Races, Negroes: United States. Alabama. Tuskegee. Tuskegee Institute: Agencies Promoting Assimilation of the Negro. Training for Commercial and Industrial Employment. Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama: The Farm. 1902

Editor: Here we have a photograph of the Tuskegee Institute Farm in Alabama, taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston. The image shows a group of people working the land with horses. It feels very staged, almost like a demonstration. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: It's a loaded image. The title itself, "Agencies Promoting Assimilation of the Negro," speaks volumes about the socio-political context. This photograph was meant to showcase the Tuskegee Institute's mission of vocational training, but it also reveals the paternalistic attitudes of the time. Editor: So, it's less about the farming and more about the message it's sending? Curator: Exactly. It's about controlling the narrative, presenting a specific vision of Black progress that conformed to white expectations. It prompts us to question whose interests are truly being served. Editor: I hadn’t considered the constructed narrative. It’s unsettling to think about the power dynamics at play here. Curator: Indeed, it's a stark reminder of how images can be tools of social engineering, and a critical lens is always required.