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

Curator: This is a photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston, documenting a manual training class at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia. Editor: It's a somber scene, isn't it? The light is subdued, and there's a stillness despite the activity—as if everyone's holding their breath, trying to build something solid. Curator: Johnston was commissioned to photograph the school as part of a larger effort to promote vocational education for African Americans. The image reveals complex social dynamics. Editor: I see that. The uniformity of their aprons, the rigidity of the desks... It speaks volumes about the pressures of assimilation, of carving out a space within a system that wasn't exactly designed for them. Curator: Precisely. The photo embodies an institution's aspiration to uplift through industry, while simultaneously reflecting the limitations imposed upon its students. Editor: I’m left wondering what these young women imagined for themselves as they learned these skills, and how they may have redefined that uplifting through their lives.