78-733: Founded in 1868 on the campus of Hampton University , the Hampton University Museum is the oldest African-American museum in the United States and the oldest museum in Virginia. It is the first institutional collection of work by African-American artists, and also has the South's largest collection of ethnic art, including African and American Indian art and artifacts. With galleries dedicated to African American, African, American Indian, Asian and Pacific art and artifacts,
156-515: A white man who resided on a neighboring plantation. The man played no financial or emotional role in Washington's life. From his earliest years, Washington was known simply as "Booker", with no middle or surname, in the practice of the time. His mother, her relatives and his siblings struggled with the demands of slavery. He later wrote: I cannot remember a single instance during my childhood or early boyhood when our entire family sat down to
234-577: A broadcast on campus preceding the inaugural game in Armstrong Stadium . Hampton is the only HBCU with a competitive sailing team. Booker T. Washington Ernest Davidson Washington Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915)
312-604: A demonstration for black-owned business and residential districts in every city in the nation with a significant black population. After Washington visited Tulsa , Oklahoma, in 1905 and addressed a large gathering there, the Oklahomans followed the Tuskegee model and named Tulsa's black-owned and operated district "Greenwood" in 1906. In 1878, Hampton established a formal education program for Native Americans to accommodate men who had been held as prisoners of war. In 1875 at
390-568: A dominant role in black politics, winning wide support in the black community of the South and among more liberal whites. Washington wrote an autobiography, Up from Slavery , in 1901, which became a major text. In that year, he dined with Theodore Roosevelt at the White House , which was the first time a black person publicly met the president on equal terms. After an illness, he died in Tuskegee, Alabama on November 14, 1915. Washington
468-415: A former plantation to be developed as the permanent site of the campus. Under his direction, his students literally built their own school: making bricks, constructing classrooms, barns and outbuildings; and growing their own crops and raising livestock; both for learning and to provide for most of the basic necessities. Both men and women had to learn trades as well as academics. The Tuskegee faculty used all
546-622: A major part of the photography industry. These individuals and many other wealthy men and women funded his causes, including Hampton and Tuskegee institutes. He also gave lectures to raise money for the school. On January 23, 1906, he lectured at Carnegie Hall in New York in the Tuskegee Institute Silver Anniversary Lecture . He spoke along with prominent orators of the day, including Mark Twain , Joseph Hodges Choate , and Robert Curtis Ogden ; it
624-399: A master's degree from Iowa State University in 1896. Carver provided such technical strength in agriculture that, in 1900, Washington assigned Greene to establish a demonstration of black business capability and economic independence off-campus in Tuskegee. This project, entirely black-owned, comprised 4,000 lots of real estate and was formally established and designated Greenwood in 1901, as
702-560: A model for rural black schools; Rosenwald established a fund that matched monies raised by communities to build more than 5,000 schools for rural black children, mostly in the South. In 1888 Washington recruited his Hampton classmate Charles W. Greene to Tuskegee to lead the Agriculture Department. Together they enticed George Washington Carver to the Tuskegee Agriculture faculty upon his graduation with
780-648: A painting purchased by the Virginia Museum of the Fine Arts for $ 30 (~$ 352.00 in 2023). The abstract painting was titled "Chimneys." With the addition of departments and graduate programs, it became Hampton University in 1984. Originally located in Elizabeth City County , it was long-located in the Town of Phoebus , incorporated in 1900. Phoebus and Elizabeth City County were consolidated with
858-407: A school established in Virginia to educate freedmen and their descendants, where he also worked as a janitor to pay for his studies. Washington arrived to campus with very little money; and his entrance exam was to clean a room. Upon graduating from Hampton at age 19, Washington briefly returned home to West Virginia. He later attended Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C. in 1878. In 1881,
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#1732772708061936-481: A stranger (a United States officer, I presume) made a little speech and then read a rather long paper—the Emancipation Proclamation, I think. After the reading we were told that we were all free, and could go when and where we pleased. My mother, who was standing by my side, leaned over and kissed her children, while tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She explained to us what it all meant, that this
1014-619: A view of Hampton Roads. The original school buildings fronted the Hampton River. Legally chartered in 1870 as a land grant school , it was first known as Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute . Typical of historically black colleges, Hampton received much of its financial support in the years following the Civil War from the American Missionary Association (whose black and white leaders represented
1092-433: Is $ 10,025. Hampton University has the following schools and colleges. As of 2020 , Hampton offers 50 baccalaureate programs, 26 master's programs, seven doctoral programs, two professional programs, and ten associate /certificate programs. The Freddye T. Davy Honors College is a non-degree granting college that offers special learning opportunities and privileges to the most high-achieving undergraduates. To join
