Toussaint's painting, "Prickled," pushes back against the notion that women's role is limited to being nurturers. In her own words, her "creative perspective is rooted in a sensitive and feminine lens—one that challenges the common reduction of femininity to gentleness and passivity." After graduating from Texas Southern University, Toussaint started teaching art in a Houston-area middle school.
Obey’s sculpture, “Primeval Couple,” features a prehistoric male and female couple fused within the arms of one another. The heads of the figures are decorated with embellished swirls, often featured in the terracottas made by students of Carroll Harris Simms. Simms related Obey’s design to those he had seen in the mountains of northern Nigeria.
Morris’ painting is a golden, close-up portrait of singer and performer Prince; his head is slightly bowed and his eyes are closed. The painting is inspired by Prince 3, a photograph of the singer taken by Herb Ritts in 1991. Before his death, Prince became one of the best-selling musicians of all time, celebrated for his soaring vocals, multi-instrumental skills, and pioneering aesthetics and sounds.
In this interview, Texas Southern art alumnus Prinston Nnanna discusses his experiences as a student in the class of 2016. He describes TSU's art building as the first place where he learned about living Black artists. He also cites Dr. Biggers as inspiring him to use symbolism in his artwork. Post-graduation, Nnanna teaches at the Pratt Institute.
Pruitt’s painting is based on a photo he took of the preacher of his childhood church. At the time this piece was painted, the artist was exploring different faiths and struggling with his religious beliefs. Pruitt cites Basquiat and Rauschenberg as stylistic inspirations that influenced this painting. The muddied brushstrokes used to create this piece reflect the internal struggle of the artist.
On January 12, 1969, Margaret Walker organized the first Winter Convocation celebrating the birth of Martin Luther King Jr. Just 9 months after his assasination, this event would be one of the first formal celebrations of his birthday. The Margaret Walker Center has hosted the Convocation every year since 1969.
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.
A proposal presented at a meeting at the Masonic Temple on Lynch Street in Jackson, Mississippi. The proposal was approved by the people of Mississippi who applied for funds to operate 170 Head Start Centers. Sections: Foreword, HIstory of Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM), The New CDGM, Appendices 1-10.
Proposal for opening the first Head Start in Mississippi: List of staff positions and hierarchy. This proposal breaks down the entire administrative structure of Mississippi’s first Head Start program, including the board of directors, central office staff, area directors, and medical and food staff.
A construction blueprint drawing of the plumbing and heating layouts for the first and second floors for the Home Economics building at Tuskegee. Drawing has details of hot water tank and service connections.
A multi section view drawing blueprint of the home economics main entrance. Drawing includes window sections, building sections, staircase sections, and exterior wall sections.
A construction blueprint drawing of the Home Economics Building equipment and plumbing layout. Drawing has notes about key symbols and shows every laboratory with proposed equipment.
A construction blueprint drawing of the Home Economics Building-1st and 2nd Floor Electrical Layout. Blueprint has electrical outlets layout, key for electrical symbols, riser and feeder range circuits.
The fifth architectural drawing blueprint for the addtions of the Home Economics Building at Tuskegee Institute. Architectural drawing depicts detailed multi section view of stairways, windows, and doors.
A construction blueprint drawing for the Electrical layout of the Home Economics Buildings Basement. Blueprint depicts transformer room layout and outlet layout.
A construction floor plan for the first floor of Science Building at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in 1931. This drawing shows floor layout for classrooms, labs, lecture halls, restrooms as well as measurements of the lab tables.
Case Data and Exhibits for Brown III, a relitigation of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954) that corrected resegregation issues caused by open enrollment school choice in 1992. A report prepared by leaders in the Topeka Public School District using maps to depict their suggested alternatives for long-range planning for the district.
A construction floor plan of the second floor plan of Science Building A at Tuskegee University. This floor plan layout shows the placement of classrooms, science labs, museum, restrooms, and stairways.
A construction floor plan of the third floor plan of Science Building at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. This floor plan includes the building's corridor, placement of labs, restrooms, and extra construction notes.
Case Data and Exhibits for Brown III, a relitigation of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954) that corrected resegregation issues caused by open enrollment school choice in 1992. A January 1976 report from the Topeka Public Schools Office of Planning and Evaluation that explains the long-term plan for facilities improvements.
Entrusted to FAMU based on the university's study in agriculture, the Protector of the crops is a spirit deity carved and placed on a farmer's land in Africa as a threat to anyone attempting to trespass. This spirit holds a coiled serpent while protecting a plantain between its feet.
The Protector of the Flocks safeguards sheep from malevolent spirits and trespassers. The spirit is being bitten by the serpent that is wrapped around its neck. This demonstrates its willingness to accept pain and suffering in order to defend and protect. It highlights the resilience of African American agricultural heritage.
Protector of the home is one of the oldest pieces in the collection. This spirit protects a specific domain which is the home. The early pieces demonstrates a willingness to suffer and to accept pain rather subject trespassers to it. It holds cultural significance at the FAMU as it honors the legacy of agriculture in African American history.
Entrusted to Florida A&M because of the university’s studies in agriculture, the Protector of the Providers demonstrates the artisan’s craftsmanship by allowing the figure to rest on a single leg without falling over. These sculptures were placed on farmland in Ghana, Africa, to detour those who trespass.
A newspaper article from The Star Ledger about slogans spray painted on the Middlesex County Courthouse in support of Assata Shakur (JoAnne Chesimard) during her trial trial for the 1973 killing of a state trooper. Five women were arrested for another incident where pro-Shakur handbills were posted on the nearby county welfare office.
Public hearing transcripts that recount the brutal events of the Rosewood Massacre, detailing murders, rapes, and violent acts committed by white mobs, town officials, and deputies. They also capture the defiance of Black residents, who fought back to protect their families despite the overwhelming threat to their lives.
This is a publisher’s proof for Long’s print Post Rome, which was created during his 1990 Prix de Rome fellowship. At 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. The vertical and diagonal rays and bars draw attention towards the eye, which features a man’s face where the pupil would be.
This is a publisher’s proof 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 rose to prominence as an “outsider artist” without formal training, later becoming one of the co-founders of Project Row Houses.
