This collection that showcases expressions of Black Joy through features a selection of items such as oral histories, visual artworks, and written works.
Description
HBCUs are essential spaces where Black cultural traditions and values are freely expressed and given space to grow and joyfully flourish. Since the 1800s, HBCUs have provided a means for formerly enslaved and free African Americans to participate more fully in American life.
Date Modified
2025-09-12
About This Record
The HCAC public history focused digital archive cataloging is an ongoing process, and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. We welcome your comments and feedback if you have more information to share about an item featured on the site, please contact us at: HCAC-DigiTeam@si.edu
The 1967 Fall Convocation at Tuskegee Institute celebrated the legacy of its founders and highlighted the contributions of Dr. John A. Hannah, a distinguished educator and civil rights leader, and Miss Dorothy L. Hite, a prominent social worker, was recognized for her humanitarian efforts and leadership in civil rights.
An original poem by Malika Majid (Frankye Adams-Johnson) titled “A Poem for You.” In the poem, she reflects on the idea of resistance. The bottom of the page says “Lest We Forget: Poetry. From The Veterans For Whom Memories Are Precious Sources of Inspiration.”
This radiant work by Oliver Parson engulfs the viewer in the spiraling flow of a smiling woman's silky headwrap. The headwrap is a fashionable method of hair protection and expression of identity that is shared among women across the African diaspora.
Houston E. Chandler was a sculptor, printmaker, painter, and teacher from Saint Louis, MO. Boogie Woogie depicts two abstracted figures dancing the Boogie Woogie, a popular dance in the early 20th century.
Meeting of the first hospital in Macon County Alabama for negroes. Within this photo is the first principle of Tuskegee Institute, Booker T. Washington, and Dr. John A. Kenney.
A full church choir sings passionately. Hatter chose this location to make use of the rectangular shape of the doorway, suggesting the arrangement of a choir standing on risers. The exit sign, which was previously embedded on the wall, cast rays of light across the choir members’ faces.
Vital’s drawing may be a mural pre-study. The scene depicts a spirit of revelry, with musicians entertaining a large crowd gathered to enjoy the music and dance. The instruments vary from those of a typical blues and jazz ensemble, like the drum set, trumpet, and guitar, to the tambourine, often associated with southern gospel. The figures' fluidity suggests movement and freedom.
Texas Southern art alumni Jesse Sifuentes and Earl Jones are pictured in this photograph from the mid 1970s. They are seen here in the ceramics room of the John T. Biggers Art Center, seated in the trash cans where clay was stored. Sifuentes later went on to teach ceramics at Texas Southern University.
A journal written by former Black Panther Party member and former Jackson State University professor Frankye Adams-Johnson (Malika) on unknown dates. Items in the journal include: prayers; writing in Arabic and lists of Islamic terms; rough draft of a resume for a prospective job in Philadelphia, PA; a poem; and a note to her imprisoned husband.
A button with a black and white photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. Dr. King was a co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and remained its leader until his death. Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a bus in 1955 sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, which were led by Dr. King.
Calvin Burnett was a graphic artist, illustrator, painter, designer, and art teacher from Cambridge, MA. Merry-Go-Round depicts a young Black girl smiling in a park. Burnett overlays a limpid red merry-go-round over the girl's face.
Onyeiwu’s drawing is of a young boy wearing a smirk on his face. Onyeiwu creates incredible, realistic portraits with fine details. Originally from Nigeria, Onyeiwu received his undergraduate arts degree from Texas Southern, and has since returned to teach drawing and painting classes at TSU.
John Payne was an artist from New Orleans, LA. Mr. Mardi Gras is an abstract depiction of a male figure in the midst of the euphony of colors that represent the vibrance of Mardi Gras.
Muhammad Ali discussed his life since defeating Cleveland Williams in the Astrodome, his conversion to the Nation of Islam, and his decision to change his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali. Ali then discussed his views on the efforts of the major Civil Rights leaders and their movement to seek equality.
Dr. Eddie Jordan, Sr. was a Southern artist from Wichita Falls, TX. Negro Girl Skipping Rope depicts a young Black girl in the process of playing jump rope. The rope is positioned over her head as she prepares to hop over the rope with one leg lifted.
Onyeiwu's painting depicts a smiling woman wearing a green dress with geometric designs, against a blue background. The artist is a Texas Southern alumnus and current art professor, teaching painting, drawing, and murals courses. Much of his work highlights the beauty of Black women.
Donato’s painting portrays an elderly woman feeding hungry birds. This particular geometric style of painting is characteristic of students of Dr. Biggers who attended Texas Southern in the mid-to-late 1970s. The mother-child relationship is a common motif in the artwork of TSU students, usually a human mother and child or an animal mother and child. This painting seems to be unique in its depiction of a cross-species maternal relationship.
Criner’s print shows a man fishing; he is holding several catfish that he has caught. He is wading in the water with his hands full of fishing gear. Criner learned printmaking firsthand from Dr. John Biggers and was the longtime artist-in-residence at Houston’s Museum of Printing History.
Sen. Alyce Griffin Clarke served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1984-2004. She talks about her work in education before running for office in 1984. She also discusses Robert Clark’s passion for education, the different committees she is involved in, the Institute of Higher Learning, and more.
Moe's work displays a joyous religious gathering, featuring a preacher, dancers, musicians, and others. The group appears to be performing a ring shout, or praise break, a characteristic tradition of some Black churches in the Southern US involving dancing, stomping, and singing.
William Hayden was a painter and educator from Lexington, NC. Saturday Night Function is a juke joint scene depicting Black people dancing, playing instruments, and socializing. Hayden illuminates the interiorities of African-American nightlife in the mid-1900s.
Senator David L. Jordan began serving on the Mississippi State Senate in 1993 and has been serving for 31 years. He recounts growing up on a plantation in Greenwood, Mississippi. The interview focuses on the work he did with Robert Clark in the Mississippi Legislature to support and obtain funds for Historically Black Colleges.
Gilbert H. Hatcher was a painter from Augusta, GA. Spring Folic is an abstract painting with a green background. The color palette includes hues of yellow, red, orange, green, white, and black. Gestural strokes of paint are layered to create a feeling of nature and springtime.
Moe’s drawing shows three elderly women working together to craft a quilt. Quilting is a traditional craft of Southern Black women, and also an important community activity. Moe’s composition is set against black paper and drawn all in white, with the exception of the vibrant colors of the quilt. This shows the richness of the communities and lives embodied in the quilt.
Tuskegee Civic Association honored 12 students who desegregated Macon County High School with a meeting that emphasized education, self-determination, political participation, and civic engagement through speeches by Mrs. Margaret Anderson and Senator Buddy F. Welcome from Maryland.
