WHEN THE ARCHIVE SPEAKS BACK

January 16, 2026 - Hampton University Library

Today my research led me to the Hampton University library, where I was given two hours with a book that cannot leave the building. Black Art in Houston by Dr John Biggers. Holding it felt like holding history.

In its pages, I found my grandfather’s name. Leon Renfro. Not as a footnote, but as a legacy.

Dr Biggers writes,

“We can’t put everybody’s name in here, but I do want to mention two more notable graduates, Leon Renfro and Oliver Parson. Leon Renfro was a design student of such ability that he was hired soon after graduation by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a designer of space instruments. Later, while working for the construction firm of Brown and Root, he helped design oil platforms and other important equipment. After ten years of rich and varied experience, he returned to the university in 1974 to teach design.”

To see his life, his work, and his brilliance documented in this way reminds me why this journey matters. This is legacy. This is love. This is Brown Renfro.

The professor.

The student.

The curator.

And I’m grateful to be walking this path.