{"id":29,"date":"2025-05-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/african-free-schools\/?page_id=29"},"modified":"2026-07-23T17:59:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:59:13","slug":"talladega-college-founding-years","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignfull is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-c476228b wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"575\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-4556 size-full\" alt=\"B&amp;W collage of four schools\" src=\"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2025\/04\/hbcu-homepage.png\" style=\"object-position:62% 26%\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" data-object-position=\"62% 26%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2025\/04\/hbcu-homepage.png 1000w, https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2025\/04\/hbcu-homepage-300x173.png 300w, https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2025\/04\/hbcu-homepage-768x442.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-black-background-color has-background-dim-40 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-cover-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1\" style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80)\">For Generations to Come: Southern HBCUs and their Colored Conventions Roots<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1f0effe7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"background-color:#121212de\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">The Colored Conventions were invested in education for African Americans since their inception, and the importance of building and sustaining educational institutions dominated many conversations in postbellum Southern Conventions. This exhibit explores three conventions: the 1865 Colored Men\u2019s Convention in Mobile, the 1871 Southern States Convention of Colored Men, and the 1884 State Conference of the Colored Men of Florida, to trace early supporters, legislation, and popular memory of the founding of Talladega College and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. These institutions have their roots in the Colored Conventions Movement, and it was through the collective action of delegates that they were established and sustained.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-35f06ea7 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/introduction\/\">Explore Exhibit<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-c98492a6 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Credits and Citations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Curators:<\/strong>&nbsp;Rachel Nelson for ENGL\/HIST 677, taught by P. Gabrielle Foreman, University of Delaware, Spring 2019, and Samantha de Vera, University of California, San Diego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Edited by<\/strong>&nbsp;P. Gabrielle Foreman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Acknowledgements:&nbsp;<\/strong>Michelle Byrnes for further edits, visualization contributions, and technical assistance. Samantha de Vera for edits, revisions, and content contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Proofread and technical review by<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>Kaitlyn Tanis, University of Delaware, Eunice Toh, Penn State University, and Lauren Cooper, Penn State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Additional contributions<\/strong>: Exhibit migration at Dream Lab 2025 by Christiana Dillard, University of Pennsylvania, and Lauren Cooper, Penn State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Images:<\/strong>&nbsp;\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcollections.nypl.org\/items\/510d47df-95ef-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Philander Smith College; Adeline Smith Industrial Home; Student choir; Main building; Young Men\u2019s Bible Class; A picnic party<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcollections.nypl.org\/items\/510d47de-4e0d-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The new J.A. Shorter Hall, Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio,<\/a>\u201d Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library; \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcollections.nypl.org\/items\/5e66b3e9-0a38-d471-e040-e00a180654d7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Howard University<\/a>\u201d New York Public Library Digital Collections, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:14px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credits and Citations Curators:&nbsp;Rachel Nelson for ENGL\/HIST 677, taught by P. Gabrielle Foreman, University of Delaware, Spring 2019, and Samantha de Vera, University of California, San Diego. Edited by&nbsp;P. Gabrielle Foreman. Acknowledgements:&nbsp;Michelle Byrnes for further edits, visualization contributions, and technical assistance. Samantha de Vera for edits, revisions, and content contributions. Proofread and technical review by&nbsp;Kaitlyn [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4604,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-no-title","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-29","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4972,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions\/4972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloredconventions.org\/hbcus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}