Dr. David White was the first Black optometrist in the state of Mississippi when he moved onto Farish Street in 1951. He talks about how his first White customers came during the Civil Rights Movement as there was an active meeting place for activists above his business.
A copy of a photograph of Dr. Jessie Bryant Mosley, Dr. Alferdteen Harrison, and Mayor Dale Danks, Jr. at the Smith Robertson Neighborhood Folklife Festival, April 9-11, 1983. The festival was a grant sponsored event held on the grounds of the Smith Robertson Museum to celebrate the history and culture of the Farish Street Historic District.
Dr. Jim Hendrick's involvement with activism led him to work with Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM) to offer medical examinations for Head Start students. He talks about recruiting other doctors as well as some of the medical conditions he saw during these exams. Incomplete, Side B of the recording is missing.
This rare painting created by Billy Dee Williams, the renowned actor best known for Lady Sings the Blues, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Mahogany, is a portrait of Dr. LaSalle Leffall. A FAMU alum and the first Black president of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Leffall is brought to life by Williams through rich, colorful oil paints.
Dr. Lee Williams was a homeowner in the Farish Street District from 1924-1954 and worked as Vice President of Administration at Jackson State University. He talks about his time as a student at Smith Robertson School and Lanier high School. He discusses the effects of segregation on the district and also the current efforts to revitalize the area.
A black and white image of Tuskegee University's fourth president of an older Dr. Luther H. Foster. Dr. Foster led the university through the turbulent years of the Civil Rights Movement.
Black and white image of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking at a Tuskegee Civic Association meeting in Tuskegee, Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement.
A letter from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Chaplain Wynn stating that he plans to arrive in Tuskegee on 11/15/1956 around 10:15 for Sunday service at the Chapel.
Vice President Calvin Coolidge, Governor William. W. Brandon of Alabama, and Dr. Robert R. Moton, Principal of Tuskegee Institute, were the main speakers at the dedication of the Government Hospital on a 464-acre tract at Tuskegee Institute.
Dr. Rejohnna Brown was working as a teacher in the Delta region of Mississippi when she left her job in the summer of 1965 to join a group that were the forerunners to the region’s first Head Start program, which became known as the Mid Delta Education Association. Dr. Brown decided to do this work because of the poverty she witnessed in the area.
Dr. Robert Smith was founder of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, a Civil Rights Movement organization that fought for better treatment of African Americans in the 1960s. Dr. Smith continued this work as the Head Start medical director in the early days of the program. He talks about his responsibilities and experiences in that position.
A black and white photo Dr. Russell W. Brown working in a lab. Dr. Brown worked in a variety of roles in Tuskegee's administration, serving twice as Director of the Carver Research Foundation. During his career, Brown worked extensively in research on bacteriology, immunology, and HeLa cells.
Dr. W.E. Miller was a physician and surgeon. He was born in 1903 and attended Smith Robertson School from 1908-1913. Dr. Miller talks about his time at Smith Robertson School and the community around the school, recounting the activities that were available for young people at the time. The transcript is edited with handwritten notes.
A draft of a letter from Frankye Adams-Johnson (Malika) to "Moma." Frankye Adams-Johnson is requesting her mother to pick up some court documents dating from 1963 and 1964.
Draft of a Press Release from the NY Host Committee of the Black Power Convention of 1986. The NY Host Committee of the Black Power Convention recognizes the Black Panther experience for their struggle and sacrifice for Black liberation.
A draft of a speech about the Black Panther Foundation. The speech covers their purpose, preserving the Black Panther legacy, and the lasting effects of the struggle against oppression. The speech calls members to action to do the work for the foundation. The speech ends with a recap of the first few meetings and the members’ personal growth.
Charoennimuang's senior notebook includes her written philosophy of art, photographs of the artist’s works and her process, and a copy of her senior exhibition brochure. 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.
Houston Chandler was a sculptor, printmaker, painter, and teacher from Saint Louis, MO. Duel in the Sun is a print artwork of an avian match on an abstracted landscape. One colorful rooster looks down upon the other it just defeated. The roosters are set on a green field against a blue sky with a swirling yellow sun.
Myrlie Evers, later Myrlie Evers-Williams, is a Civil Rights activist and journalist, who served as chairwoman of the NAACP and wrote several books on Civil Rights and her husband Medgar Evers, who was killed in 1963.
In this interview, Texas Southern art alumnus Earl Jones, Jr. discusses his experience as a student who graduated in 1996. During his first period of study at TSU, Jones painted a mural reflecting on environmentalism and racism—these themes continue into his current works. Nowadays, Jones primarily creates intricate wood carvings.
This painting is an Afrocentric self-portrait of Earl Jones, who attended Texas Southern University in the mid-1970s. Jones painted himself wearing a detailed shirt with various patterns reminiscent of African textiles. The background includes round homes with conical roofs. The buttons of Jones' shirt are in the form of humans and the shirt bears the design of a plowed field.
This is a brochure for Jones’ 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 portrait of Jones, a brief biography, a catalog of the artwork featured in the exhibition, and several photos of his paintings, designs, weavings, and sculptures.
This undated, black-and-white photograph shows an aerial view of Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, during some type of performance, most likely of the Marching 100, Florida A&M University’s marching band. The stadium appears unfinished, with construction and large ditches surrounding the outer seats.
Earnest Crawford moved to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1940 to work for the Coca-Cola company and retired from there in 1965. Mr. Crawford talks about his experience sharecropping and his time spent as an airplane mechanic instructor during World War II. Only a biography, a summary, and an index are included.
