Tuskegee Institute

https://www.nps.gov/tuin/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_University Tuskegee University is a private historically black Land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. The campus is designated as the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site by the National Park Service. The university was home to scientist George Washington Carver and to World War II's Tuskegee Airmen. In 1881, Booker T. Washington arrived in Alabama and started building Tuskegee Institute both in reputation and literally brick by brick. He recruited the best and the brightest to come and teach here including George Washington Carver who arrived in 1896. Carver’s innovations in agriculture, especially with peanuts, expanded Tuskegee’s standing throughout the country. The story continues…. From Atlanta - Follow I-85S towards Montgomery, AL Take Exit 32 and turn left on the overpass onto Pleasant Springs Dr. Travel approximately 2 miles and turn left on Franklin Rd. (Co. Rd. 30). Follow Franklin Rd. for 3 miles to the traffic light. Park headquarters on the left corner.. Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site Visitor Center The visitor center for is located inside the George Washington Carver Museum. The Visitor Center is currently closed due to construction. There is no physical address for the museum because it sits inside the campus gates of Tuskegee University. From Montgomery, AL----Take I-85N and travel approximately 36 miles to exit 32. Exit right onto Pleasant Springs Drive. Travel 4-5 miles following Tuskegee University signs to Franklin Road. Turn left on Franklin Road and travel 4 miles to traffic light. Turn left onto West Montgomery Road, and turn left at the first traffic light onto the Tuskegee University campus. From Atlanta, GA--From I-85S take Exit 38.Turn left onto AL-81S for approximately 4 miles.Turn left when you are facing the gas station. The Oaks - The Home of Booker T. Washington A three story Queen Anne Revival style red brick house This house, like Washington himself, was a lesson plan to both students and benefactors of Tuskegee Institute. Sunset Over The Oaks Sunset of blue, red, and orange sky behind The Oaks, Booker T. Washngton home As the the sun sets behind The Oaks, the beauty of the Tuskegee sky shines through. The Movable School A brown colored modified school bus with two windows Many are amazed to see the last Movable School that was used by Dr. George W. Carver to bring education to the rural communities surrounding Tuskegee Carver with Friend and Fellow Inventor, Henry Ford George W. Carver and Henry Ford seated facing one another talking Millions have been impressed by the genious of George W. Carver, including Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motor Company Carver's Peanut Oil Bottle of Peanut Oil with green label - one of Dr. Carver's many uses for the peanut Hundreds flocked to Tuskegee for polio treatment using George W. Carver's peanut oil Learning from Leaders: David Williston David Williston, recognized as the first professionally-trained African American landscape architect, left a lasting legacy through his work as a college campus planner and horticulturalist. During his tenure as superintendent of grounds at Tuskegee University from 1910 to 1929, he oversaw the development of the campus. Williston guided the landscape design around The Oaks, home of Booker T. Washington. A three story house of red brick and shingles is surrounded by mature trees, lawn, and shrubs. Tuskegee Airmen Who are the Tuskegee Airmen? Did they all come from Tuskegee? Were they really the first African American fighter pilots in the US Army Air Corps during World War II (WWII)? These are just some of the questions that visitors ask at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, the birthplace of the Tuskegee Airmen. Yes, the Tuskegee Airmen fought in WWII. Several men sitting and standing in front of an airplane Reconstruction During Reconstruction, the Federal government pursued a program of political, social, and economic restructuring across the South-including an attempt to accord legal equality and political power to former slaves. Reconstruction became a struggle over the meaning of freedom, with former slaves, former slaveholders and Northerners adopting divergent definitions. Faced with increasing opposition by white Southerners and some Northerners, however, the government abandoned effor Picture depictsing former slaves and free blacks voting following the passage of the 15th amendment Emancipation and the Quest for Freedom Although the abolition of slavery emerged as a dominant objective of the Union war effort, most Northerners embraced abolition as a practical measure rather than a moral cause. The war resolved legally and constitutionally the single most important moral question that afflicted the nascent republic, an issue that prevented the country from coalescing around a shared vision of freedom, equality, morality, and nationhood. Slave family seated in front of their house The Civil War in American Memory America's cultural memories of the Civil War are inseparably intertwined with that most "peculiar institution" of American history - racial slavery. But in the struggle over Civil War memory which began as soon as the war was over and continues to this day, rival cultural memories of reconciliation and white supremacy have often prevailed. Therein lies the challenge as the National Park Service - a public agency - seeks to "provide understanding" of the Civil War era's lasting impact upon the development of our nation. Elderly Union and Confederate veterans shake hands at the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg The Changing War Begun as a purely military effort with the limited political objectives of reunification (North) or independence (South), the Civil War transformed into a social, economic and political revolution with unforeseen consequences. As the war progressed, the Union war effort steadily transformed from a limited to a hard war; it targeted not just Southern armies, but the heart of the Confederacy's economy, morale, and social order-the institution of slavery. Woodcut of spectators watching a train station set fire by Sherman's troops Nemesis: The South and the Nineteenth Amendment The South was the nemesis of the woman suffrage movement, the long-term, impassioned adversary that, in 1920, almost kept the Nineteenth Amendment from being ratified. Regional hostility to the women’s rights movement long delayed the development of a southern suffrage movement and precluded state suffrage victories. Powerful resistance from white southern Congressmen and Senators for many years precluded Congressional approval of a federal woman suffrage amendment. Cover of the NAWSA Headquarters Newsletter, "Winning Plan" LOC Series: On Their Shoulders: The Radical Stories of Women's Fight for the Vote These articles were originally published by the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission (WSCC) as a part of the WSCC blog, The Suff Buffs. The Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission was created by Congress to commemorate 100 years of the 19th Amendment throughout 2020 and to ensure the untold stories of women’s battle for the ballot continue to inspire Americans for the next 100 years. In collaboration with the WSCC, the NPS is the forever home of these articles Logo of the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission The Oaks Cultural Landscape The Oaks is the historic residence of Dr. Booker T. Washington, the first president of Tuskegee Institute, and his wife Margaret Murray Washington, a prominent leader in the Progressive Era women’s club movement. Dr. Washington resided at The Oaks from its 1899 construction on the Tuskegee Institute campus until his death in 1915. Today, The Oaks is part of the historic district of Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site in Tuskegee, Alabama A two-and-a-half story residence of red brick with a wrap around porch and decorative features “More Precious Than Rubies”: Alice Longfellow and Students at Hampton & Tuskegee Institutes An article highlighting a few of the Black students whose education and work at Hampton Institute and Tuskegee Institute was supported by scholarships from Alice Mary Longfellow. Printed seal for Hampton Institute features plow, books, globe, and tools Women in Fire Science: Alicia Schlarb Alicia Schlarb is the lead fire effects monitor for a portion of the National Park Service's Southeast Region. She and her crew provide prescribed burning, monitoring, and wildland fire responses to national parks located within Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and portions of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Florida. She loves fire and that she can change perceptions about wildland fire through science. Alicia Schlarb. Judy Forte As a child growing up in the South during the 1950s and 1960s, Judy Forte’s life was heavily influenced by the US civil rights movement. She was only 11 years old when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Four decades later she became the first African American woman superintendent at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park—and she's not done yet. Close up of Judy Forte wearing her NPS ranger flat hat. Staff Spotlight: Floyd Myers Meet Floyd Myers, who is the Chief of Business Development and Partnerships for the National Parks of New York Harbor. He was previously the acting Deputy Superintendent at Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and worked at several other parks before that, including the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site, Selma to Montgomery National Historic Site, Booker T. Washington National Historic Site, and others. Floyd Myers in uniform