1170-638: Is located on 314 acres in Hampton, Virginia, on the banks of the Hampton River. The university offers 90 degree programs, including 50 bachelor's degree programs, 25 master's degree programs, and 9 doctoral programs. The university has a satellite campus in Virginia Beach and also has online offerings. Hampton University is home to 16 research centers, including the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute,
1248-668: Is the first and only HBCU to have 100% control of a NASA Mission. The Alumni Factor named Hampton one of the seven best colleges in Virginia . Hampton University is classified as a selective admissions institution. Hampton sports teams participate in NCAA Division I ( FCS for football ) in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) . They joined in 2022 upon leaving the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and then later
1326-498: The American Civil War (1861–1865), Union-held Fortress Monroe in southeastern Virginia at the mouth of Hampton Roads became a gathering point and safe haven of sorts for fugitive slaves . The commander, General Benjamin F. Butler , determined they were "contraband of war" , to protect them from being returned to slaveholders, who clamored to reclaim them. As numerous individuals sought freedom behind Union lines,
1404-552: The Big South Conference . Hampton is one of three NCAA Division I HBCU institutions (along with Tennessee State University , in the Ohio Valley Conference and CAA rival North Carolina A&T ) to not be a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference or Southwestern Athletic Conference . In 2016, Hampton became the first and only HBCU to field a Division I men's lacrosse team . ESPN held
1482-672: The Congregational and Presbyterian churches), other church groups, and former officers and soldiers of the Union Army. One of the many Civil War veterans who gave substantial sums to the school was General William Jackson Palmer , a Union cavalry commander from Philadelphia . He later built the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad , and founded Colorado Springs, Colorado . As the Civil War began in 1861, although his Quaker upbringing made Palmer abhor violence, his passion to see
1560-481: The Emancipation Proclamation as U.S. troops occupied their region. Booker was thrilled by the formal day of their emancipation in early 1865: As the great day drew nearer, there was more singing in the slave quarters than usual. It was bolder, had more ring, and lasted later into the night. Most of the verses of the plantation songs had some reference to freedom.... [S]ome man who seemed to be
1638-624: The George P. Phenix School for all age groups was opened there under principal Ian Ross. A new nurses' training school was attached to the Dixie Hospital, with Nina Gage as director. In 1945 the Austrian-American psychologist, art educator, and author of the influential text book Creative and Mental Growth Viktor Lowenfeld joined the Hampton faculty as an assistant professor of industrial arts and eventually became chair of
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#17327727080611716-663: The Hampton Institute , was founded in 1868 after the war by the biracial leadership of the American Missionary Association , who were chiefly Congregational and Presbyterian ministers. It was first led by former Union General Samuel Chapman Armstrong . Among the school's famous alumni is Booker T. Washington , an educator who was hired as the first principal at the Tuskegee Institute , which he developed for decades. During
1794-664: The Jim Crow segregation and the disenfranchisement of Black voters in the South. Furthermore, he supported racial uplift , but secretly also supported court challenges to segregation and to restrictions on voter registration. Black activists in the North, led by W. E. B. Du Bois , disagreed with him and opted to set up the NAACP to work for political change. After his death in 1915, he came under heavy criticism for accommodating white supremacy , despite his claims that his long-term goal
1872-499: The Spanish–American War , President William McKinley and most of his cabinet visited Booker Washington. By his death in 1915, Tuskegee had grown to encompass more than 100 well equipped buildings, roughly 1,500 students, 200 faculty members teaching 38 trades and professions, and an endowment of approximately $ 2 million (~$ 43.6 million in 2023). Washington helped develop other schools and colleges. In 1891 he lobbied
1950-404: The 537 still alive, three-fourths were teaching, and about half as many undergraduates were also teaching. It was estimated that 15,000 children in community schools were being taught by Hampton's students and alumni that year. After Armstrong's death, Hampton's leaders continued to develop a highly successful external relations program that forged a network of devoted supporters. By 1900, Hampton
2028-630: The Administration building are also included in the district. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. In 2023, nearly two-thirds of Hampton students were women and the other third men. Approximately 97% of them identified as Black and 20% were Virginia residents. 68% of students receive need-based financial aid. The average need-based scholarship or grant awarded to first-year students at Hampton
2106-535: The Army arranged for the construction of the Grand Contraband Camp nearby, from materials reclaimed from the ruins of Hampton , which had been burned by the retreating Confederate Army . This area was later called "Slabtown." Hampton University traces its roots to Mary S. Peake , who began in 1861 with outdoor classes for freedmen, whom she taught under what is now the landmark Emancipation Oak in
