Lunch & Learn: Locality, Liasons and Language

Description

Winedale Lunch and Learn: 'Locality, Liaisons, and Language: African Americans Speaking German in 20th-Century Texas' On Tuesday, March 24 at noon via zoom Dr. David Huenlich will share his research about African Americans who spoke German in Texas. German Americans and African Americans were two of the largest ethnic groups in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Yet surprisingly little attention has been paid to how these communities interacted. One reason may be geography: many German immigrants settled outside the South, while most African Americans lived in regions shaped by slavery. Where their paths did cross - especially in Texas - the historical record reveals a complex and ambiguous story. This talk explores encounters between German Americans and African Americans through the triad of locality, liaisons, and language. Over the past decade, David Huenlich has identified more than thirty African Americans in Texas who spoke German in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Only a few learned the language in the context of slavery; many more crossed the language boundary through personal and economic relationships after emancipation. By examining family histories and language biographies, this talk offers a rare window into everyday relationships across racial lines – sometimes cooperative, sometimes tense, and often unexpected. Email tricia.blakistone@austin.utexas.edu for a link to this zoom talk.