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THE SANKOFA BIRD (mythology from the Akan people of West Africa) Dahomean cloth appliqué Fon People-Republic of Benin (formerly Dahomey) - West Africa Tuskegee University Library Services The Lovette W. Harper Collection of African Art. >>>
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THE MUSEUM
Located at 1 Benjamin Payton Drive on the Tuskegee University campus in the former Infantile Paralysis Unit of John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital. Welcome to the Legacy Museum.
Included in the collections are African, African American, American, European, and Oceanic art amassed over 130 years. Antique furniture is also a part of the collection. Art created by renowned artists such as Edmonia Lewis, William Edouard Scott, William H. Harper, Henry Ossawa Tanner, William H. Johnson, Ernest Crichlow, Floyd Colman and Benny Andrews have been donated to the museum.
Welcome to the Tuskegee University Legacy Museum
The LEGACY MUSEUM is part of a consortium of museums at Tuskegee University that includes the Dr. George Washington Carver Museum, The Booker T. Washington Home-The Oaks and the Tuskegee Airmen Museum. the LEGACY MUSEUM exhibits works from its art collection and interprets, additionally, public health, science and medicine. The Museum's exhibitions and programs reach international audiences and history buffs and art enthusiasts of all ages.
Located in the National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care/ John A. Kenney Hall, The LEGACY MUSEUM is an outgrowth of the Official Proclamation by President William Jefferson Clinton against the misdeeds of the United States Public Health Service in its Untreated Syphilis Study in the Negro Male in Macon County, Alabama, 1932-1972.
On the third floor of the museum are two exhibits. The Patient, The Project, The Partnership: The Mass Production and Distribution of HeLa cells at Tuskegee University and the United States Public Health Service Untreated Syphilis Study in the Negro Male, 1932-1972.
From left to right: Dr. Russell Brown, Ms. Henrietta Lacks and Dr. James H.M. Henderson
The HeLa Cell exhibit celebrates the life of the Virginia born Henrietta Lacks, who was a tobacco farmer who suffered from an aggressive form of cervical cancer which landed her at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, MD. Her cells, harvested without her knowledge or that of her family, were discovered to possess the unique characteristics of growing and reproducing beyond measure. HeLa’s growth characteristics made it the ideal alternative primate host cell source for the massive testing of Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine. Tuskegee University’s Carver Foundation was one of the sites selected to mass produce the cell line and distribute it to laboratories worldwide for polio vaccine testing and a variety of research projects from which we all benefit today.
A suggested donation to the LEGACY MUSEUM is appreciated and there are brochures, posters, tee-shirts, and other LEGACY MUSEUM offerings available that celebrate our exhibition and the museum.
The LEGACY MUSEUM is open from 10:00 a.m until 4:00 p.m. Monday-Friday and is closed during official University breaks. Click here for the Tuskegee University Academic Calendar. Admission is free and open to the public. Suggested donation is $3.00 per person. All contributions are welcome. Email: legacymuseum@tuskegee.edu. Telephone Contacts: (334)-727-8888 or (334)-724-4625: Fax: (334)-725-2400.
We are located at 1 Benjamin Payton Dr., Tuskegee AL 36088 CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS.
The LEGACY MUSEUM operates under the auspices of Tuskegee University Library Services.
An anonymous donor has generously gifted to the Legacy Museum an autograph album and an album of photographs.
I was motivated to purchase this item for Tuskegee because I believe that items that document the histories of HBCUs belong at HBCUs. Unfortunately, because of the legacy of systemic racism in the United States, HBCUs may not always have funds to purchase items such as these. When I saw the photo album and autograph book, I felt that the right thing to do was to try to find a way to get it to Tuskegee where it can be cared for by professionals in the place that produced it and where it has immense meaning.
No, this is the first such donation I have made. I don’t plan for it to be the last though.
First of all the gift will be used in the UNCF Mellon Teaching and Learning Institute where it will be used as the center of an inquiry into conservation and Black history in the Midwest and the history of Tuskegee. This will provide opportunities for participants to learn conservation skills needed to preserve history at Tuskegee and other UNCF institutions. The album will also connect current and future generations of Tuskegee students to the long, rich, and significant history of their own institution.