2184-529: The Art Department. By 1971 the university offered 42 evening classes in programs including "Educational Psychology", "Introduction to Oral Communication", "Modern Mathematics", and "Playwriting", among others. At the time, the tuition cost for these courses was $ 30 per semester hour. In 1951, a 20-year-old student Benjamin Leroy Wigfall of Richmond, VA, became the youngest person ever to have
2262-544: The Hampton Institute president Samuel C. Armstrong recommended Washington, then age 25, to become the first leader of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (later Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University), the new normal school (teachers' college) in Alabama . The new school opened on July 4, 1881, initially using a room donated by Butler Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church . The next year, Washington purchased
2340-520: The Hampton Institute. Washington and Smith were married in the summer of 1882, a year after he became principal there. They had one child, Portia M. Washington , born in 1883. Fannie died in May 1884. In 1885, the widower Washington married again, to Olivia A. Davidson (1854–1889). Born free in Virginia to a free woman of color and a father who had been freed from slavery, she moved with her family to
2418-733: The Music Library, and the Nursing Library. The Emancipation Oak was cited by the National Geographic Society as one of the 10 great trees in the world. The waterfront campus is settled near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay . A 15-acre (61,000 m ) portion of the campus along the Hampton River, including many of the older buildings, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District . Buildings included are: In addition, Cleveland Hall, Ogden, and
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2496-609: The Native American students would help locals to accept the institute's black students. The black students were also supposed to help "civilize" the Native American students to current American society, and the Native Americans to "uplift the Negro[es]." The Red Moon was a theatrical show featuring a fictionalized version of the school. In 1923, in the face of growing controversy over racial mingling, after
2574-467: The South during the first year of the war. Their facilities represented freedom. In 1861 the American Missionary Association (AMA) responded to the former slaves' need for education and hired Mary Smith Peake as its first teacher at the camp. She had already secretly been teaching slaves and free blacks in the area despite the state's legal prohibition. She first taught for the AMA on September 17, 1861, and
2652-671: The West Virginia legislature to locate the newly authorized West Virginia Colored Institute (today West Virginia State University ) in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia near Charleston. He visited the campus often and spoke at its first commencement exercise. Washington was a dominant figure of the African-American community, then still overwhelmingly based in the South, from 1890 to his death in 1915. His Atlanta Address of 1895 received national attention. He
2730-458: The activities to teach the students basic skills to take back to their mostly rural black communities throughout the South. The main goal was not to produce farmers and tradesmen, but teachers of farming and trades who could teach in the new lower schools and colleges for blacks across the South. The school expanded over the decades, adding programs and departments, to become the present-day Tuskegee University. The Oaks, "a large comfortable home,"
2808-555: The best way to allocate the generous donation. In June 2022, William R. Harvey retired as the 12th president of Hampton University after 43 years of service. He is the longest serving president in Hampton's history and one of the longest serving college presidents in the nation. He is succeeded by Darrell K. Williams who is a 1983 graduate of Hampton University. The campus contains several buildings that contribute to its National Historic Landmark district: Virginia-Cleveland Hall (freshman female dormitory, as well as former home to
2886-416: The construction and operation of more than 5,000 schools and related resources for the education of blacks throughout the South in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The local schools were a source of communal pride; African-American families gave labor, land and money to them, to give their children more chances in an environment of poverty and segregation. A major part of Washington's legacy,
2964-542: The curriculum and the facilities on the campus, he became a prominent national leader among African Americans, with considerable influence with wealthy white philanthropists and politicians. Washington expressed his vision for his race through the school. He believed that by providing needed skills to society, African Americans would play their part, leading to acceptance by white Americans. He believed that blacks would eventually gain full participation in society by acting as responsible, reliable American citizens. Shortly after
3042-518: The early 21st century. Washington was married three times. In his autobiography Up from Slavery , he gave all three of his wives credit for their contributions at Tuskegee. His first wife Fannie N. Smith was from Malden, West Virginia , the same Kanawha River Valley town where Washington had lived from age nine to sixteen. He maintained ties there all his life, and Smith was a student of his when he taught in Malden. He helped her gain entrance into
3120-806: The end of the American Indian Wars , the United States Army sent seventy-two warriors from the Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche and Caddo Nations, to imprisonment and exile in St. Augustine, Florida . Essentially they were used as hostages to persuade their peoples in the West to keep peace. Lieutenant Richard Henry Pratt supervised them at Fort Marion and began to arrange for their education in the English language and American culture. St. Augustine
