Courtesy of Jackson State University
JACKSON — Jackson State University is contributing personal items from acclaimed Mississippi author Margaret Walker Alexander to a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture exhibit highlighting the role of historically Black colleges and universities in preserving U.S. history.
According to the LEPR Agency, the exhibit, “At the Vanguard: Making and Saving History at Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” features collections from five HBCUs, including Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State.
Jackson State’s contributions include Walker’s personal journals, a sculpture by Elizabeth Catlett of Phillis Wheatley, and the typewriter Walker used to produce works including a revised manuscript of “Jubilee,” the university said.
“At the Vanguard affirms what Historically Black Colleges and Universities have long known and practiced, preserving history is central to our mission,” said Denise Jones Gregory, Jackson State’s interim president, in a statement.
The LEPR Agency shared that the exhibit is the culmination of a five-year pilot initiative known as the HBCU History and Culture Access Consortium, launched in 2021 by the museum. Jackson State is an inaugural member, and the consortium works to strengthen the role of HBCU museums and archives through shared programming and support.
The university said the exhibit includes more than 100 objects and that Jackson State’s Margaret Walker Center also contributed publications, photographs from the 1973 Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival, historical markers and political buttons.
Robert Luckett, director of the Margaret Walker Center, said the partnership supports preservation efforts and introduces students to public history.
Other consortium partners include Clark Atlanta University, Florida A&M University, Texas Southern University and Tuskegee University.
The exhibit opened Jan. 16 at the museum in Washington and is scheduled to run through July 19, 2026. It is expected to travel to the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson in April 2027.
