Races, Negroes: United States. Virginia. Hampton. Hampton Normal and Industrial School: Agencies Promoting Assimilation of the Negro. Training for Commercial and Industrial Employment. Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, Hampton, Va.: A Dressmaking Class. 1899 - 1900

Curator: This is Frances Benjamin Johnston's photograph, entitled "A Dressmaking Class," taken at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Editor: It has a quiet, industrious air about it, don't you think? So much potential energy held within that classroom. Curator: Indeed. Johnston's work documents the Hampton Institute's mission to provide vocational training to African Americans. Note how the composition emphasizes order and purpose. Editor: And yet, I wonder, what are they dreaming of as they sew? Do they want to be dressmakers or dream of other freedoms? The light from the window and the dark, almost hidden corners of the room give the image a feeling of both aspiration and constraint. Curator: Absolutely. The photograph prompts a reflection on the complexities of education and opportunity during that time. Editor: It leaves you with questions, doesn't it? More than answers, perhaps.