NMAAHC Collections Search

Academic robe, hood, and cap worn by Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole at Spelman College

Designed by: Olivia
Worn by: Dr. Cole, Johnnetta Betsch, American, born 1936
Subject of: Spelman College, American, founded 1881

Medium: synthetic fiber, woven tape, metal closures, and tassels
Dimensions: H x W (.1 flat): 55 1/4 × 36 1/2 in. (140.3 × 92.7 cm); H x W (.2 flat): 45 1/2 × 25 1/2 in. (115.6 × 64.8 cm); H x W x D (.3): 5 1/2 × 11 1/4 × 10 3/4 in. (14 × 28.6 × 27.3 cm)

Type: robes; caps (headgear); hoods (headgear)

Place used: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1986 - 1987

Description: Academic regalia consisting of a robe (.1), a hood (.2), and a cap (.3) in blue and silver from Spelman College worn by Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole.; .1: A blue academic robe with woven tape decorations. The robe is made from a blue polyester cotton blend fabric. Panels of blue woven tape with a cream design of zigzag lines is attached at the center opening of the front sides and around the neck. Three (3) thinner bands of blue woven tape with a cream design of stripes are attached on each sleeve. The robe closes at the center front with a blue metal zipper. There is one (1) black male snap at the center front approximately three inches below the neck opening for securing the hood (.2) to the robe. There are two (2) black eyes, one on each shoulder midway between the neck and sleeve seams, possibly for securing a stole or other regalia around the shoulders of the wearer. There are two (2) exterior inset pockets, one at each side waist, lined in blue synthetic fabric. The robe is self-lined and there is a designer label at the center back interior neck made from white fabric with black machine-embroidered text that reads: "Olivia / ORIGINAL".; .2: A blue and white academic hood with woven tape decoration. One side of the hood is faced in blue synthetic fabric and trimmed with a band of blue woven tape with a cream design of zigzags. The other side is faced in white satin with a blue satin chevron stripe midway down the hood. There is one (1) female snap at the center front neck portion of the hood to secure it to the robe (.1). Two (2) black buttons connected by a twisted cord are sewn at the back opening area of the hood to ensure that the satin portion of the hood remains open and visible.; .3: A soft blue academic cap. The hexagonal cap is made from a blue polyester cotton blend fabric. A gold metal tassel is looped around a gold bobble at the center top of the cap and tacked in place at the edge of the cap. A band of blue woven tape with a cream design of alternating stripes and diamonds is sewn around the opening on the bottom of the cap. This band is lined with black grosgrain ribbon. The cap is lined with the same blue fabric with a small amount of batting between the layers to create a padded shape. A designer label is sewn at the center interior of the cap made from white fabric with black machine-embroidered text that reads: "Olivia / ORIGINAL".

Topic: African American; African diaspora; Clothing and dress; Education

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Johnnetta Betsch Cole

Object number: 2015.209.1.1-3

Restrictions & Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Clothing-Historical

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Building brick from Spelman College's Upton Hall

Created by: Unidentified
Used by: Spelman College, American, founded 1881

Medium: building brick
Dimensions: 2 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 4 in. (6.4 x 21.6 x 10.2 cm)

Type: blocks (shaped masses)

Place used: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America

Date: ca. 1905

Description: A clay brick that was once part of the structure of Spelman College's Upton Hall. The brick is a standard solid style brick, with slight irregularity because of a loss at one of the corners. The brick is a deep red color, and all sides of the brick are worn. There is no mortar residue except for a very small area on one of the brick's short sides.

Topic: African American; Architecture; Education; Segregation; Women

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Spelman College

Object number: 2012.118

Restrictions & Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Buildings and Structures
Exhibition: Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation, 1876-1968
On View: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 2, C 2053

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Chadwick Home

Created by: Woodruff, Hale, American, 1900 - 1980
Subject of: Spelman College, American, founded 1881

Medium: ink on paper
Dimensions: H x W (object): 12 1/16 x 9 1/16 in. (30.6 x 23 cm); H x W (mat): 16 x 12 1/2 in. (40.6 x 31.8 cm)

Type: woodcuts

Place depicted: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1930-1950

Description: A woodcut print of Chadwick Home at Spelman College. The print depicts a two story building with a front porch and a double gabled roof. A balcony is above the porch. A doorway can be seen on the second story leading to the balcony. The sky is cloudy. The print is inscribed and numbered on the front at bottom with "Chadwick Home" and "15/50." The print is also signed on the front at bottom right with "Hale Woodruff."

Topic: African American; Art; Education

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Joele and Fred Michaud

Object number: 2013.239.20.1

Restrictions & Rights: © Hale Woodruff Est./Licensed by Visual Artists & Galleries Association, Inc (VAGA), New York, NY. Permission required for use.

