that educate, engage, and encourage a deeper understanding of Texas. With dynamic, award-winning exhibitions that illuminate Texas history, people, and culture, educational programming for all ages, and an IMAX® theater with a screen the size of Texas, the Museum collaborates with more than 700 museums, libraries, archives, organizations, and individuals across the world to bring the Story of Texas to life. For more information, visit www.TheStoryofTexas.com or call (866)369-7108.