Library Exhibit Highlights New Acquisitions: Photographs of Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglas and more

Brigham Young University’s L. Tom Perry Special Collections will display images of prominent African-Americans on level three of the Harold B. Lee Library throughout February to commemorate Black History Month.

The exhibit will display new images from the Special Collections’ historical materials recently donated by William and Annette Curtis.

The new collection highlights Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver and Frederick Douglass through letters, photographs, paintings, sketches, pamphlets, deeds, newspapers, stamps, coins, books and other materials dealing with African-American history in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The collection features a 1901 letter from Washington about Reverend J. Milton Waldron, a Carver burial service program and an 1881 letter from Douglass, including biographical information and a photo.

Washington was an author, educator and leader in the African-American community, as well as the first president of Tuskegee University. Carver is best known for his scientific work that revolutionized agriculture in the South. Douglass, a former slave, is one of the most famous abolitionists in American history and the first Black American to be nominated as a vice-presidential candidate in the United States.

William and Annette Curtis are members of the Friends of the Harold B. Lee Library and longtime collectors of Americana and Mormon materials.

For more information, contact Roger Layton at (801) 422-6687 or roger_layton@byu.edu.