Races, Negroes: United States. Virginia. Hampton. Hampton Normal and Industrial School: Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, Hampton, Va. 1899 - 1900

Curator: This is a fascinating image titled "Races, Negroes: United States. Virginia. Hampton. Hampton Normal and Industrial School," taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston. The location appears to be the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Editor: The composition is strikingly methodical; it highlights the setting as much as the human element. The texture of the brick and the arrangement of the workspaces really stand out. Curator: Johnston’s photographs of Hampton were commissioned to promote the school's mission, part of a broader project to uplift Black Americans through industrial training. It's impossible to separate the progressive rhetoric from the problematic power dynamics at play. Editor: Precisely. The images show the material conditions—the leather, the tools, the very building itself. The students' labor and the value it generates are central, even if presented within a paternalistic framework. Curator: Absolutely. The photograph raises crucial questions about identity, labor, and the complex history of racial uplift ideologies. Editor: A poignant reminder of how intertwined the social and the material truly are.