The autograph album belonged to Tuskegee Institute graduate Althea Clarice Bulls (1922-1994). Measuring 7” x 5,” the album dates from the days Ms. Bulls’s was a student at Tuskegee in the 1930s. The autograph album contains approximately 48 pages of signatures and inscriptions from Tuskegee professors and students. Bulls was, seemingly, engaged to Tuskegee student John W. Sewell, who graduated a year prior, however genealogical records indicate that she and Sewell never married. Ms. Bulls was enrolled at Tuskegee at the same time writers Albert Murray and Ralph Ellison were here. Albert Murray co-founded Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Also, with the autograph album was a photograph album 11” x 7.25” which has 200 photographs of a Midwestern African American family, residents of Indianapolis, Indiana during the 1920s -1930s. The photographs include scenes of boating, vacations, and gatherings many of which took place in Hessel, Michigan at Les Cheneaux Golf Club, the oldest continuously played course in Michigan.
Other important events were occurring in African American life and culture about the time of Ms. Bulls was at Tuskegee and families were visiting Les Cheneaux Golf Club in Hessel, Michigan. These events allow us to comprehend what America was like at the time Ms. Bull was at Tuskegee.
1935-1953 Frederick D. Patterson is president of Tuskegee
1944 The United Negro College Fund was founded in Washington, DC by Tuskegee University President Frederick Patterson
The African American History Timeline 1930 to 1939
https://www.thoughtco.com/african-american-history-timeline-1930-1939-45427
Roger Blakemore restored the diorama commemorating the Harlem Hellfighters, an infantry troop regiment that was one of the first to serve in World War II.
The Legacy Museum at Tuskegee University, led by Dr. Jontyle Robinson, was recognized on CBS Sunday Morning on September 30, 2020, for its role in conserving extraordinary dioramas that were displayed in the 1940 Negro Exposition. Please click here to watch the full segment.
Also, view the testimonials below.
Lunder Conservation Center
"Watch CBS Sunday Morning cover the incredible conservation of 20 The Legacy Museum, Tuskegee University dioramas from 1940, including "Reconstruction after the War" which was treated here #atSAAM two summers ago!”
U.S. Senator Chris Coons
“Proud to see the First State represented on CBS Sunday Morning! Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library and Dr. Jontyle Robinson of The Legacy Museum, Tuskegee University are collaborating to restore dioramas of Black American figures like the famed Harlem Hellfighters from World War 1. These dioramas—first created in 1940—were a platform for Black artists to share their work while helping promote racial understanding. Check out more information on the collaboration with the University of Delaware from Delaware’s own, Winterthur Museum.”
Rena Iversen Edminster
“Terrific segment. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Wonderful to see it's being restored & new people to learn the craft. Just amazing. Hope the lost 13 are found.”
Christine Schmidutz
"I LOVE that these are being used as a way to create space and careers in an otherwise traditionally white profession...representation matters in all things, because clearly the woman leading the charge saw value that others did not, and this is because of her unique view. Each one teach one..love love love it.
Martha Perales
“This story was just beautiful it is wonderful to see young people working to restore this work of art.”
Nanette Chesley
“Just watched this and was awestruck at the craftsmanship that went into these pieces. Great clip.”
Markita Taylor
“This is amazing, I could only hope this inspires younger black people in preserving our history and endless contributions!”
JoAnn Yuki
“Fascinating story. So glad these National Treasures are being cared for and hope the others are found and given the respect they deserve.”
Beth Skipper
“This was a fascinating report. The dioramas are beautiful and such an important part of history. I’m so pleased to know they are being restored”
 Benjamin F. Payton: A Legacy in Art and History |
 The Lovette W. Harper Collection of African Art |
 Letters from Our Visitors |
 Mass Prod. & Distribution of HeLa Cells (Excerpt by Dr. Jontyle Robinson) |
Monday-Friday 10am-4pm
Phone: 334-727-8889 or 8888
Help Desk: 334-724-4485
Email: legacymuseum@tuskegee.edu