ShareThisMulticultural Houston
See why the city is considered a cultural melting pot
Nine times out of 10, Houstonians describe their city as “diverse,” “global” or “international.” With more than 90 consulates and an international business community that continues to grow, Houston truly is a global city. Experience the diverse cultures for yourself.
Houston's African American community plays a vital role in the overall culture of the city. From world-renowned arts programs to western multicultural heritage, the influence of this community is strong throughout the city.
Kuumba House Dance Theatre Antioch Missionary Baptist Church American Cowboy Museum Community Artists' Collective Talking Back Living History Theatre Buffalo Soldiers National Museum The Ensemble Theatre Project Row Houses Shape Community Center Shrine of the Black Madonna Cultural Center & Bookstore The Chinese Community Center offers regular Asian Heritage Tours, which is the best way to experience Houston's Asian community. Here is a sample itinerary: Did You Know?
"Kuumba" is a Swahili word which means "creativity," and the Kuumba House Dance Theatre performs a repertoire of traditional and contemporary African dance, while the Kuumba House Singers and Drummers perform songs from the African Diaspora enhanced by live drumming and other indigenous instruments.
This is the oldest African-American Baptist Church in Houston. The congregation, which includes members of many of Antioch’s “first families," is celebrating its 142nd anniversary.
The American Cowboy Museum on Taylor-Stevenson Ranch was established for the preservation and understanding of western multicultural heritage, introducing groups to the contributions of Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and women to the development and culture of the west. It’s located on the Taylor-Stevenson Ranch, one of the oldest African American ranches in Texas. The one and a half century old ranch is run by residing descendants, including Mollie Stevenson, Jr. ,who was one of the first living African Americans inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum Hall of Fame, along with her mother, Mollie Stevenson, Sr.
The Community Artists’ Collective, (The Collective), is a nonprofit organization founded in 1987 by Dr. Sarah Trotty and Michelle Barnes, both artists and educators. The Collective was established to create and facilitate support mechanisms for African American art, and to make arts education more accessible to children and adults. The Collective is deeply involved in the community, cooperating with other organizations and utilizing the talents and creative abilities of artists to solve economic, environmental and social issues. Arts-related services assist artists in sustaining themselves. Five to six exhibitions a year showcase the original work of living artists, both young and old. Accessible workshops and classes for adults and children in various media–including photography, ceramics, quilting, drawing, painting and mixed media– encourage the growth and development of the human spirit and foster the creative process.
The Talking Back Living History Theatre at Emancipation Park was created to interpret events, people and places with a fresh perspective. They use living history as a medium to stimulate awareness and appreciation of our multicultural and multiethnic interdependence. Their approach uses researched and oral histories to develop vignettes which encourage an active rather than a passive curiosity about history. Talking Back's approach to living history employs dramatic historical content that has been thoroughly researched to show the common humanity of all history's participants.
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum is the only museum in the U.S. that is solely dedicated to preserving the legacy and honor of the African American soldier. The museum was founded in January 2001 by Vietnam veteran and African American military historian, Paul J. Matthews. Its mission is to preserve, promote and perpetuate the history, tradition and outstanding contributions of the Buffalo Soldier and African American soldiers. It is the vision of BSNM that a feeling of pride and patriotism will be realized in everyone due to the gallant contributions of men and women across all cultures and ethnicities who have served in America’s Armed Forces.
The Ensemble Theatre was founded in 1976 by the late George Hawkins to preserve African American artistic expression and enlighten, entertain and enrich a diverse community. Thirty-one years later, the theatre has evolved from a touring company operating from the trunk of Mr. Hawkins’ car to being one of Houston’s finest historical cultural institutions. The Ensemble is one of the only professional theatres in the region dedicated to the production of works portraying the African American experience, the oldest and largest professional African American theatre in the Southwest, and holds the distinction of being one of the nation’s largest African American theatres owning and operating its facility and producing in-house. The Ensemble Theatre has fulfilled and surpassed the vision of its founder, and continues to expand and create innovative programs to bring African American theatre to a myriad of audiences.
Project Row Houses (PRH) was founded in 1993, on the principle that art and the community that creates it can revitalize even the most depressed of inner-city neighborhoods. Thus, the mission of PRH is to create community through the celebration of art and African American history and culture. The organization was conceived through discussions among African-American artists who wanted to establish a positive, creative presence in their own community. Artist and community activist Rick Lowe materialized this goal when he discovered the abandoned 1 1/2 block site of twenty-two shotgun-style houses in Houston's Third Ward. The shotgun houses provided the perfect opportunity to pursue the creation of a new form of art – social sculpture. Through the power of art, PRH has established programs that encompass arts and culture, neighborhood revitalization, low-income housing, education, historic preservation, and community service.
S.H.A.P.E. (Self-Help for African People through Education) Community Center was founded in 1969. As one of the most visible and involved community centers in Houston’s African-American community and the Houston community as a whole, S.H.A.P.E. has led the way toward justice, equal opportunity, and institution building in the city, state, nation and world. Because of its deep commitment to the community, S.H.A.P.E. has actively sought ways to oppose injustice and to better the community for all people. The outreach, which began locally, has now gained national and international attention. As a result, S.H.A.P.E. was honored in Washington, D.C., along with 26 others, for efforts in combating drugs, in the early nineties. For its efforts in improving the quality of life for children, family and the community as a whole, S.H.A.P.E. has received over 450 awards over the years, including the Jefferson Award, MLK Humanitarian Award, UNCF Leadership in the Minority Community Award, Mickey Leland Humanitarian Award, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Houston Outstanding Community Service Award, State of Texas (TCADA) Substance Abuse Prevention Award, along with many others too numerous to list.
Shrine of the Black Madonna™ Cultural Center & Bookstore (“The Shrine™”) is one of the nation’s largest and oldest black-owned bookstores, with locations in Detroit, Atlanta and Houston. The Shrine™ Bookstore is a non-profit institution that opened in 1970 with the goal of showcasing the creative talents of artists & authors of African descent and empowering people through educational workshops and cultural events. In addition to containing one of the largest selections of books related to the Black experience, the Shrine™ is also home to the Karamu Art Gallery™ and the Black Holocaust Museum™. 
Texas' Asian populating is the second fastest growing in the country, and Houston boasts the highest Asian population in the state. In fact, Houston has not one, but two Chinatowns. The original Chinatown is east of downtown, but the second (called the New Chinatown) is quickly expanding in the city's southwestern corridor.
Explore Houston’s Hispanic community, responsible for much of Houston’s unique flavor. Historic, diverse and the backbone of the city's early industry, Houston's East End was an early melting pot for the Germans, Italians and Mexican Americans that settled in areas near the Port of Houston. Second Ward and Magnolia Park in the East End are two of Houston's oldest Hispanic neighborhoods.
