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Bellmead Mayor Travis Gibson, from left, son of the late Lester Gibson; retired Paul Quinn College administrator Van Allen; and McLennan County Precinct 2 Commissioner Patricia Miller, Lester Gibson’s successor on the commissioners court, look at the new window panel honoring Lester Gibson at the East Waco Library on Thursday.

East Waco Library normally holds history in the books kept inside its walls, but a portion of Waco history has moved outside in the form of large-scale window decals honoring the lives of seven Black Waco pioneers.

The mesh decals, which let light through to the library’s interior, fill the library windows facing Elm Avenue with photo images of the Waco leaders and a short summary of their legacy. A small ceremony at the library Thursday announced the decals and their stories to an audience of about 50 people that included friends, family or acquaintances of the honorees.

Waco City Council Member Andrea Barefield, who served on the committee that selected the seven and chose more for a digital display inside the library, said the windows facing the community will serve the dual purpose of honoring the seven and their achievement while serving to inspire viewers with their stories of leadership.

At a time where the naming of schools, buildings and streets to recognize individuals is becoming less frequent, it is important to take opportunities for public acknowledgment of a community’s pathfinders and builders when they arise, Barefield said.

The seven honored in the windows — R.L. Smith, Garry Radford, Emma Harrison, Tom Wilson, Noah Jackson, Alice Pollard and Lester Gibson — were a small part of the Black residents with notable contributions to Waco history and culture who a selection committee considered.

Their challenge led to a new dimension of the project, creation of an accompanying digital slideshow with photos and a short biography of 30 other important Black leaders and pioneers.

Library director Essy Day told the audience the windows fall within a public library’s obligation to preserve and archive local history, a point that Barefield expanded on in her remarks.

“We were able to pinpoint some of our legends and leaders and history makers of our community,” Barefield said.

Waco City Council Member Andrea Barefield speaks Thursday during a ceremony to unveil seven East Waco Library window panels honoring Black leaders from Waco history.

At the same time, the project had limitations of only seven to select and a limited amount of information on the window panels.

“How can you define a life legacy on a panel? You can’t,” Barefield said. “But this is the beginning of our future, something for the next generation to study and honor and build on.”

Joining Barefield on the selection committee were Waco NAACP President Peaches Henry; Jeanette Bell, North East Riverside Neighborhood Association president; Rachel Pate, vice president of economic development for the Cen-Tex African American Chamber of Commerce; and Don Wright of the Central Texas African-American Heritage Foundation.

Those selected for the window treatments were considered pioneers and leaders in seven categories:

After Gibson's death in June, the Waco City Plan Commission this summer recommended honoring him by naming part of Washington Avenue as Lester Gibson Way.

Librarians Sean Sutcliffe and Alysha Suchaski researched the biographies of the seven in the window treatments. Brochures available in the library contain fuller accounts of their lives. Community services supervisor Jessica Emmett designed and created the mesh decals for the windows.

A vibrantly colored mural on the library’s west side, painted in 2013, complements the window stories with images of other Black East Waco community leaders, including Navy hero Doris Miller, singer Estella Maxey and artist Kermit Oliver.

Day said the East Waco Library’s windows are uniquely suited for the community history treatment, but the library system will explore other ways to recognize community history at the system’s other branches.

While the window treatments will remain fixed, new people and stories will be rotated into the digital presentation over time. Emmett also said a planned upgrade of the city’s website should allow viewers to access the digital presentation and any new ones the library might create.

People attending the window ceremony Thursday included Travis Gibson, son of Lester Gibson and Bellmead mayor, and Ruth Jackson, widow of Noah Jackson. Jackson said she was delighted at her late husband’s recognition in the library’s windows.

“This feels fantastic,” she said with a broad smile. “It’s an honor for him — and for me.” Jackson lives nearby and passes the library on a regular basis, saying she’ll now see a picture of her husband on those trips. “I’ll have someone to wave to as I pass by,” she laughed.

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Carl Hoover has covered Waco arts and entertainment, and more, for the Tribune-Herald since 1984.

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Bellmead Mayor Travis Gibson, from left, son of the late Lester Gibson; retired Paul Quinn College administrator Van Allen; and McLennan County Precinct 2 Commissioner Patricia Miller, Lester Gibson’s successor on the commissioners court, look at the new window panel honoring Lester Gibson at the East Waco Library on Thursday.

Waco City Council Member Andrea Barefield speaks Thursday during a ceremony to unveil seven East Waco Library window panels honoring Black leaders from Waco history.

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