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

Curator: This photographic print by Frances Benjamin Johnston, created at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, presents two scenes of young Black women engaged in domestic tasks. Editor: My initial reaction is one of unease. The stark contrast and the plainness of the setting lend it a feeling of confinement, almost like a stage set. Curator: The title, "Agencies Promoting Assimilation of the Negro," reveals the image's intent: to visually promote the school's mission of cultural integration through vocational training. This was a common idea in the late 19th century. Editor: That phrase, "Agencies Promoting Assimilation," is laden with cultural baggage. It evokes notions of forced conformity and the suppression of cultural identity. Seeing these women reduced to domestic roles, framed as progress, is unsettling. Curator: The images themselves—dusting and scrubbing—are presented almost as virtues. Johnston was documenting the curriculum, yet the subtext reflects the era's racial politics and expectations. Editor: It's hard to reconcile the supposed benevolence of education with the limitations imposed by such specific, gendered labor. The images become symbolic of restricted opportunities. Curator: The weight of the past hangs heavily in this image. Editor: Absolutely, it prompts us to reflect on the complexities of history.