"We’ve Been Doing This": How Five HBCUs Are Keeping Their Own History Alive
In “At the Vanguard” at CAU’s Art Museum, rare items from five historic institutions offer an intimate look at the art, activism, and everyday resilience that shaped the Black collegiate experience.
Assorted neutral toned pigment samples from George Washington Carver paintings, W.E.B Du Bois’ vintage typewriter used during his tenure at Atlanta University, a wrinkled and aged school series composition notebook filled with Margaret Walker’s political thoughts during her time at Jackson State—these preserved artifacts are just a tiny peek into what At the Vanguard: Making and Saving History at HBCUs, a Smithsonian exhibit currently at the CAU Art Museum—displays.
“Here in this exhibition we’re just able to emphasize what Hale Woodruff was saying back in 1952, which is: ‘We’ve been doing this’,” says Shyheim Williams, the Digital Humanities Program Manager at the CAU Art Museum. Williams, a third-generation HBCU alumnus, earned his bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication/Media Studies at Winston-Salem State University. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Humanities at Clark Atlanta University.
Williams felt the importance of sharing the rich history of HBCUs as he walked through the exhibition, which is on its first stop at Clark Atlanta University.
On the second-level of the historic Trevor Arnett Hall, visitors can enter the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum and view over 100 objects from the collections of five HBCUs.
“A lot of stuff in this exhibition, I never knew about,” said Williams, adding, “I think that most people don’t know much about HBCU history to be honest.”
For Williams, the exhibition is more than a collection of artifacts. It is an opportunity to introduce visitors and students to pieces of HBCU history that may have otherwise remained unknown.
Through a partnership between the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, this exhibition contains a collection of rare history from Clark Atlanta University, Florida A&M University, Jackson State University, Texas Southern University, and Tuskegee University.
The exhibition arrives at a time when Federal policy shifts are reshaping how diversity, equity and inclusion are addressed in education and cultural institutions, raising broader questions about how Black history is taught, preserved and presented. For students, learning about the history of other HBCUs creates a pathway to understanding the people, institutions and experiences that helped shape American history. At the Vanguard provides an opportunity to explore that history through the artifacts, artwork, and historical documents preserved by HBCUs.
Justice Watson, a 2026 Clark Atlanta University graduate and current photographer and Digital Humanities Fellow at the CAU Art Museum, shared his outlook on the importance of the exhibition.
“Looking at what our world is now, where the government is slowly but surely removing Black history…Something like this goes to show you how important it is to preserve.”
Watson’s words speak to the importance of preserving history, but the preservation of that history can be seen throughout the exhibition itself.
“Looking at what our world is now, where the government is slowly but surely removing Black history…Something like this goes to show you how important it is to preserve.” —Justice Watson
Upon entrance of the CAU Art Museum, a large olive, brown, and tan exhibition panel reads: “At the Vanguard: Making and Saving History at HBCUs.” White lettering fills the olive green section of the large panel listing numerous HBCUs and the dates that they were founded. As visitors walk through the exhibit they can see free standing wooden displays that separate each HBCU’s respective collection of history.
Tuskegee’s section of the exhibition emphasizes an institution built by its students. Literally, students helped build Tuskegee. Among the artifacts on view are weathered bricks made by students as a form of tuition payment. A few steps away, behind a glass display, sits a student-made classroom bench alongside an image of an early vocational course.
Florida A&M’s collection sheds light on the agricultural success of their early students, as well as their involvement in local activism, and their historic healthcare contributions. Visitors can see that history reflected in several artifacts, including glue stained newspaper clippings in an archival scrapbook, and intact lab instruments such as a Photovolt Hemoglobin and Glucose Meter used in 1940.
Jackson State’s contributions to the exhibition are highlighted by its rich collection of poetry and African American literature. Visitors can view a mixture of poetry collections, novels and books created by the legendary Margaret Walker. Among the collection are her handwritten journals, offering visitors a glimpse into the thoughts and ideas that shaped her work.
The Texas Southern portion of the exhibition highlights its trailblazing art movements and prominent student advocacy against environmental injustice. Acrylic, pastel and other painting techniques are featured in student-made portraits throughout the section.
Some of the portraits depict police violence and scenes captured by students, reflecting how art became a way for students to document and respond to the issues affecting their communities.
Rounding out the five HBCUs, Clark Atlanta University’s section brings together artifacts, paintings and historical documents that place student creativity and Black artistic expression on display. As visitors browse, they encounter award-winning oil paintings, where thousands of visible brushstrokes bring the Atlanta landscape of the mid-1900s to life.
“I hope students take away from this exhibit the same thing that Hale Woodruff wanted students to come and get when it was Trevor Arnett Library … the richness of African history, African-American history, African Diasporic history.” —Shyheim Williams
Now that the scene is set, what does this exhibition truly mean for HBCU students at Clark Atlanta University?
This is an opportunity to experience and celebrate HBCU history that has shaped the environments that students, faculty, and staff step through everyday on their respective HBCU campuses.
“I feel like for CAU students, it’s a big help because we’re in Atlanta. And a lot of things have happened in Atlanta, whether you know it or not,” said Justice Watson.
Watson’s insight underscores the importance of understanding the history that surrounds CAU students both on campus and throughout the city of Atlanta. But more importantly, students get the opportunity to learn about other HBCU’s history as well.
For Shyheim Williams, walking through At the Vanguard is a reminder of how much HBCU history remains to be discovered. As the Digital Humanities Program Manager, he sees the exhibition as an opportunity for students to connect with stories that extend beyond the walls of their own campuses.
“I hope students take away from this exhibit the same thing that Hale Woodruff wanted students to come and get when it was Trevor Arnett Library,” Williams said, “which was the richness of African history, African-American history, African Diasporic history.”
More than seven decades later, that invitation remains.
At the Vanguard: Making and Saving History at HBCUs will be on view at the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum until December 11, 2026, before continuing to its next stop.
Comments