The vintage can of Black Mammy Plastic Roof Cement features a depiction of a Black female figure, reflecting the problematic stereotypes prevalent in mid-20th-century advertising. Often portrayed as a caretaker or domestic figure, this imagery reveals the complexities of racial representation and the commodification of Black identity.
A "colored only" sign was a segregation-era sign typically found in the United States during the Jim Crow era, which enforced racial segregation in public places. These signs were used to designate areas, facilities, or services that were reserved for people of color and donated by Dr. James Eaton.
The iron "Whites Only" swimming pool sign from Selma, Alabama, dating back to 1931, starkly illustrates the era's racial segregation and discrimination. This historical artifact symbolizes the oppressive Jim Crow laws that enforced racial barriers in public spaces.
This document provides a glimpse into the Taney estate, showcasing its stairways, drawing room, and slave quarters. Special recognition was given to the Francis Scott Key Room, commemorating his legacy as the writer of the Star-Spangled Banner.
A newspaper article from The Black Panther written by party member and wife of Black Panther founder Bobby Seale. The article explains the psychological warfare committed on Black people as a way to divide and conquer the movement. The author states that the Black Panther party will act as a liberation army for the oppressed people.
“J”, a White movement leader, writes to “T” to apologize, explain, and take responsibility for past behavior that was in retaliation to the Black Liberation struggle. “J” explains the connection between sexism and racism. “J” acknowledges that Comrade “T” always understood the organization was wrong.
This ceramic cookie jar was part of a collection released by Ohio-based company Mosaic Tile. Albeit rare, the original and most common reproduction is the version depicted here, standing around 13 inches tall with a yellow dress and yellow headwrap. However, the dress can show up in a variety of rarer colors such as blue, peach, and green.
Samella Sanders Lewis was a printmaker, painter, sculptor, and art historian from New Orleans, LA. "Barrier" is a drawing that depicts the physical and social barriers between groups of people. In the foreground, three women and a boy suspiciously look at a group of townspeople who return their stare from the other side of a barbed wire fence.
This abstract provides a brief account of the Rosewood Case, a horrific 1923 race riot caused by aggravated racial relations from the winter of 1922. A white woman’s claim of rape set off a group of white men to begin shooting people who they believed were connected to the assault, all residents of a small, thriving predominantly Black town.
A newspaper article from The Black Panther arguing that the greed inherent in capitalism leads to racism which leads to a fascist state defined by police brutality on Black people. The author writes that capitalism is “a parasitic growth that devours whole countries,” and therefore police brutality is a form of genocidal extermination.
A card from fellow Black revolutionary and friend of Frankye Adams-Johnson (Malika), Curtis. The front of the card is a depiction of a man with a gun and text explaining that only through the gun can freedom be realized by the Black people. On the back of the card he writes “We send you this with revolutionary love and concern, Curtis.”
In 1995, G. Powell, III, wrote a letter to U.S. House Rep. Carrie P. Meek filled with disparaging and discriminatory comments. It is hard to determine who exactly Powell was. Still, the document alone shows how much racism the first African American woman elected to represent Florida in the U.S. Congress since the Reconstruction era received.
Within the documents Carrie P. Meek held were racist letters sent to her, like this one. This letter made inflammatory, discriminating, and disparaging comments about Black men, calling them “brutes” and comparing them to “thugs.” It also depicted a hand-drawn racist caricature of a tribal African holding a bloody, severed white person’s head.
The vintage "Black Jockey Boys" bank is a collectible item depicting a stereotype of African American jockeys, often characterized by exaggerated features and playful expressions. While intended as a whimsical decoration, it reflects the racial caricatures prevalent in the early 20th century.
Settles' painting shows a Black man abused by a group of 5 police, while a group looks on in the background. This painting reflects frustration with police brutality and racism towards the Black community. Settles replicated this image (of the police surrounding the man) in another of his paintings with a different, more abstract background.
Boston-based publishing company Peirce and Parker released “Condition of American Colored Population and the Colony at Liberia” in 1833. This intriguing publication touches on the lives of African Americans and the progress of the emerging Liberian colony; albeit brief, it sets the stage for deeper analysis.
In this 1844 correspondence, Bennett Dell requests the return of enslaved individuals from General W. G. Worthe. The letter reflects the legal and personal disputes over enslaved people, who were considered property under the law. This document highlights the control and commodification of Black lives in pre-Civil War Southern society.
A letter from the president of the Tuskegee Civic Association Charles G. Gomillion requesting a biographical sketch of Mrs. Dorothy Tilly for a TCA news blast to discuss race relations.
Mr. McElroy was born in 1891 and was a lifelong resident of Clinton. He talks about being the son of a former slave and discusses the oral traditions around the Clinton Riot as well as his education and childhood.
These rare 1832 slave documents from the Abraham Cabell estate provide detailed records of all of the slaves on the property and other purchases that were made. The list includes names, household items, property, and prices for everything.
B. W. Taylor’s Estate Paper’s included a legal document that authorized the seizure and sale of an enslaved person to satisfy a debt or court judgment known as a Writ of Execution. This rare record illustrates the legal system’s role in treating enslaved individuals as property through the intersection of slavery and financial transactions.
These rare 1843 slave documents from the deceased Edmund Brooke estate provide an itemized list of all of the slaves on the property. This list includes gender and age identifiers before each of their names, along with the price for each person.
Rare 1850 slavery documents from the Ellen Brockenborough estate include a will and receipts of transfer between family members. These records provide critical insight into the legal and economic treatment of enslaved people as property, revealing the deep entrenchment of slavery in family estates.
These rare 1841 slavery documents detail the hiring of Georg A. Croom's enslaved individuals, providing a unique glimpse into the leasing practices of the time. These records include contracts and financial arrangements, offering insight into the economic exploitation of enslaved labor and the broader system of slavery in the antebellum South.
This document is an account of the enslaved African persons belonging to John Breto, Jr. It contains a list of their names and prices, calculated on December 30, 1848, for the year 1849.
Estate papers of John Miller include his will and testament, detailing the distribution of property, including enslaved individuals. These documents provide significant insight into the legal processes surrounding inheritance and the treatment of enslaved people as assets, showcasing the economic reliance on slavery in the antebellum South.
This document offers an inventory of the personal property belonging to the estate of John P. Duval. It contains a list of names of enslaved people and their prices.
The 1854 petition by John Winer outlines the division of his deceased mother’s property, including employment of enslaved persons, with his sister. This document reveals the complexities of familial inheritance, the management of enslaved labor, and the economic implications of slavery within family dynamics.
