This collection highlights how HBCUs have promoted community on their campus and engaged with their broader communities through a selection of documents and visual artworks.
Description
A culture of community and collective responsibility is created and reinforced in settings where groups share time and space. On HBCU campuses, a sense of community is fostered through historic events, such as homecomings and choral concerts, and through organizations, such as student clubs and sororities.
The interview was used for a paper that Mr. Langdon wrote for Dr. Alferdteen Harrison's Summer 1977 Workshop on Oral History. He outlines the history of Head Start in Mississippi and writes about his research goals and outcomes and creates a lesson plan for the workshop.
Lloyd’s painting depicts the facade of the historic Wesley Chapel AME Church, founded in Houston’s Third Ward in the 1870s. The landscape and sky are painted in geometric form, commonly found in 1970s TSU student artwork. The church is set to be renovated and turned into a multi-purpose complex with a gospel music museum, recording studio, and affordable housing units.
A brochure for a walking tour of the Farish Street Historic District, containing a tour map and pictures of significant homes, churches, nightclubs, and other buildings in the District.
Charoennimuang’s Hannah Hall mural draws inspiration from her birth country, Thailand. In her own words, it “is a Thai style mural-painting that expresses the love of two human beings…surrounded by the beauty of nature…. The man and woman are dressed up in Thai-style like the old days…neatly weaved and knitted in a Thai pattern…made of Thai silk.” The study for this mural included a dragon in the upper right corner that was cut from the final design.
This Texas Senate resolution commends the art students and faculty of Texas State University for Negroes (now Texas Southern University) for their exhibition in the State Capitol in April 1951. It is notable that this exhibition took place years before desegregation.
A Letter from Miss Dora McDonald to Chaplain Johnson that Congressman Andrew Young has saved the date of 12/13/1970 to speak at Tuskegee on his calendar.
A photocopy of the program for the Child Development Group of Mississippi/Community Education Extension 25th Anniversary Reunion from June 30-July 2, 1989 in Warren Hall at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi. This reunion brought together over 400 former Head Start employees and over 100 students from the Head Start classes of 1965-1969.
Oliver's painting depicts vanguard Black politicians from the Reconstruction period following emancipation. Radical Reconstruction saw the election of dozens of Black lawmakers in former slave states like Texas. After 1897, Texas didn't elect another Black legislator until 1966.
Ross’s mural represents Black rural life in the early to mid twentieth century. The composition highlights the gendered division of labor, and how women’s work focuses on maintaining the home. Ross grew up in Huntsville, Texas, and this scene may represent his background and experiences.
Collection of campaign materials from Robert Clark's 1984 campaign for the United States House of Representatives, 2nd Congressional District of Mississippi. This collection consists of letters, mailers, fliers, and more.
A native of New Orleans, Green transferred to TSU’s art program following Hurricane Katrina. His mural ties different aspects of New Orleans history and culture together through floodwaters. Enslaved ancestors stand at auction, and the city skyline, including the Superdome, is featured prominently.
This is an invitation from William Reaves - Sarah Foltz Fine Art gallery to the exhibition Protégés: The Legacy of John Biggers As Viewed Through the Artworks of Thirteen Students. The featured artists - Charles Criner, Geraldine Crossland, Karl E. Hall, Earlie Hudnall, Jr., Harvey Johnson, Earl S. Jones, Josie Mendoza Postel, Robert Meyers, Elizabeth Montgomery Shelton, Kermit Oliver, Jesse Sifuentes, Charles Thomas, and Roy Vinson Thomas - are all Texas Southern alumni and students of Dr. Biggers.
Lewis’s print shows a group of people holding a Kente-style textile, inscribed with the words, “However I am perceived and deceived, however my ignorance and conceits, lay aside your fears that I will be undone, for I shall not be moved," a selection from Maya Angelou’s poem Our Grandmothers; John Biggers also created illustrations to accompany Angelou's poem. Lewis was a leading African-American artist and art historian. She and Biggers studied together at Hampton University.
Aurelia Norris Young was a prominent Civil Rights activist and professor of music at Jackson State College and Tougaloo College. She gave this speech on the history of the Farish Street Historic District on April 9, 1983, at the Smith Robertson Neighborhood Folklife Festival, which honored the history and legacy of the district.
Two photographs of brochures for the Smith Robertson Neighborhood Folklife Festival, April 9-11, 1983. The festival was a one-time grant sponsored event held on the grounds of the Smith Robertson Museum to celebrate the rich history and culture of the Farish Street Historic District.
A newspaper article from the Jackson Advocate about the history of the Farish Street Historic District. Some research for the article comes from Jackson State's Farish Street Oral History Collection.
A copy of a photograph of an unknown woman, Dr. Alferdteen Harrison, and Dr. Cora Norman at the Smith Robertson Neighborhood Folklife Festival, April 9-11, 1983. The festival was a one-time grant sponsored event held on the grounds of the Smith Robertson Museum to celebrate the rich history and culture of the Farish Street Historic District.
This is a brochure from Lawndale Art Center advertising, among other things, the Otabenga Jones & Associates’ exhibition Symmetrical Patterns of Def. Made up of members Dawolu Jabari Anderson, Jamal Cyrus, Kenya Evans and Robert A. Pruitt, the collective was formed to harness the group's creativity and provide them an entry-point into the art world. The four met and became friends in Harvey Johnson’s drawing class at Texas Southern University.
This flier announces a Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM) public meeting at the College Park Auditorium at Jackson State College on Saturday Oct. 8, 1966, at 10am. The purpose of the meeting was to bring the community together to discuss ways to save CDGM from being overtaken by the state and federal governments.
Taylor offers a snapshot of Houston’s Third Ward in the mid-20th century. Growing up in Third Ward, Taylor saw it grow and change. The scene is a busy one and depicts various storefronts and residents of the neighborhood. Taylor named the pool hall in the lower left corner after himself.
A letter from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Chaplain Wynn stating that he would not be able to attend Religious Emphasis Week from Jan 6-10, 1958 due to an overseas trip to India and completing his book.
