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.: Class in Laboratory. 1899 - 1900

Editor: So, this photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston captures a classroom at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. It feels like a scene frozen in time, full of earnest study. What strikes you when you look at it? Curator: The quiet intensity, definitely. I see young minds encountering scientific inquiry, perhaps for the first time. Look at the plants, the charts – symbols of growth and knowledge. Does this strike you as a hopeful image, despite the history? Editor: It does, actually. It feels like a moment of possibility, of empowerment through education. Curator: Exactly! And that, to me, is the enduring power of this image. It offers a glimpse into a chapter of resilience and aspiration. Editor: I hadn’t thought about it that way, but I see what you mean. Thanks!