Races, Negroes: United States. Alabama. Tuskegee. Tuskegee Institute: Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama: Carnegie Library. 1902

Curator: This photograph, by Frances Benjamin Johnston, captures the Carnegie Library at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Editor: It's imposing. The classical architecture, the severe symmetry... it feels like a visual assertion of authority. Curator: Absolutely, and that's crucial to understanding its historical context. Johnston was commissioned to document the Institute, founded by Booker T. Washington to train African Americans in vocational skills. Editor: So, this image is part of a larger narrative about Black education in the Jim Crow South. The architecture mimicking power structures, while the education aimed at empowerment. Curator: Precisely. Johnston's photographs were used to promote the Institute and garner support, shaping perceptions of Black education. Editor: It's a complex image, a study in the visual language of power, and a reminder of the ongoing struggle for equitable representation. Curator: A powerful reminder indeed. Editor: Definitely provides a lot to think about.