3198-560: The end of the warriors' incarceration, Pratt convinced seventeen of the younger men to enroll at Hampton Institute for additional education. He also recruited additional Native American students: a total of seventy Native Americans, young men and women from various tribes, mostly from the Plains rather than the acculturated tribes of Virginia, joined that first class. Because Virginia's First Families sometimes boasted of their Native American heritage through Pocahontas , some supporters hoped that
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3276-495: The former Confederate states had disenfranchised blacks and imposed Jim Crow , the Native American program ended. Native Americans stopped sending their boys to the school after some employers fired Native American men because they had been educated with blacks. The program's final director resigned because she could not prevent "amalgamation" between the Native American girls and black boys. Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute became simply Hampton Institute in 1930. In 1931
3354-464: The handling of sexual assault complaints. The university released a statement indicating that it was "moving forward" to address student concerns and issues. In July 2020, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $ 30 million (~$ 34.8 million in 2023) to Hampton. The donation is the largest single gift in Hampton's history. Hampton's president has sole discretion on how funds will be used but has committed to consulting with other university leaders on
3432-446: The heart, and the hands." At the close of its first decade, the school reported a total admission in those ten years of 927 students, with 277 graduates, all but 17 of whom had become teachers. Many of them had bought land and established themselves in homes; many were farming as well as teaching; some had gone into business. Only a very small proportion failed to do well. By another 10 years, there had been over 600 graduates. In 1888, of
3510-495: The honors college, students must formally accept an invitation given by the college or directly apply for admissions into the college. Hampton University consistently ranks among the top ten HBCUs in the nation and is ranked in Tier 1 (#217) among "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report . Hampton's student to faculty ratio is 10 to 1, which is better than the national university average of 18 to 1. Hampton
3588-556: The largest free-standing facility of its kind in the world. Hampton University is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The campus was founded on the grounds of "Little Scotland", a former plantation in Elizabeth City County that is located on the Hampton River . It overlooked Hampton Roads and was not far from Fortress Monroe and the Grand Contraband Camp , that gathered formerly enslaved men and women who sought refuge with Union forces in
3666-486: The late twentieth century that interpreted his actions positively. Booker was born into slavery to Jane, an enslaved African-American woman on the plantation of James Burroughs in southwest Virginia, near Hale's Ford in Franklin County . He never knew the day, month, and year of his birth (although evidence emerged after his death that he was born on April 5, 1856). Nor did he ever know his father, said to be
3744-474: The model of his father, who had overseen the teaching of reading, writing and arithmetic to the Polynesians. He wanted to teach the skills necessary for blacks to be self-supporting in the impoverished South. Under his guidance, a Hampton-style education became well known as an education that combined cultural uplift with moral and manual training. Armstrong said it was an education that encompassed "the head,
3822-628: The model rural schools continued to be constructed into the 1930s, with matching funds for communities from the Rosenwald Fund . Washington also contributed to the Progressive Era by forming the National Negro Business League. It encouraged entrepreneurship among black businessmen, establishing a national network. His autobiography, Up from Slavery , first published in 1901, is still widely read in
3900-512: The museum contains more than 9,000 objects representing cultures and people from around the world. Hampton University founder Gen. Samuel C. Armstrong founded the university’s museum as the "Curiosity Room" the same year he founded the university. Hampton University Hampton University is a private , historically black , research university in Hampton, Virginia . Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it
3978-496: The nearby area of Elizabeth City County . In 1863 the newly issued Emancipation Proclamation was read to a gathering under the historic tree there. After the War, a normal school (teacher training school) was formalized in 1868, with former Union brevet Brigadier General Samuel C. Armstrong (1839–1893) as its first principal. The new school was established on the grounds of a former plantation named "Little Scotland", which had
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#17327727080614056-603: The neighboring City of Hampton to form a much larger independent city in 1952. The City of Hampton uses the Emancipation Oak on its official seal. From 1960 to 1970, noted diplomat and educator Jerome H. Holland was president of the Hampton Institute. The university and its leadership has also been met with criticism. In 2018, Hampton University students launched a protest calling for the administration to address several concerns they believed to be longstanding and urgent, including food quality, living conditions and
