Romare Bearden was an artist, author, and songwriter from Charlotte, NC. Atlanta Mural is a maquette of a mural created for City Scenes '76-'77, the National Paint and Coatings Association bicentennial. Bearden includes the Kente symbol, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's head, the silhouette of a Black family, a church, and a plot of land to represent the African American influence in the city.
A newspaper article from The New Jersey Afro-American about prisoners who refused work assignments as a protest over living conditions. The prisoners were transferred and denied their personal belongings, telephone calls, and medical care. The group Prisoner’s Rights Organized Defense (PROD) asked a judge to restore everything for the inmates.
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.
John Payne was an artist from New Orleans, LA. Awaiting the Welfare Agents is a mixed-media depiction of a traditional family with pensive expressions. They are sitting together preparing for a visit from a representative of the Department of Human Services.
Gordon’s mural examines her own life and personal development. A wispy fabric running through the mural serves as a metaphor for her emerging self-awareness; this motif is found in some of her other works. Gordon’s mural showcases herself working on several art projects from her undergraduate period.
This photograph was taken at Florida A&M University’s annual Homecoming Parade on October 18, 1975. As the procession strolled through Frenchtown, a historic Black, middle-class Tallahassee neighborhood, someone shot University President B. L. Perry shaking hands with Mr. Roberts of Economy Drugstore, a Black-owned pharmacy vital to the community.
In a letter from B. L. Perry, Jr. to Attorney Cheryl Calloway of the Office of the General Counsel under the Division of Civil Rights, Perry threatens legal action against the federal government for threats to Florida A&M’s land-grant status and access given to non-land-grant institutions, like Florida State University.
This abstract presents a detailed analysis of the logistics needed to successfully achieve the collaboration between Michigan State University, the University of Nigeria, and other higher education institutions. It details the securement of proper documentation, professional contacts, and the extent of the curricula of this unique venture.
Franklin Shands was a painter from Cincinnati, Ohio. Back Way shows the back perspective of conjoined brick buildings with chimneys, a staircase and a balcony. A door sits at the center of the painting, with four stacked barrels on the right.
The agricultural society of the Bamana people in West Africa (mainly Mali), also known as Bambara, honors Ci Wara, the mythical being they believe granted them the gift of farming, through wooden carved headdresses. This sculpture combines the features of humans, antelopes, and other native animals for performances celebrating successful farmers.
Romeyn van Vleck Lippman was a 19th-century painter and educator. Baptismal (I Give This Child to Baptism) depicts a religious scene of a woman preparing to baptize a girl. Both female subjects are dark-skinned and standing in water, dressed in white, under a dark sky. The woman is wearing a red kerchief, and the girl's is white.
Barbara Strauss was a member of the board of directors of the Bethlehem Center in Jackson, Mississippi, a United Methodist Church organization that does work in impoverished communities. She talks about her extensive work in these communities and the Bethlehem Center sponsoring the opening of the first Head Start in Jackson.
Barbara Mason discusses the beginnings of Head Start in Utica, Mississippi, in 1965 and sending her daughter to attend the Head Start Center at St. Mark's Catholic Church. She goes on to talk about working at a Head Start center in Jackson, Mississippi, as a driver for the kids in the program.
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.
A annotated blueprint for the basement floor plan of home economics buildings with measurements for lab wall renovations. Drawing also includes door schedule, finishes schedule, and window schedule.
This work by Allen shows two basketball players reaching up for a jump ball amidst a run-down, graffiti-covered warehouse. The scene has minimal color, save for the graffiti, which enhances the abandoned atmosphere. Allen is an alumnus of Texas Southern and focuses on highlighting the Black experience in his work, often creating collages that include sports imagery.
The Bateba, in Fante culture, is a guardian spirit that protects women and children from harmful field spirits. It symbolizes nurturing, protection, and resilience. At FAMU, the Bateba represents a cultural link to African heritage, emphasizing the protective role of spiritual figures in the lives of families and communities throughout history.
Elizabeth Catlett was an artist and educator from Washington, D.C., who repatriated to Mexico. Bather is a bronze sculpture of a woman preparing to bathe. The subject is nude, standing with their head held high with a towel hanging from their arm.
Beatrice Coats talks about her involvement in voter registration work with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. She talks extensively about her experiences helping to register people to vote in 1964, after being a registered voter herself since 1946. That work led her to helping open a Head Start Center in Hollandale, Mississippi.
Beatrice Martin was born in Rankin County, Mississippi, in 1904 and moved to Jackson two years later. For her, the "Good Old Days" were when she was younger and went to church and played games with her father. She discusses getting married in 1928 and purchasing some land and a home in a part of Jackson that had not yet been fully developed.
The right section reflects the tenet of “policing the police.” The officers’ stance is eerily similar to Derek Chauvin’s murder of George Floyd and the fire extinguisher underscores the scene’s violence. The left speaks to racialized beauty standards and “Black is Beautiful” messaging of the 1960s and 70s.
Leonard Cooper was a painter, musician, and piano teacher from Salinas, CA. Before the Rains Came illustrates a rural landscape prior to a rainstorm. It depicts two barns, a thicket of trees, a fenced area, and rolling hills under a dark cloudy sky.
Hicks’ shimmering painting shows a young girl, clad in purple cloth, wearing emerald jewelry against a purple geometric background. Purple is often associated with royalty and the glittering elements add to the piece’s sense of luxury and decadence. Hicks graduated from Texas Southern University in 2018.
Michaux’s painting shows a nude woman draped with jewelry from her ears, neck, and arms. In her right hand, she holds a branch with leaves; a small flame extends from her left hand, above her head. After graduating from Texas Southern, Michaux went on to teach art at several universities, including HBCUs Southern University, North Carolina Central University, and South Carolina State University.
This Biggers print shows a figure playing a balafon, with a sankofa bird overhead. The balafon is a West African percussion and the sankofa bird signifies the importance of the past in improving the future. Taken together, they show the importance of music in preserving culture.
This is a brochure for Parker’s senior art exhibition. The culmination of the Texas Southern art curriculum is a senior exhibition where students showcase artwork created over the course of their undergraduate studies. The brochure features a photo of Parker, a brief biography, a catalog of the artwork featured in the exhibition, a photo of his terracotta sculpture, and a photo of his mural. It is inscribed with a note from Parker
This dual-edition book, available in a pupil’s and parent’s version, includes a charming collection of short stories and poems inspired by B. L. Perry Jr.'s life. Accompanied by vivid illustrations, it bridges generations with creativity and heartfelt reflections.
