Courses/Lectures
Each of the 34 courses available can be enrolled in individually, or in packages. Each course is an approximately 1-hour session that consists of the opportunity for the students to interact with the associated artifacts, and a discussion exercise tailored for your specific class in accordance with your teacher's curriculum/recommendations. If the Course List below doesn’t fit your needs, we can work together to develop the presentation you desire – from control of the discussion topics to selection of items to be presented.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities: A Proud History
Shortly after the end of the Civil War, the was a focus by few on the education of former slaves. To satisfy this need, some of the first Historically Black Colleges like Hampton Institute and Howard University were established by white missionaries and former Union soldiers. Later, men like Booker T. Washington and women like Mary McCleod Bethune led the way for Blacks to establish their own institutions of higher learning. There are several items in this collection from the early development of HBCUs that can help shed life on the early college experience for former slaves and their descendants, and the significance of HBCUs.
Artifacts: Hampton photos, Howard Course catalogs, Crisis magazine Ads, Hampton, Tuskegee articles, WWII era videos, Tuskegee Pennant and Hat, Hampton History Book, Fisk Jubilee Singers Book, letter signed by Dr. Robert R. Moton
Fundraising Book, Tuskegee University, circa 1920, Signed by Robert R. Moton - After the loss of its founder, chief fundraiser and president Booker T. Washington in 1915, Tuskegee Institute was headed by Dr. Robert R. Moton, himself an accomplished scholar and educator. One of his primary focuses was on sustaining the economic growth began by his predecessor. To that end, fundraising booklets like the one picutred above were sent to potential donors throughout the country, and returned back to Tuskegee with donations of all denominations - people contributing anything they could, even if it were only a few cents. The booklet would be filled out with the donor's name and amount contributed to assist in keeping accurate records, and includes a handwritten note on the front from Dr. Moton himself.
The Howard University Magazine, April 1965 - Howard University, though not the oldest HBCU, is certainly one of the most distinguished. With alumni and faculty like Carter G. Woodson and Thurgood Marshall, even still it remains one of the most prestigious of all the Historically Black Colleges and Universities. During the 1960s, Howard University was one of the epicenters for Civil Rights involvement. To that end, in 1965 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was selected to give the commencement address to the graduating class of 1965, the story of which is produced in the university's monthly magazine shown above.
