Alan Govenar is a Dallas writer, folklorist, photographer, and filmmaker, whose most common subjects are African American and Texan culture. Among Govenar’s eighteen books are Texas Blues: The Rise of a Contemporary Sound (1991), Portraits of Community (1996), Deep Ellum and Central Track: Where the Black and White Worlds of Dallas Converged (1998), Stompin’ at the Savoy: The Story of Norma Miller (2004), The Early Years of Rhythm and Blues (2004), Extraordinary Ordinary People: Five American Masters of Traditional Arts (2006), and Untold Glory: African Americans in Pursuit of Freedom, Opportunity and Achievement (2007). The producer and director of numerous films, Govenar has worked with NOVA and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The London Film Festival named Govenar’s 1981 Stoney Knows How an Outstanding Film of the Year and his book Osceola: Memories of a Sharecropper’s Daughter won First Place for children’s literature at the 2000 New York Book Festival. In 1985, Govenar established Documentary Arts, Inc., a Dallas and New York City based non-profit dedicated to presenting new perspectives on historical issues and diverse cultures. Ten years later, he co-founded Dallas’s Texas African American Photography Archive.
Source:
Documentary Arts, Inc. “ Alan Govenar .” (accessed October 11, 2010)
From the guide to the Govenar, Alan, Collection 92-056., [ca. 1950-1991], (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)
