>> when congress is in session, c-span3 brings you more the best access to congress, with live coverage of hearings, news conferences, and key public affairs events. every weekend, it is american history tv, traveling to extort discussions and authors and historians, and eyewitness accounts of events that defy the nation. c-span3 numb, coverage of congress and american history tv. each week, american history tv's american artifacts takes you to museums and historic places. next, a visit to the smithsonian's national museum of american history to see an exhibit of 6 murals from alabama's talladega college. recently restored, the murals depict the amistad slave revolt , trial, and aftermath and the , founding of the talladega college.

jackie: my name is jacquelyn serwer. i in the chief curator of the national museum of african american history and culture. we are in the process of building our new building that will open in 2016. in the meantime, for the last several years, we have borrowed this gallery from the national museum of american history, our sister institution, where we have presented a series of exhibitions related to the work we are doing and the museum we are preparing to open. and that has to do with african american history and culture. this exhibition is called "rising up." hale woodruff's murals from talladega college. and it is a very special show for us. the murals come from an historically black college in talladega, alabama. in 1938, the college

commissioned hale woodruff, a well-known artist even at that time, to produce these murals to commemorate the emma stone meet me -- the amistad mutiny and provide a concise history of the college. hale woodruff was already known not only as a very accomplished artist. he had managed to go spend several years in paris, learning about all the new avant-garde styles and directions from artists like matisse and picasso. he was very sophisticated. he was also a professor at atlanta university. and atlanta university is another complex of historically black colleges, belongs to that group of historically black colleges and universities. so, he was not only an artist, but he was also an educator.

and his belief was that you could use art to talk about issues of social justice. and so, for talladega, they wanted to get in on the anniversary, the anniversary of the mutiny would have been in 1939. they commissioned him in 1938. it was quite a feat for him to be able to do this huge project in a year. but he managed to do it. in this gallery, we will focus on the murals that tell the story of the amistad mutiny. it is a very exciting story and a positive one that shows the agency and the ability of these about to be enslaved africans to take their destiny into their own hands. they are captured near sierra leone by slave traders. and they end up being able to

take over the second ship. the first ship is the middle passage, they get to cuba and are put on a smaller ship, and they're able to take the ship over themselves. and they managed to make their way to -- well they thought they were going back to africa but , they ended up off the coast of long island and ended up in new haven, connecticut, where they were jailed for a period time as they attempted to arrange for their, to get their own freedom. so these three murals tell that story. so, we can go through them one by one. let's start with the first panel. as i said, in each of the two mural cycles, there are three panels in each case. here, telling the story of the amistad mutiny, the first picture, there are some people who find it a little violent. they are wielding these cane knives that were used in the

sugarcane fields and so on, and clearly, there are people who are not going to escape entirely intact and alive. but there is no blood. and what i like about the picture is the activism, the movement, the extraordinary way he uses color and space. very, very dynamic. though there is violence going on, it is not the kind that would really turn your stomach because you don't really see people dying and bleeding in the way that one would usually expect. the composition is magnificently done. you see all of these details. you see the activity. and specifically what you see are the mutineers who are, there is ruez, one of the slave dealers. and montez over here. they both survive.

the captain does not survive and neither does the cook, who had threatened to cook them alive and eat them. so, they really had it out for him. i should point out that the gentleman over on the left, a very distinguished looking gentleman, is the leader of the group. we understand now that he had been a very prominent leader in the mende's society in the mende culture. those were people who lived in sierra leone. as a leader of that group, when it came time to rebel, it was quite clear to all of the other captives that he would be the one to give the signal and would be the one to guide them.