4134-471: The nineteenth-century American political system to manipulate the media, raise money, develop strategy, network, distribute funds, and reward a cadre of supporters. Because of his influential leadership, the timespan of his activity, from 1880 to 1915, has been called the Age of Booker T. Washington. Washington called for Black progress through education and entrepreneurship, rather than trying to challenge directly
4212-606: The race. Du Bois labeled Washington, "the Great Accommodator." Washington responded that confrontation could lead to disaster for the outnumbered blacks, and that cooperation with supportive whites was the only way to overcome racism in the long run. While promoting moderation, Washington contributed secretly and substantially to mounting legal challenges activist African Americans launched against segregation and disenfranchisement of blacks. In his public role, he believed he could achieve more by skillful accommodation to
4290-509: The rest of his life. Booker loved books: The Negro worshipped books. We wanted books, more books. The larger the books were the better we like[d] them. We thought the mere possession and the mere handling and the mere worship of books was going, in some inexplicable way, to make great and strong and useful men of our race. Washington worked in salt furnaces and coal mines in West Virginia for several years to earn money. At age 16, he made his way east -- mostly on foot -- to Hampton Institute ,
4368-481: The school's two cafeterias), Wigwam building (home to administrative offices), Academy Building (administrative offices), Memorial Chapel (religious services) and the President's Mansion House. The original High School on the campus became Phenix Hall when Hampton City Public Schools opened a new Phenix High School in 1962. Phenix Hall was damaged in a minor fire on June 12, 2008. The Hampton University Museum
4446-523: The slaves freed compelled him to enter the war. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery in 1894. (The current Palmer Hall on the campus is named in his honor.) Unlike the wealthy Palmer, Sam Armstrong was the son of a missionary to the Sandwich Islands (which later became the U.S. state of Hawaii ). He also had dreams for the betterment of the freedmen. He patterned his new school after
4524-430: The social realities of the age of segregation . Washington's work on education helped him enlist both the moral and substantial financial support of many major white philanthropists . He became a friend of such self-made men as Standard Oil magnate Henry Huttleston Rogers ; Sears, Roebuck and Company President Julius Rosenwald ; and George Eastman , inventor of roll film, founder of Eastman Kodak , and developer of
4602-425: The status of a normal school , one recognized as being able to produce qualified teachers. This new institution eventually became Tuskegee University . Embracing much of Armstrong's philosophy, Washington built Tuskegee into a substantial school and became nationally famous as an educator, orator, and fund-raiser as well. He collaborated with the philanthropist Julius Rosenwald in the early 20th century to create
4680-411: The table together, and God's blessing was asked, and the family ate a meal in a civilized manner. On the plantation in Virginia, and even later, meals were gotten to the children very much as dumb animals get theirs. It was a piece of bread here and a scrap of meat there. It was a cup of milk at one time and some potatoes at another. When he was nine, Booker and his family in Virginia gained freedom under
4758-483: The white-dominated state legislatures consistently underfunded black schools in their segregated system. To address those needs, in the 20th century, Washington enlisted his philanthropic network to create matching funds programs to stimulate construction of numerous rural public schools for black children in the South. Working especially with Julius Rosenwald from Chicago, Washington had Tuskegee architects develop model school designs. The Rosenwald Fund helped support
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#17327727080614836-451: Was Booker T. Washington , who arrived from West Virginia in 1872 at the age of 16. He worked his way through Hampton, and then went on to attend Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C. After graduation, he returned to Hampton and became a teacher. Upon Armstrong's recommendation to the founder of a small school in Tuskegee, Alabama , established six years before, in 1881 the 25-year-old Washington went there to strengthen it and develop it to
4914-587: Was a key proponent of African-American businesses and one of the founders of the National Negro Business League . Washington mobilized a nationwide coalition of middle-class blacks, church leaders, and white philanthropists and politicians, with the goal of building the community's economic strength and pride by focusing on self-help and education. Washington had the ear of the powerful in the America of his day, including presidents. He used
4992-413: Was a popular spokesman for African-American citizens. Representing the last generation of black leaders born into slavery, Washington was generally perceived as a supporter of education for freedmen and their descendants in the post-Reconstruction, Jim Crow-era South. He stressed basic education and training in manual and domestic labor trades because he thought these represented the skills needed in what
5070-585: Was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite . Born into slavery on April 5, 1856, in Hale's Ford, Virginia, Washington was freed when U.S. troops reached the area during the Civil War . As a young man, Booker T. Washington worked his way through Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute and attended college at Wayland Seminary . In 1881, he
5148-399: Was asked for a surname for registration. He chose the family name of Washington. Still later he learned from his mother that she had originally given him the name "Booker Taliaferro " at the time of his birth, but his second name was not used by the master. Upon learning of his original name, Washington immediately readopted it as his own, and became known as Booker Taliaferro Washington for
