Tougaloo College Alumni, Barbara A. Thompson and Sterling S. Thompson, Ph.D. Photo by Eliseo Rosario Jr. MD with Craftsman Photographer, Ruben Mills of Ruben Mills Photography. Illustration by E Catlett, “Danys y Liethis,” 2005
A Harrisburg area couple’s life as civil rights activists in the deep South more than 50 years ago serendipitously connects to a city museum’s upcoming exhibit.
Barbara Garrett Thompson arrived in Jackson, Miss., to attend Tougaloo College in 1963 with years of experience in social activism. The Birmingham, Ala., native knew nothing but segregation. She marched in the now-famous Children’s Crusade, during which fire hoses and angry dogs were unleashed on Blacks seeking equal rights.
Tougaloo College was different.
“It was open, embracing and fun,” Barbara recalled. “You were in an environment where people were studious and wanted to learn.”
The faculty was about 50% white and included Jewish and Polish professors who experienced discrimination on other college campuses.
“It wasn’t that they just came to the college. They circled the world to go away from danger,” she said. “They brought a certain kind of sensibility and understandability about what the community was experiencing.”
She quickly met Sterling S. Thompson. The Memphis native watched the civil unrest in Mississippi from afar during high school and doubted Tougaloo was right for him.
“I just thought Mississippi was a terrible place,” Sterling said.
Despite his apprehensions, a scholarship convinced Sterling to enroll. When civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in April 1968, the choir that Sterling sang in had been practicing their repertoire for weeks. The conductor changed course to a requiem Mass only two weeks before the performance. Sterling and other choir members were not sure they could deliver a performance that would properly honor the legend, but their conductor struck the right note.
“The chapel was full, people came from everywhere,” Sterling said. “To me, that was the moment I realized it was a great place to be.”
Tougaloo gave students the opportunity to hear activists such as Robert F. Kennedy, Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown speak without fear of police interference.
“It was an experience you couldn’t really buy,” Barbara said.
Strong Ties
Barbara and Sterling graduated, married and moved to Michigan. They relocated to Swatara Township in 1985 when Sterling accepted a position with The Hershey Company as a fellow for global food safety and innovation. Barbara worked for Penn State Harrisburg as director of multicultural recruitment and community affairs.
Their ties to Tougaloo remained strong. They visited often and were each named “Alumnus of the Year.” When Susquehanna Art Museum board member Terrie S. Rouse-Rosario started asking around the Harrisburg area about people who may be connected to Tougaloo in preparation for an upcoming exhibit, “Art and Activism at Tougaloo College,” the Thompsons’ names came up.
David C. Driskell, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” 1972
The exhibit, which opens on June 10, features pieces that the college has collected over the years, beginning when the Thompsons were students in 1963. Activist Medgar Evers held meetings at the school, and, in May 1963, an integrated group of students and faculty participated in the sit-in at Woolworth’s in downtown Jackson. Faculty and students decided that art was a powerful way to tell the story of injustice. The collection grew over the years, and pieces of it are now lent to galleries such as the Susquehanna Art Museum.
Rouse-Rosario and museum Executive Director Alice Anne Schwab met the Thompsons to discuss the exhibit and how it relates to their time at Tougaloo. They knew there was a connection, but never imagined how strong. Rouse-Rosario handed the Sterlings a brochure that featured a group of students walking across campus.
“I said ‘That’s me,’” Barbara recalled, noticing a young woman on the far left side of the group.
Sterling piped up, “I remember that dress. You made it!”
The exhibit is organized into three sections.
“The Focus and Magnet” surveys the earliest works acquired by Tougaloo, including prints by canonical European modernists such as Pablo Picasso, along with artists of the New York School like Hedda Sterne.
“Toward a Modern World” highlights the relationship between modernist aesthetics and the ideals of social reform, with works by artists such as Robert Motherwell and Fritz Bultman.
As the Black Power movement expanded in the late 1960s and ‘70s, Tougaloo students and faculty argued that the collection should better reflect the Black experience. “A New Vision” details the college’s response to this charge, presenting works by African American artists who engaged with social issues, including Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, David C. Driskell and Elizabeth Catlett.
For Everyone
More than 50 years have passed since the Thompsons earned their Tougaloo diplomas, but the pieces inspired by activists such as themselves are still relevant.
“Let’s not forget, I am not reading this in a history book,” Barbara said. “I lived this experience. It wasn’t so long ago. We are still dealing with some of these same issues.”
The Tougaloo pieces expose humanity, Barbara said.
“You can experience what was happening,” she said.
Sterling is amazed by Tougaloo Professor Ronald Schnell’s vision to start the collection as an arm of the college’s social justice efforts.
“I don’t think he knew how far his idea would go beyond Tougaloo,” Sterling said. “Just the fact he had the idea and someone forced it to grow, and the fact 35 pieces are coming to Harrisburg, is inspiring.”
Rouse-Rosario and Schwab emphasized that “Art and Activism at Tougaloo College” is an exhibit for everyone, not just those who experienced racism. They believe anyone can learn from the struggles the pieces portray.
“It’s so far-sighted,” Schwab said.
The museum is working to expand its reach in the Harrisburg community. Museum leaders encourage groups consisting of art lovers of all ages to view the pieces and participate in other programs that the organization offers.
“Art and Activism at Tougaloo College” runs June 10 to Sept. 10 at the Susquehanna Art Museum, 1401 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.susquehannaartmuseum.org.
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