A wonderful collection of large-format, exhibition photographs showing Black student life at colleges and universities affiliated with the United Negro College Fund in the 1960s. Included are thirty-nine handsome, thoughtfully-composed...
A wonderful collection of large-format, exhibition photographs showing Black student life at colleges and universities affiliated with the United Negro College Fund in the 1960s. Included are thirty-nine handsome, thoughtfully-composed images of young men and women in classrooms, study halls, quads, libraries, dorms, science labs, and other places of learning and leisure. There is also a photo of William Trent Jr., first executive director of the UNCF, speaking at a fundraiser at the Statler Hilton in Dallas.
Also included is an essay by the photographer, Bill Anderson, who worked in New York City as a photo-journalist in the 1960s-80s. The essay text reads as though it were written sometime after the photos were taken, though the photos themselves are all vintage to the late 60s or early 70s.
The United Negro College Fund, which still exists today, was founded in 1944 with the mission of providing financial assistance to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and supporting Black students in accessing higher education. Initially established by Frederick D. Patterson, then-president of Tuskegee Institute, and corporate leaders like John D. Rockefeller Jr., the UNCF sought to address the systemic inequalities faced by African Americans in education. Over the years, it has grown into the largest minority education organization in the United States, providing scholarships, internships, and other programs to help students succeed academically and professionally, and supporting thirty-seven members as opposed to the twenty-seven initially included.