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Black History Month: Education & Theater
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This Black History Month we are excited to launch a collaboration between Anacostia Community Museum and
the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Throughout February, we'll feature projects focusing on the roles of Education and Theater in African American life and community. We begin with Education...
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Robert Russa Moton (1867-1940) graduated from Hampton National and Agricultural Institute (now University) in 1890. He served as the school's commandant of cadets from 1891-1915 before becoming the second president of Tuskegee Institute (now University).
Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Thurlow E. Tibbs, Jr., Estate.
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After the Civil War, many of the first colleges for African Americans were established to provide training for teachers and future leaders. Now known as HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), these schools educated some of the most famous African Americans of the twentieth century, including:
- Booker T. Washington (Hampton University)
- W.E.B. Du Bois (Fisk University),
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Morehouse College),
- Ralph Abernathy (Alabama State University),
- Thurgood Marshall (Lincoln University),
- Katherine Johnson, (West Virginia State University),
- Marian Wright Edelman (Spelman College), and
- Oprah Winfrey (Tennessee State University)
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One of the earliest HBCUs was Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University) was founded in 1868 by General Samuel Chapman Armstrong with the support of the American Missionary Association. In its early days, Hampton trained African American educators. The school also emphasized self-improvement and job training to enable students to become gainfully employed and self-supporting as craftsmen and industrial workers.
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In 1871, Hampton Institute graduated its first class comprised of five women and fourteen men; this project presents names of every person to graduate between 1871 and 1898. Included in this reference book are two of Hampton’s most famous alumni: Booker T. Washington (founder of Tuskegee Institute) and Robert Sengstacke Abbott (founder of the Chicago Defender).
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Between 1871 and 1887 the sizes of the graduating classes at Hampton continued to grow. Find the names of the students at Hampton during the 1886-87 school year in this project. You'll learn more about the faculty, students, and the types of courses students enrolled in during the late nineteenth century.
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Explore the United Negro College Fund and its first twelve years as an organization with this 1955 scrapbook. The pages include programs, photographs, and clippings mostly affixed to unstable acidic paper. Transcribe these pages to learn more about the Fund’s origins, its founders, and role relating to African American education history.
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Check in with us all month as we update this page:
Exploring Black History Month 2017: Education & Theater
You can also follow along on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with our highlighted events and connections - and share your own! - using #TCBlackHistoryMonth.
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With your help, we hope to discover hidden connections across not-often seen collections at the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Anacostia Community Museum.
As we start the month, we'll see NMAAHC and ACM highlight collections relating to African American education history. Then, we'll explore Theater... stay tuned for some behind-the-scenes looks and surprises!
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As you join us in transcribing and reviewing these projects, we thank you for sharing your time and attention to improve our collections!
Best,
Meghan and the TC, Anacostia Community Museum, and National Museum of African American History and Culture teams
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