W. Caleb McDaniel

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:08:18 -0500

The peace lily at my office is blooming this week. This may be the longest I’ve managed to keep an indoor plant alive! I give it an old “Borders Books and Music” travel mug full of water, every Monday.

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 07:11:35 -0500

Rice News has a story about my new research into Houston’s inaugural celebration of Juneteenth.

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:04:34 -0500

Updated some notes in my open research notebook: Arlington House, Juneteenth, Refugeed Slaves.

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 08:09:55 -0500

On June 19, 1866, Black Texans marked the first anniversary of Juneteenth. But where and how was that day first publicly celebrated? My new article, “The First Juneteenth,” explores those questions and finds some surprising answers in Houston. Read more …

Sun, 07 Jun 2026 11:54:08 -0500

Nearly 9 years since Hurricane Harvey, we still occasionally get submissions to the Harvey Memories Project. Yesterday another story came in, and the Contribution form remains open.

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 18:50:47 -0500

I’ve uploaded a PDF version of my new post on the history of Arlington House to Rice’s Research Repository. DOI: 10.25611/3KFS-1A94

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 08:40:54 -0500

Grateful to have a write-up by Katharine Shilcutt for Rice’s research magazine about SSSFRU.

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:59:42 -0500

NEW POST: How “Arlington House” Became “The Robert E. Lee Memorial.” Read more …

Wed, 27 May 2026 13:44:58 -0500

Today I’m at the annual conference of the Alliance for Texas History, which is off to a great start!

Wed, 20 May 2026 05:53:46 -0500

The AI-generated, fake book club solicitation emails are getting pretty weird …

Wed, 13 May 2026 11:35:38 -0500

✅ Enter Spring 2026 grades.

Wed, 13 May 2026 09:02:58 -0500

It’s commencement season! That’s me in the bumblebee suit on Saturday night, seated next to my dear colleague José Aranda. (Credit: Rosie Nguyen)

Tue, 05 May 2026 09:00:49 -0500

I never know how to respond when the robot coffee machine in the business school asks me how my day is going.

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:02:53 -0500

A student in my Civil War history course brought by an interesting artifact she once found in a Baltimore used book store. It appears to be a scrapbook kept by a journalist during the 1860s, with an index of topics in the front. Very cool!

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 15:51:45 -0500

Maybe it’s the historian in me, but one of the things I like about Record Store Day is the occasional opportunity to relive the experience of hearing music for the first time on a physical medium, never before available or streamed. I’m old enough to remember that being the way of things, so maybe it’s nostalgia at work. But either way, the newly released Roy Hargrove concert album Bern (recommended here by Nate Chinen, who wrote the liner notes) was worth the hour-long wait in line.

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 06:02:07 -0500

I spoke about Henrietta Wood in an interview with the editors of a special America250 issue of the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society.

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:19:40 -0500

We all have our coping mechanisms!

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 15:32:04 -0500

Updated some notes in my open research notebook: Arlington House.

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:38:27 -0500

The bridge.

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 09:10:09 -0500

Tonight I will be at the NewSouth Bookstore in Montgomery, Alabama, to talk about Sweet Taste of Liberty.

A Bus Ride in Montgomery

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:54:35 -0500

Today I took the shuttle from the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which was as powerful in person as everyone who has visited said it would be.

On the ride, a guest in the back of the shuttle, a Montgomery local, began speaking to those around him about how much Bryan Stevenson’s development work has transformed the city.

The driver spoke up then to say that Stevenson’s legal work has been transformative too.

He proceeded to share his (the driver’s) personal story of justice denied and restored. Stevenson’s work had secured his own release from prison, his discharge from parole, and only a year or so ago, a complete pardon, allowing him to vote for the first time.

The back row guest spoke up again, this time to say, “Sir, I remember you. I was on that parole board.”

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:16:51 -0500

I’m in Montgomery today visiting the EJI Legacy Museum and seeing historic sites. I don’t think I had previously appreciated just how close Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is to the state capitol.

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 21:29:10 -0500

Full day of discussions in Alabama with USS colleagues, looking back on 20 years since the Brown report and envisioning paths forward. It’s always energizing to be together with this group.

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:59:16 -0500

Updated some notes in my open research notebook: Juneteenth.

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:35:25 -0500

I updated my post on The First Juneteenth in Houston to reflect that the Houston Daily Evening Star, which contains a rare report on the event, is now digitized at the Portal to Texas History. My article on this is forthcoming soon in the Journal of Texas History.