Races, Negroes: United States. Virginia. Hampton. Hampton Normal and Industrial School: Agencies Promoting Assimilation of the Negro: Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, Hampton, Va.: Basket Ball. 1899 - 1900

Curator: This photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston, titled "Races, Negroes: United States. Virginia. Hampton. Hampton Normal and Industrial School: Agencies Promoting Assimilation of the Negro: Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, Hampton, Va.: Basket Ball," captures a game at the Hampton Institute. It's quite striking, isn't it? Editor: Yes, the composition immediately strikes me as quite formal. The repeated gestures create a rhythm across the frame, and the stark tonality emphasizes the geometry of their forms against the landscape. Curator: Johnston was commissioned to document the school, then a leading institution in the education of African Americans. This image reveals the ideology of assimilation prevalent at the time. Editor: It's fascinating how the vertical thrust of the pole disrupts the gentle arc of the figures. The photograph is not just a record, but a considered arrangement of shapes and light. Curator: Indeed. The photograph reveals a complex interplay between promoting opportunity and maintaining social control. Editor: Looking closer at the image, the way the light and shadow model the figures conveys a sense of groundedness and energy, despite its subtle, subdued palette. Curator: A visual encapsulation of a pivotal moment in history. Editor: It's a beautiful, thoughtful and undeniably complex piece.