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Visual Arts

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sister's Chapel

Created by: Woodruff, Hale, American, 1900 - 1980
Subject of: Spelman College, American, founded 1881

Medium: ink on paper
Dimensions: H x W (object): 9 x 12 in. (22.9 x 30.5 cm); H x W (mat): 16 x 12 in. (40.6 x 30.5 cm)

Type: woodcuts

Place depicted: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1930-1950

Description: A woodcut print of Sister’s Chapel at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. The chapel has trees on both sides. The front is adorned with six pillars and has a peaked roof. A road runs in front of the building on the right side of the print. The sky is cloudy. An additional building is visible in the background. The print is inscribed and numbered on the front at bottom with "Sister's Chapel" and "15/50." The print is also signed on the front at bottom right with "Hale Woodruff."

Topic: African American; Art; Education; Women

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Joele and Fred Michaud

Object number: 2013.239.20.4

Restrictions & Rights: © Hale Woodruff Est./Licensed by Visual Artists & Galleries Association, Inc (VAGA), New York, NY. Permission required for use.

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Visual Arts

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Medal commemorating Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole as President of Spelman College

Designed by: Holloway, Charnelle
Owned by: Dr. Cole, Johnnetta Betsch, American, born 1936
Subject of: Spelman College, American, founded 1881

Medium: metal
Dimensions: H x W x D: 19 3/4 × 8 × 1/2 in. (50.2 × 20.3 × 1.3 cm)

Type: medals

Place used: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1988

Description: A silver medal commemorating the inauguration of Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole as the seventh president of Spelman College. The circular medallion reads "SPELMAN COLLEGE" in gold lettering relief circling the top, with a downward pointing blue triangle with a smaller downward pointing silver triangle at its center with a gold 5-point star in the middle. The school motto "OUR WHOLE SCHOOL FOR CHRIST" is etched around the triangle. The year "1881" in gold lettering relief at the bottom center outside the triangle. All of the above is encircled in a gold band with the exterior an undulating line. The outer edge of the medallion is silver with alternating shiny and matte lines pointing towards the middle of the medallion, resembling rays. The reverse of the medallion is silver with engraved text reading "PRESENTED TO / SPELMAN COLLEGE / NOVEMBER 6, 1988 / IN HONOR OF / THE INAUGURATION OF / JOHNETTA BETSCH COLE / SEVENTH PRESIDENT". The medallion is attached at the center top to a wide silver chain featuring alternating grooved stripe rectangles and hexagons with raised centers attached by a double-line of chain link.

Topic: African American; African diaspora; Clothing and dress; Education

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Johnnetta Betsch Cole

Object number: 2015.209.3

Restrictions & Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Awards and Medals

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons, Ph.D. Oral History Interview

Created by: Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009
Interview of: Simmons, Gwendolyn Zoharah Ph.D., American, born 1944
Interviewed by: Mosnier, Joseph Ph. D.
Subject of: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, American, 1960 - 1970s; Spelman College, American, founded 1881; Mississippi Freedom Schools, American, founded 1964; Mississippi Freedom Summer Project, American, founded 1964; American Friends Service Committee, American, founded 1917; Federal Bureau of Investigation, American, founded 1908; COINTELPRO, American, 1956 - 1971

Medium: digital
Dimensions: Duration: 01:37:29

Type: video recordings; oral histories; digital media - born digital

Place collected: Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted: Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America; New York, United States, North and Central America

Date: September 14, 2011

Description: The oral history consists of five digital files: 2011.174.49.1a, 2011.174.49.1b, 2011.174.49.1c, 2011.174.49.1d, and 2011.174.49.1e.; Gwendolyn Simmons, Ph.D. recalls joining the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) while a student at Spelman College. She remembers directing SNCC's voter registration and Freedom School, called the Freedom Summer Project in Laurel, Mississippi. She discusses learning about Black Nationalism in New York, the decision in SNCC to expel white members, and her work with the American Friends Service Committee's Program on Government Surveillance and Citizens' Rights to interview members of organizations investigated by the FBI's Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO).; LOC ID: afc2010039_crhp0049

Topic: African American; Activism; American South; Associations and institutions; Civil rights; Education; Race relations; Social reform; Suffrage; United States--History--1961-1969

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in partnership with the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Object number: 2011.174.49.1a-e

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title: Civil Rights History Project
Classification: Media Arts-Film and Video

