James Watkins was an artist from Akron, OH. Widow Woman is a portrait of an elderly Black woman wearing a long white dress, a light blue shawl, a pink headwrap, and small golden earrings. She looks straight ahead in solitude, her hands folded over one another.
A historical analysis outlining the need for a New Afrikan People's Union. The author writes that the need for the new union can be understood by doing a historical analysis on the years 1965-1980, the time when the Black liberation movement in the United States was spiraling, and that 1980 was a time of natural evolution within the movement.
An undated essay about the need for a New African People's Union. The author argues for the union by identifying major historical events in the Black liberation movement that can be used to organize the union. This view of history can provide greater clarification ideologically and consolidate the military gains of the Black liberation movement.
A newspaper article from The Black Panther. Communications Secretary Kathleen Cleaver ponders the idea of Black people's rights and how White people react to them. She wonders if revolutionary Whites are just pretending to be revolutionary as a way to divide Black people.
A newspaper article from The Black Panther. Communications Secretary Kathleen Cleaver argues that unity amongst Black people is necessary to fight oppression and that the use of violence in the service of freedom, justice, and peace is the only way to put an end to the violence of racism against “the Black colony of Afro-America.”
A memo describing one's rights when confronted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The memo states that the FBI is coordinating grand juries to harass radicals. Agents are always asking questions intentionally to incriminate the subject and therefore no one should ever speak with them without an attorney present.
A memo describing one's rights when confronted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The memo states that FBI agents are always asking questions intentionally to incriminate the subject and therefore no one should ever speak with them without an attorney present, especially considering it is not against the law to not talk to an agent.
Boyd's painting is inspired by philosopher Charles W. Mills's book, "Blackness Visible." Boyd's painting responds to the question of "what makes Blackness visible?" with, in her words, "three possible answers to this: our culture, our revolutions, and/or our d/Death. Is it our culture? Our revolution? Our d/Death? Or is it an amalgamation of all three?" The artist is a graduate of Texas Southern University and cites her parents, who always encouraged her to write and draw, as creative inspirations.
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 letter on onion skin paper from Chaplain Wynn to Dr. MLK Jr. requestion the use of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church choir during the Week of Pray would be able to sing at the Week of Prayer 01/09-13/1956.
Biggers completed work on this mural in 1959 after returning from his UNESCO fellowship in West Africa. Originally installed in the Samuel M. Nabrit Science Building on Texas Southern’s campus, it is now located in the University Museum. Mother Nature is at the center of this work, surrounded by embryos and skeletons, animals and fish, and men and women. It speaks to the interconnectedness of life.
A newspaper article from The Black Panther (unknown date) explaining the Black Panther Party's Ten Point Program. The article is credited to the Ministry of Information, Belinda, Oakland, California. The author gives a detailed explanation of each of the points of the Ten Point Program that lies at the core of Black Panther ideology.
William Artis was a sculptor from Washington, NC. We Have Seen His Face is a ceramic bust of a hooded woman with her head raised. The subject holds a reverent expression as she looks toward God.
A newspaper article from The Black Panther by Moak Teba of the Chicago Black Panther Party. The article describes acts of violence against the people in Chicago and argues for taking that same violence to the oppressors. The story centers on the Panthers’ support of the Black P. Stone Nation, one of Chicago’s most notorious street gangs.
This is a watercolor sketch for Long’s piece Roma, which was created during his 1990-91 Prix de Rome fellowship. Featuring a blobby figure and colorful swirls, the composition is somewhat reminiscent of Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. Long also included a sketch of the frame he intended to create for the piece. Long rose to prominence as an “outsider artist” without formal training, later becoming one of the co-founders of Project Row Houses.
This is a watercolor sketch of Long’s Post Rome. In the full print, the center of the design is a large, oval-shaped eye. This is a frequently used motif in Long’s artwork, across many different mediums. Vertical and diagonal rays and bars draw attention towards the eye, which features a man’s face where the pupil would be. The final piece is placed in a cast bronze frame embedded with coins, like this sketch shows. Long’s print was created during his 1990 Prix de Rome fellowship.
A letter from Frankye Adams-Johnson (Malika) to her husband, Nuh Abdul Qaiyum, who was imprisoned. She is upset about their breakdown in communication. She concludes that he wants it this way and goes on to explain that their "flame" has been dwindling for years. She changes the subject to explaining her teaching moment with a young man.
Frederick D. Jones, Jr., was a mid-twentieth-century artist from South Carolina. Wash Day is an impressionistic painting depicting a Black woman doing laundry. In the piece, a robed woman with a laundry bag on her head is washing linens outside in a neighborhood. In the background, a house and two trees are visible.
Entrusted to FAMU based on the university's studies in agriculture, the spirit depicts an eviscerated body of a woman, that serves as a clear warning to trespassers. The spirit gives the impression of a healthy woman on the right with a clear stark warning on the left with the face and upper body hollowed out to the bone.
Entrusted to Florida A&M because of the university’s studies in agriculture, this spirit is a mound of body parts that appears to display the grim consequence of trespassing. Three severed heads with gruesome expressions are conjoined together – attached only by naked bone and brain matter.
Evans’ mural features a self-portrait of the artist below the muscular arms of two angels. Above, an open book radiates light onto the setting. Evans is a founding member of Otabenga Jones & Associates, an artists’ collective founded by four former TSU students.
A white square button with a drawing of a flower. The text says: "War is not healthy for children and other living things." The button uses the poster design created by Chicago, Illinois, artist Lorraine Schneider in 1966. The design and slogan became an enduring symbol of the peace movement starting in 1967 with the Vietnam War.
Michaux, a war veteran, was given the opportunity by Dr. Biggers to paint this mural during his first year as an art major. Reflecting on the devastation of the then-recent World War II, the mural depicts terror, hunger, and human compassion.
Hampton’s senior notebook includes her written philosophy of art and photographs of the artist’s works. As a part of the Texas Southern art curriculum under Dr. John T. Biggers and Professor Carroll Harris Simms, students would create these notebooks to explain their artistry and showcase the works they created as students.
Walter Stewart lived his entire life in the Farish Street District from 1910 and was the funeral director at People's Funeral Home in the district. He talks about the changes the area has gone through over the years and recounts several stories about people and places in the area. The transcript is edited with handwritten notes.
Attorney Walter Brown served in the Mississippi State Legislature from 1968-1990, serving Adams County, where Natchez is the county seat and only city. Rep. Brown talks about the Robert Clark era in Mississippi politics, including when they first met, some of the first bills Rep. Clark introduced, and his gradual rise to power in the legislature.
3rd Architectual blueprint drawing to the additions and renovations of library building. Blueprint shows the wall sections of the building and miscellaneous details about the walls.
A purple button with text that says "Wage Peace." The phrase was popularized in a speech given by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953 during the Cold War. “Wage Peace” went on to be a rally cry for the anti-war and peace movements, especially during the Vietnam War.
Lois Mailou Jones was an artist and art educator known for her costumes, textile designs, watercolors, paintings, and collages from Washington, D.C. Voodoo Worshippers, Haiti, is a watercolor scene of three Haitian Voodoo practitioners around four candles under a full moon. Jones places colorful shapes behind black brushstrokes that create depth.
