Tuskegee University Receives the Archives of a Civil Rights Icon

Boynton-RobinsonCivil rights activist Amelia Boynton Robinson has donated her personal memorabilia collection to Tuskegee University. Robinson was among the marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on “Bloody Sunday” on March 7, 1965. The marchers, who were calling for full voting rights for African Americans, were tear gassed and beaten by law enforcement officials. Robinson was beaten unconscious that day. For her efforts to organize the march, she was invited to the White House ceremony when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.

The collection includes more than 3,000 items including photographs, books, speeches, and scrapbooks documenting her role in the civil rights movement.

Robinson is a graduate of the Class of 1927 at Tuskegee. She was the first Black woman in Alabama to run for a seat in Congress. Today she is still active in advocating for civil and human rights. She is 102 years old.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Meta Sued for Discriminatory For-Profit College Marketing Targeted at Black Social Media Users

"This lawsuit aims to make it clear that no corporation — not even a Big Tech company as powerful as Meta—should be allowed to profit from the discriminatory treatment of Black students and consumers," said Damon T. Hewitt, president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

In Memoriam: Jerry Washington Ward, Jr., 1943-2025

Dr. Ward taught English at Tougaloo College in Mississippi for over three decades. He then served a a distinguished professor at Dillard University in New Orleans for 10 years before his retirement in 2012.

The Education Department Takes Aim at Colleges’ Diversity and Inclusion Programs

The acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the United States Department of Education, warned colleges and universities that they risked losing federal funding if they continued to use race as a factor in a wide range of programs.

Black Americans Represent Just 5 Percent of All Top Staff in the New U.S. Congress

While Black Americans represent nearly 14 percent of the total U.S. population, they represent just 5.5 percent of all top staff positions in the personal offices of U.S. House members and senators.

Featured Jobs