Virginia Special Advertising Section
101
HAMPTON ROADS
Hampton's historical and multicultural heritage sites
trace America's 400-year history. Hampton University
was founded as the Hampton Normal and Industrial
Institute on the beautiful shores of the Hampton River
in 1868 by General Samuel Chapman Armstrong as a
place to train newly freed African-Americans. The
Hampton University Museum is the oldest museum of
African-American art in the United States. It moved
into the Huntington Building after a $5 million renova-
tion in 1997 and features 34,000 sq. ft. and 10 galleries
with 12,000 sq. ft. of gallery space that contain over
9,000 African, African-American and Native American
art objects plus an education center. This Smithsonian-
quality museum features top drawer permanent and
changing exhibitions including the John Biggers exhibit,
that drew record crowds; museum staff publishes The
International Review of African American Art – one of
the only periodicals devoted to African-American art.
Make sure you check out the Booker T. Washington
Memorial Garden and Statue. A former slave, Booker T
Washington graduated from Hampton University in
1875; through his doctrine and practice of self-help by
African-Americans he became the preeminent "Negro
Leader" of his time as recognized by Anglo-Americans.
His greatest legacy is founding prestigious Tuskegee
Institute in Alabama.
Hampton University Museum
Photo Credit: Hampton CVB
Black Meetings & Tourism February/March 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com
