Description
Second volume in the unprecedented series by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture highlighting museum and archival collections at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Featuring more than seventy-five images alongside essays by historians, scholars, and educators, this publication tells the powerful story of Jackson State University (JSU) and its Margaret Walker Center, an archive and museum dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of African American history and culture.
Essays in this book highlight JSU’s remarkable history as a public HBCU in Mississippi and its status and work today as the state’s only urban research university. Also featured is the artistic, academic, and activist legacy of Margaret Walker, who founded the Black Studies Institute in 1968, now named in her honour.
Illustrated on these pages are examples of the archival holdings at JSU and the Margaret Walker Center as well as engaging stories about notable activists and scholars, such as photographers Doris Derby and Roy Lewis, educators Jane Ellen McAllister and Frankye Adams-Johnson, and cartographer William D. Lamson. Important events in JSU’s history include the tragic 1970 police shootings and the ground-breaking 1973 Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival, underscoring both the daunting obstacles and the intellectual and artistic achievements at JSU. Throughout this volume, the campus vibrancy and resiliency are prominently featured in images that invite readers to examine the richness of the University’s collections.
Reviews for Volume 1:
“At the Vanguard does more to take seriously the life changing work of Black memory workers at HBCUs; it artfully and rigorously pushes us to accept the multiple ways cultural workers at HBCUs have created the most lasting artful pathways in my lifetime. Absolutely necessary and unforgettable.”—Kiese Laymon, Professor of English and Creative Writing, Rice University
“Opening the pages of this book is like diving into a treasure trove of African American history…The essays, informative and tautly written, provide critical information about museums, archives, murals, records, and sculptures of HBCUs. The pictures are a joy to behold…pictures of some of the art works collected are a powerful reminder of our persistence and resilience.”—Dr. Julianne Malveaux, economist, author, and President Emerita of Bennett College
Author biographies
Tulani Salahu-Din, Series Editor is the curator of language and literature at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Robert E. Luckett Jr., Volume Co-editor is professor of History and director of the Margaret Walker Center and COFO Civil Rights Education Center at Jackson State University.
Table of Contents
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- Foreword by Denise Jones Gregory, President, Jackson State University
- The History and Culture Access Consortium by Auntaneshia Staveloz and Marion McGee, Office of Strategic Partnerships, NMAAHC
- Introductory Essay by Robert E. Luckett Jr.
- Highlights from the Collection
Margaret Walker Intro essay by Maryemma Graham, Professor Emerita, University of Kansas
Jackson State University Illustrated interstitial essay by Preselfannie W. McDaniels, Interim Provost and VP for Academic Affairs, Jackson State University
The Margaret Walker Center Intro essay by Jeanelle K. Hope, Caterpillar Curator of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, NMAAHC - The Archive Intro essay by Angela Stewart, Archivist, Margaret Walker Center
- Acknowledgements
- Credits