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Delegate

Published by: MelPat Associates, American, 1965 - 1986
Created by: Patrick, C. Melvin, American, died 1985
Subject of: New York Giants, American, founded 1925; National Pan-Hellenic Council, American, founded 1930; United Negro College Fund, American, founded 1944; Powell, Adam Clayton Jr., American, 1908 - 1972; President Johnson, Lyndon Baines, American, 1908 - 1973; Robinson, Jackie, American, 1919 - 1972; President Truman, Harry S., American, 1884 - 1972; National Association of Black Social Workers, American, founded 1968; National Medical Association, American, founded 1895; Howard University Medical Alumni Association, Inc., American, founded 1871; Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps, American, founded 1916; Sovereign Military Order of Malta, founded 1099; Lockett, Steven N., American; The Girl Friends, Inc., American, founded 1927; National Newspaper Publishers Association, American, founded 1827; Chi Delta Mu Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1913; Golar, Simeon, American, 1929 - 2013; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909; Parks, Gordon, American, 1912 - 2006; Lambda Kappa Mu Sorority, Inc., American, founded 1937; National Urban League, American, founded 1910; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1906; Dr. Clark, Kenneth, American, 1914 - 2005; Young, Whitney Moore Jr., American, 1921 - 1971; National Dental Association, American, founded 1913; National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc., American, founded 1935; National Association of Broadcasters, American; Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1911; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1911; Dr. King, Martin Luther Jr., American, 1929 - 1968; Spelman College, American, founded 1881; Morehouse College, American, founded 1867; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, American, founded 1913; Shriners International, American, founded 1870; Dixon, Gladys W., American, born 1901; Daughters of Isis, American, founded 1910; 369th Veterans Association, American; National Insurance Association; Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, American, founded 1914; Hale, Clara, American, 1905 - 1992

Medium: ink on paper
Dimensions: H x W x D: 10 13/16 × 8 3/8 × 3/8 in. (27.5 × 21.2 × 0.9 cm)

Type: magazines (periodicals)

Place made: Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted: Jamaica, Caribbean, North and Central America; Bahamas, Caribbean, North and Central America

Date: 1973

Description: A 1973 issue of Delegate magazine published by MelPat Associates. The cover of the magazine shows a collage of black and white portrait photographs tinted in bright pink, green, yellow, purple, orange, and blue. In the top left corner is a purple ribbon badge with text that reads [DELEGATE]. Blue text centered at the top reads [1973 DELEGATE]. White text in a black box at the bottom right reads [PLEASE TURN TO PAGES DEVOTED TO YOUR CONVENTION].; The magazine’s content opens on the first page with an editorial note titled “It Was a Frustrating Year…” which recounts events of the past year, including the deaths of Jackie Robinson, President Johnson, President Truman and Attorney Franklin Reeves. There is also a masthead reading [DELEGATE 1973 / The Anthology and Voice of the Black Convention] and a table of contents.; The content continues with articles and profiles of African American business organizations, business leaders, community organizations, sororities, fraternities, doctors, dentists, politicians, actors, and journalists. This includes the New York Giants, the National Pan-Hellenic Council, United Negro College Fund, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., President Lyndon Johnson, Jackie Robinson, President Truman, National Association of Black Social Workers, National Medical Association, Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, Steven N. Lockett, The Girl Friends, Inc., National Newspaper Publishers Association, Chi Delta Mu Fraternity, Chairman of the Housing Authority of New York City Simeon Golar, NAACP, Gordon Parks, Lambda Kappa Mu Sorority, National Urban League, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Dr. Kenneth Clark, Whitney M. Young, National Dental Association, The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc., National Association of Broadcasters, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Spelman College, Morehouse College, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Shriners International, Gladys W. Dixon, Daughters of Isis, 369th Veterans Association, National Association of Black Travel Agents, National Insurance Association, and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. There are also short features on the travel destinations Barbados and Jamaica and the children’s charity Hale House.; There are 256 pages with black and white photographs and advertisements throughout, as well as a few advertisements in color. The back cover of the magazine features a full page advertisement for Johnny Walker Red Label scotch.

Topic: African American; Advertising; Associations and institutions; Business; Communities; Fraternal organizations; Fraternities; Government; Journalism; Labor; Mass media; Men; Political organizations; Politics (Practical); Professional organizations; Religious groups; Sororities; Travel; United States--History--1969-2001; United States--Social life and customs; Urban life; Women

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Anne B. Patrick and the family of Hilda E. Stokely

Object number: 2012.167.7

Restrictions & Rights: Public domain

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Documents and Published Materials-Published Works

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Visit

Explore

Learn

Connect

Events

About

Filter by

Academic robe, hood, and cap worn by Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole at Spelman College

Building brick from Spelman College's Upton Hall

Chadwick Home

Sister's Chapel

Medal commemorating Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole as President of Spelman College

Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons, Ph.D. Oral History Interview

Delegate

Visit

Explore

Learn

Connect

Events

About

Collection Search

Filter by

Academic robe, hood, and cap worn by Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole at Spelman College

Building brick from Spelman College's Upton Hall

Chadwick Home

Sister's Chapel

Medal commemorating Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole as President of Spelman College

Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons, Ph.D. Oral History Interview

Delegate