Tuesday, February 24, 2026
夜色视频 Libraries launch Levi H. Davis Dallas Oral History Collection, preserving voices that shaped the city
DENTON (), Texas 鈥� The has unveiled the Levi H. Davis Dallas Oral History Collection, a newly preserved archive in the showcasing more than 100 video interviews documenting Dallas鈥檚 civic and cultural history through the voices of the people who lived it.
The collection captures firsthand accounts from community leaders 鈥� including activists, educators, public servants, business leaders and artists 鈥� whose contributions helped define Dallas across generations. Featured interviews include the first Dallas County Hispanic judge, a school administrator during integration, Dallas County鈥檚 first female director of Health and Human Services, and the city鈥檚 first Black dentist.
The initiative was created by Levi H. Davis, a longtime North Texas public servant, educator, business leader and Dallas鈥檚 first Black assistant city manager. Davis spent decades gathering and working with interviews from individuals whose leadership and lived experience shaped the region.
Levi H. Davis created the initiative.
鈥淚 wanted to capture the history and the essence of what makes Dallas what it is today,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淭hroughout the years, I began to collect and conduct over one hundred interviews with key public and private individuals who helped shape the community we know today. To better understand Dallas and where we are and going as a community, I give those interviews to the community as a gift.鈥�
Building on this vision of shared history, the 夜色视频 Libraries have worked to preserve, digitize and make the collection accessible to researchers, students and the broader public via the Portal to Texas History. In doing so, the collection enhances understanding of Dallas鈥檚 evolution through stories that might otherwise remain untold.
鈥淭hese interviews showcase the history of Dallas as it was actually lived,鈥� said Sian Brannon, University Library and Vice Provost. 鈥淭he 夜色视频 Libraries are thankful to Levi for providing us the ability to connect our students, researchers, and history enthusiasts around the world, to these illuminating firsthand experiences.鈥�
The 夜色视频 library collection showcases more than 100 video interviews about Dallas's history.
On Thursday, March 5 at 2 p.m., the 夜色视频 Libraries will host a public celebration at the Hall of State at Fair Park to mark the launch of the collection. The gathering will bring together community leaders, university partners and guests who care deeply about Dallas and its story. Together, attendees will celebrate the Portal to Texas History, recognize Davis鈥檚 extraordinary contribution and reflect on why preserving lived experience matters 鈥� enriching cultural memory and strengthening public access to meaningful historical insight.
From 鈥� General News