Reveals unique ways that art contributed to civil rights efforts and sheds new light on the rich collecting history at a liberal arts college in Mississippi.

This book spotlights a complex art collection established at the intersection of modern art and social justice. In 1963, as civil rights protests swirled across the fiercely segregated state of Mississippi, the integrated community at Tougaloo College became home to Mississippi’s first collection of modern art. Since its founding in 1869 by the abolitionist-led American Missionary Association, Tougaloo has made the fight for equality central to its mission. When leaders of the New York art world began a rich program of art acquisitions at Tougaloo in 1963, the College became a nexus, fostering “an interracial oasis in which the fine arts are the focus and magnet.” This publication features two essays and approximately thirty-five beautifully reproduced selections from this distinctive collection by diverse artists including Francis Picabia, Jacob Lawrence, and Alma Thomas.