At the Vanguard

This book, featuring objects from the museums and archives at five HBCUs—Jackson State, Tuskegee, Florida A&M, Clark Atlanta, and Texas Southern Universities, attests to the aesthetic value of African American cultural production on university campuses, the persistent development and expansion of HBCU academic programs, and the dynamics of student-led activism on campuses and throughout surrounding communities. Organized into four main sections, focusing on the partner institutions, arts, academics, and activism, this remarkable assembly of images will inspire readers to engage with, reflect on, and examine the unforgettable stories they represent.

Of the five HBCUs included, each one’s museum or archives tell a unique story, from detailed community histories and accounts of civil-rights era activism to premiere collections of African American art. Together, these institutions paint a powerful and multifaceted picture of African American academia and beyond.

Series editor Tulani Salahu-Din. Contributions by Dorothy Berry, Kinshasha Holman Conwill, Jelani M. Favors, Jeanelle K. Hope, Marion McGee and Tulani Salahu Din

Dorothy Berry is digital curator, Office of Digital Strategy and Engagement, NMAAHC

Kinshasha Holman Conwill is deputy director emerita, NMAAHC

Jelani M. Favors is Henry E. Frye Distinguished Professor of History and Director, Center of Excellence for Social Justice, North Carolina A&T State University

Jeanelle K. Hope is Caterpillar Curator of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, NMAAHC

Marion McGee is program partnership manager, Office of Strategic Partnerships, NMAAHC

Tulani Salahu-Din is museum specialist, Language and Literature, Office of Curatorial Affairs, NMAAHC

Table of contents

• Foreword by Tulani Salahu-Din and Marion McGee
• The History and Culture Access Consortium: Partnering with HBCUs by Marion McGee and Auntaneshia Staveloz
• Historic HBCU Collections: How We Remember What Many Forget by Tulani Salahu-Din
• Highlights from the Collections
• The Revolutionary and Transformative World of HBCUs by Tulani Salahu-Din
• Dorothy Porter: Revolutionizing the Records by Dorothy Berry
• No Less Lovely Being Dark Capturing and Creating Beauty by Kinshasha Holman Conwill
• A Mind Is a Marvelous Thing: Intellectual and Academic Development by Marion McGee
• Data Power: Monroe and Florence Work’s Meticulous Efforts Documenting Black Life, 1900–1945 by Jeanelle K. Hope
• Doing Battle Where We Stand: Student-Led Activism and Radical Reform by Jelani M. Favors
• Acknowledgements
• Credits