As a result of the discrimination towards African Americans at the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition, James Washington, a real estate developer, conceived of the American Negro Exposition.[2]
Entrance was 25 cents and the organizers expected 2 million people to attend.[2] The art exhibit, which was curated by Alonzo J. Aden,[5] comprised 300 paintings and drawings and was called by The New York Times as "the largest showing of the work of Negro artists ever assembled."[4]
The exposition is dominated by a replica of the Lincoln Tomb and Monument in Springfield, Ill. Exhibits include representation from most of the Federal departments and agencies, the city, the Board of Education and the Republic of Liberia. One section features the work of Negro authors...Almost every day until closing time on Labor Day, Sept. 2, has been set aside to honor some State, organization, or Negro.
Additionally, there was a Hall of Fame honoring notable African Americans.[1] Artist William Edouard Scott created a series of 24 murals for the event, which took him three months to complete.[6][7][8] Black Mexican artist Elizabeth Catlett's master thesis, the limestone sculpture "Negro Mother and Child" won first place in the exposition.[9]
Margaret Walker entered a literary competition with the following verses:[2]
Come now my brothers and citizens of America
and hear the strange singing of me, your brother,
and see the strange dancing of me, your daughter,
and know that I am you and you are me
and the two are as one in danger and in peace,
in plenty and in poverty,
in freedom forever,
in power, and glory and triumph.
I ask you, America,
is this not signing witness in your soul?
Who are you to deny me the right
to cast my vote in the streets of America
in the Senate halls of America?
Who are you to deny the right to speak?
I who am myself also America.
I who cleared your forests
and laid your thoroughfares.
Who are you to be presumptuous
to tell me where to ride,
and where to stand,
and where to sit?
Who are you to lynch the flesh of your flesh?
Who are you to say who shall live
and who shall die?
Who are you to tell me where to eat
and where to sleep?
The exhibit had 33 five-feet wide dioramas held in the "Court of Dioramas" hall, they were made from wood, plaster and masonite, showcasing African-American contributions and events of historical significance, ranging from ancient Egypt through World War I.[13] Commercial artist Charles C. Dawson directed the creation of the dioramas.[1] The temporary exhibit was only on display for the roughly two months the exhibition ran and inspired local teachers in improving teaching African-American history.[14]
A list of the dioramas in the names at the time of showing, included:[15]
Of the original 33 dioramas, 13 were lost, and Tuskegee University, through Dawson, an alumni who was started teaching at the institution, acquired the remaining 20 dioramas from the State of Illinois.[14] They were placed at the University's former George Washington Carver Museum, then moved to the main library. Due to their state of disrepair, they had arrived at Tuskegee at "60% destroyed",[14] they were stored away from public view for decades.[13]
Tuskegee's Legacy Museum set up a new exhibit, 20 Dioramas: Brightly-Lit Windows, Magically Different, using the 20 dioramas to "demonstrate the rich past of African-Americans".[16] The museum curator, Dr. Jontyle Robinson, used the conservation work to "improve diversity in the field of conservation", since "[o]nly 1 to 2% of conservators are African American."[14][16] Restoring a single diorama costs between $25,000 to $30,000 in 2018.[16]
CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Rita Braver did a story on the dioramas, with the intention of bringing awareness and hope that the segment would help in unearthing the lost 13.[1]
In 2015, the African American Cultural Center of the University of Illinois at Chicago curated an exhibition of the Exposition "showcas[ing]...objects, images and texts from the landmark...Exposition."[17]
Cavalcade of the American Negro-Information hosted by the Library of Congress on a book of the same name produced by the Illinois Writers' Project of the WPA, which became "one of the more important contributions" and "includes a useful description of all the exhibits at the exposition."
