Talladega College in Alabama has announced that it has received a $1 million donation from Norma and William Harvey to establish a fund to construct the William R. Harvey Art Museum on campus.
The museum will serve as the new home of the Amistad Murals. In 1938, the college commissioned African American artists Hale Woodruff to paint the murals which depict the revolt of the slaves on the ship Amistad, the trial that occurred in the aftermath of the revolt, and the Africans return to their native land. In 2011, the murals were removed from the lobby of the college’s library and restored and have been on a national tour that will conclude at the end of 2015.
Property of Talladega College | Click to enlarge
William R. Harvey is the president of Hampton University in Virginia and the owner of the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of Houghton, Michigan. He is a 1961 graduate of Talladega College and holds a doctorate in higher education administration from Harvard University. Dr. Harvey has been president of Hampton University since 1978.
Outstanding!
We enjoyed the murals immensely during their tenure at the Dallas African-American Museum as part of the tour.
Would very much like to see a concerted effort by all the HBCUs to also increase their holdings in important art.