2026 SPE Annual Conference: Catalyst for Exchange
Looking for a chapter event?
Past SPE Annual Conferences
exhibitions
South Central Chapter Conference Schedule
print this pageThe People of Quakertown
Student Presentation
Friday, October 10 - 4:45PM to 5:00PM
IPE Building
The People of Quakertown is a photographic examination of Black displacement and cultural resilience in Denton, Texas. The project traces the 1922 forced removal of Quakertown, a once-thriving Black neighborhood near the city's center, when residents were relocated to Southeast Denton to make way for a civic park and the expansion of the College of Industrial Arts (now Texas Woman's University).
This work explores not only the geographic transformation of these spaces but also the layered emotional, political, and cultural consequences of urban renewal and historical erasure. Drawing on archival materials from the Denton County Historical Commission, the installation pairs historical photographs with contemporary images. In Quakertown Park, present-day public green space obscures what was once a self-sustaining community. In contrast, Southeast Denton reveals the architecture and atmosphere of the neighborhood that emerged from displacement, with its homes, churches, and streetscapes.
The People of Quakertown is an act of insurgent commemoration, situating photography as a tool for cultural preservation and asking how visual storytelling can give form to hidden histories. Future expansions of the project will draw on additional archives, including the Portal to Texas History and the University of North Texas Oral History Collection, which includes interviews with former Quakertown residents. Together, these sources will inform new visual and narrative strategies for building a broader portrait of Black community in North Texas.
speaker
Theo Johnson
About
- Board Reports, Letters, and Minutes
- History
- Staff
- Board Members
- Board Committees
- Board Elections
- SPE Code of Conduct
- Caucuses
Join
Members
Annual Conference
- About the Conference
- Overview
- Speakers
- Schedule
- Registration
- Volunteer
- Sponsors
- Exhibit
- Anti-Harassment Policy
- Hotel & Travel
- Location + Travel
- Hotel
- Schedule of Events
- Schedule
News & Events
Chapters
Exposure Journal
About this piece
Comments about this piece
Dialogue and critique are important to the SPE mission.
Please join the conversation.