5226-497: Was attracting numerous visitors from the North as it became known as a winter resort. Many became interested in the Native Americans held at Fort Marion and volunteered as teachers. They also provided the men with art supplies. Some of the men created what is now known as ledger art in this period. Some of the resulting works (including by David Pendleton Oakerhater ) are held by the Smithsonian Institution . At
5304-627: Was built on campus for Washington and his family. They moved into the house in 1900. Washington lived there until his death in 1915. His widow, Margaret, lived at The Oaks until her death in 1925. In 1896 when Washington reviewed the study conducted by George Washington Carver about the infection plaguing the soybean crop he invited Carver to head the Agriculture Department at Tuskegee, where they became close friends. Carver later autographed commemorative stamps issued in 1940 in Washington's honor. Washington led Tuskegee for more than 30 years after becoming its leader. As he developed it, adding to both
5382-763: Was consulted on race issues, and was awarded honorary degrees from Harvard University in 1896 and Dartmouth College in 1901. Late in his career, Washington was criticized by civil rights leader and NAACP founder W. E. B. Du Bois. Du Bois and his supporters opposed the Atlanta Address as the "Atlanta Compromise", because it suggested that African Americans should work for, and submit to, white political rule. Du Bois insisted on full civil rights, due process of law, and increased political representation for African Americans which, he believed, could only be achieved through activism and higher education for African Americans. He believed that "the talented tenth " would lead
5460-546: Was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association after the American Civil War to provide education to freedmen . The campus houses the Hampton University Museum , which is the oldest museum of the African diaspora in the United States and the oldest museum in the commonwealth of Virginia. First led by former Union General Samuel Chapman Armstrong , Hampton University's main campus
5538-507: Was founded in 1868 and is the nation's oldest African-American museum. The museum contains over 9,000 pieces, some of which are highly acclaimed. Hampton University is home to 16 research centers. The Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute is the largest free-standing facility of its kind in the world. The four libraries on campus are the William R. and Norma B. Harvey Library (main library), William H. Moses Jr. Architecture Library,
5616-416: Was named as the first leader of the new Tuskegee Institute in Alabama , an institute for black higher education . He expanded the college, enlisting students in construction of buildings. Work at the college was considered fundamental to students' larger education. He attained national prominence for his Atlanta Address of 1895 , which attracted the attention of politicians and the public. Washington played
5694-559: Was said to gather her pupils under a large oak. In 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was read here—the first place in the Confederate states . From then on the big tree was called the Emancipation Oak . The tree, now a symbol of both the university and of the city, survives as part of the designated National Historic Landmark District at Hampton University. The Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School , later called
5772-408: Was still a rural economy. Throughout the final twenty years of his life, he maintained his standing through a nationwide network of supporters including black educators, ministers, editors, and businessmen, especially those who supported his views on social and educational issues for blacks. He also gained access to top national white leaders in politics, philanthropy and education, raised large sums,
5850-411: Was the day for which she had been so long praying, but fearing that she would never live to see. After emancipation Jane took her family to the free state of West Virginia to join her husband, Washington Ferguson, who had escaped from slavery during the war and settled there. The illiterate boy Booker began painstakingly to teach himself to read and attended school for the first time. At school, Booker
5928-482: Was the start of a capital campaign to raise $ 1,800,000 (~$ 45.8 million in 2023) for the school. The schools which Washington supported were founded primarily to produce teachers, as education was critical for the black community following emancipation. Freedmen strongly supported literacy and education as the keys to their future. When graduates returned to their largely impoverished rural southern communities, they still found few schools and educational resources, as
6006-455: Was the wealthiest school serving African Americans, largely due to its success in development and fundraising. Hampton also had the only library school in the United States for educating black librarians. The Hampton Institute Library School opened in 1925 and through its Negro Teacher-Librarian Program (NTLTP) trained and issued professional degrees to 183 black librarians. The library school closed in 1939. Among Hampton's earliest students
6084-422: Was to end the disenfranchisement of African Americans, the vast majority of whom still lived in the South. Decades after Washington's death in 1915, the civil rights movement of the 1950s took a more active and progressive approach, which was also based on new grassroots organizations based in the South. Washington's legacy has been controversial in the civil rights community. However, a revisionist view appeared in
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