A black and white image of Robert R. Taylor the first Black graduate of MIT and instrumental in the architecture department here at Tuskegee University.
Since the 1890s, Tuskegee Institute’s Agricultural Campus held annual Farmer’s Conference on Campus to teach Black farmers the latest agriculture techniques. The Farmer’s Conference laid the groundwork to help establish the Cooperative Extension Program, which improved the lives of farmers in the rural American South. To expand the agricultural department, Tuskegee purchasing more land located west of the campus to create a new agricultural facility. The Milbank Agricultural Building was completed in 1909 with a gift of $20,000 donated by Elizabeth Milbank Anderson. The building was named in honor of Jeremiah Milbank, the owner of Borden Milk Company and Elizabeth’s father.
William Sidney Pittman, Booker T. Washington’s son-in-law, designed Milbank into a three and half story brick building. With Robert R. Taylor supervising its construction, Milbank housed new classrooms, laboratories, and an assembly room.
Milbank housed George Washington Carver’s personal laboratory and played a critical role in expanding agricultural research. Students developed techniques in producing dairy products in its creamery laboratory. Also, students provided care for domesticated animals and raised poultry such as chicken, geese, and ducks. They also studied cholera using blood serum from hogs to understand the transmission of viruses and attempted to look for vaccines. Since 1917, a new diary and horse barn were constructed near Milbank, adding to an expanding Agricultural Campus.
Today, Milbank Hall is currently empty, but the building still stands. Initial renovations were completed in 1985. It is undergoing another renovation while agricultural students attend classes in James H. Henderson Hall.
In this interview, Texas Southern art alumnus Moses Adams, Jr. discusses his experiences as a student in the class of 1969. He found his undergraduate courses challenging because he did not have a deep background in art and the TSU faculty had high standards. Adams created a sprawling, abstract mural reflecting on drug addiction and urban decay.
Mr. Jamison talks about Head Start from 1964-1968, including his travel through Mississippi to meet with communities and promote Head Start. This is the first interview of 2.
A map of the Farish Street Historic District with markers for different land uses: streets, railroads, utility corridors, hydrography, residential, government/institutional, industrial, commercial, and open space.
A dark-skinned Black boy is standing on the porch of a brown farm house with a brown hat in his left hand, a farming tool in his right hand and a red handkerchief in his back pocket. The porch has a wooden column and blue and red linen over the window. There is a barn behind the boy with a water barrel.
Armstead Mills' painting shows a woman holding a bucket and striding through a field of flowers, with a small dog at her ankles. Malindy, wearing a dress and carrying a bucket, is portrayed tenderly and beautifully in this colorful nature scene.
The print by Booker shows a rural landscape featuring a small run down house. The area is not frequented by people which is shown by the boarded window and the cracked and overgrown path.
This etching by American artist Leonard Baskin shows a dog dozing in a meadow. Unlike most works in the Permanent Collection, the artist is not an alumnus of Texas Southern, nor tied to the university in any way. Instead, this piece was donated to the museum by a benefactor.
This sketch by John Biggers is part of his planning process for his mural in Christia V. Adair Park, named for an iconic Houston civil rights activist. The mural design for Adair Park is based on the dogon house, and features several intricate patterns across its multiple panels.
This drawing by Oliver Parson shows a group of emaciated children seated on a checkerboard patterned floor. There is also a chick, just hatched from its egg, that seems to be struggling to survive. Parson has an incredible talent for conveying powerful emotions in his works.
Booker T. Washington presented a speech during the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia on September 18, 1895. This speech would be referred to as the "Atlanta Compromise".
