Photos by Kuwilileni Hauwanga/Capital B
“Beautiful culture.”
“Beautiful art.”
“Great representation.”
Those are phrases museum goer Dajanae Prude, 28, used to describe the new Black college exhibit at National Museum of African American History.
The exhibit uses sounds, artifacts, documentaries and pictures to tell the story of how historically Black colleges and universities have remained resilient from their existence. As a Tennessee State University alumna, Prude said she was happy to see the representation even from smaller southern Black colleges.
From the blaring horns of Jackson State University’s Sonic Boom of the South to radio clips from Black colleges, the exhibit uses all senses to immerse attendees.
At the Vanguard: Making and Saving History at HBCUs highlights the contributions made by Black colleges and universities at a time when President Donald Trump has complained that Smithsonian museums have “nothing about success.”
But this exhibit is all about the joys and successes of historically Black colleges and universities.
Nearly two-thirds of HBCUs have museums, art galleries, or archives, as highlighted in the exhibit at the Blacksonian. The exhibit features yearbooks, documentary clips, photos, artifacts, and sounds from Black colleges dating back to the 1800s to showcase how Black scholars have contributed to science, agriculture, and the arts.
From now until July, people can view historic materials such as the original bricks made by students as tuition payment to Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, now Tuskegee University in Alabama.
The artifacts were received from five HBCUs — Tuskegee, Clark Atlanta University, Florida A&M University, Texas Southern University, and Jackson State — as a part of a call-out for participation in the exhibit. According to employees at the museum, these were the only five out of the more than 100 HBCUs that responded.
But there are still mentions of the other Black colleges with their flags, photos and voices from alumni throughout the exhibit.
However, other Black colleges are represented in the multimedia exhibit through photos, video, quotes from alumni and college flags that hang over the exit of the exhibit.
The exhibit will travel to Florida A&M, Clark Atlanta, Texas Southern, Jackson State, and Tuskegee after leaving the Blacksonian.