he is there tussling with the cook, but ruez and montes, the slave traders, do survive. the mutineers felt they needed those two to guide them back to sierra leone. as it turned out, they went off course and ended up off the coast of long island and eventually in new haven. one of the elements of the story that i should mention, which at first confused me, they made the middle passage from africa to cuba in a different boat, a huge boat with hundreds of captives. but once they got to cuba, and they were separated into various groups, there are put onto a smaller ship that was supposed to go around the island of cuba to a plantation where they would be slaves on a sugar plantation, which was about the worst fate you could have. slaves tended to last a rather short period of time under those conditions because it was such a

harsh kind of labor and so dangerous. so, they ended up on a smaller ship. really just the group that sinke was associated with and because they were a smaller group, they were really close to each other understood each other, and could work as a team. as a result, they were able to take over that smaller ship and steer it -- not where they wanted to go, but at least to a free country. at that point, there was still slavery in the united states. it's 1839. but things were changing. and having been free people in africa, ultimately would be decided that they could not be enslaved under those circumstances. so, those decisions are made in the context of the american judicial system. and so, what we have in the middle mural here. this is a court scene.

you see on the left side those who are supporting the captives, the group from the amistad. on the right, except for this little boy who's honestly not supporting montes and ruez, but these are the two groups in one of the early trials that took place in connecticut. they win that case. there is the leader once again. he's outfitted in rather a dapper outfit, making him look the hero that he is. the judge decided in favor of the captives, that they had been captured illegally and that they deserved to be returned to their homeland. well, at that point, i believe president van buren -- the federal government decided to challenge that decision. and so, ultimately, the case went to the supreme court. which was pretty amazing.

they were very fortunate in that situation that john quincy adams came out of retirement to help defend them. and i'd always thought that he had somehow volunteered, but, in fact, they invited him. one of the captives, young man named kale who had a certain facility with language, actually drafted a letter that was sent to adams. and in his long tradition, the family tradition of being on the side of justice and also very anti-slavery, he took on the responsibility of helping to defend them. when the case goes to the supreme court, they are, in fact, vindicated. and they are allowed at that point to make their arrangements to return to africa. it's that second case in the supreme court that most people think of, but the first court hearing was in connecticut.

and so, if you look, there is a gentlemen kind of leaning over on his hand in the second or third row, hard to say, that is woodruff. and so, he's communicating the fact that not only is he telling the story, he's so involved in it that he actually pictures himself as being part of it. so that adds to the entertainment. there was an artist in new haven at the time who did a large, elaborate tableau having to do with the story, the amistad story. and so, he could draw upon that. there was an artist who did a beautiful portrait of sinke. so, there was some source material that woodruff could depend upon. he spent a lot of time in the new haven historical society. he did some studies that you see

in the case here to the right of the middle panel. and so, he really did his homework and did a tremendous amount of preparation in order to create these scenes that had a very high level of authenticity. they are also an artist's vision, but he's very interested in making sure that he presents this narrative in a way there will be accessible to the community at large. and really all over the country, , these events were very much publicized. there were articles. there were what we would call demonstrations. there was pressure from the various abolitionist groups in the north to free these people and let them go back. and so it really galvanized a lot of anti-slavery activity

that, we know, it took another 30 years and the civil war, but this was one of the important moments when consciousness was raised about the horrors of slavery and about the way in which people who had been free in their own country were captured and enslaved indefinitely in our country, a country that we like to think of as a country of free people. so, it brought a lot of issues to the fore in a very dramatic and important and visceral kind of way. so, the last panel is a smaller one. the two small panels are the mutiny on the amistad and the return to sierra leone. the third panel shows the former captives being able to return to sierra leone. most of them were from groups, cultural groups in that area.

and so, it seemed the right thing to take them back to sierra leone. there was a mission established by the american missionary association. some of the former captives remained with the mission and stayed there to help others in the community who were in danger of being enslaved and who also needed to be educated. and others went back to their homes where they had come from originally. and that was a pretty amazing thing, because normally, under these circumstances, the idea that you would ever return was pretty far-fetched. it is a very happy story. the money that was raised for their return was spearheaded by the american missionary association. they not only were involved in the trial in supporting the captives, but they also were the abolitionists who were thinking

towards the future and wanting to establish educational institutions to be able to prepare the formerly enslaved to live a proper, dignified, full life in their community. and so, at the mission, they're there. they are going to set up a school there for the folks still in the area of sierra leone. and others in that group, as we'll see when we get to the second cycle, devoted themselves to creating new educational institutions for former slaves who were able to escape and be ready to join american society in the fullest possible way. what you see is their dramatic arrival on the shore of sierra leone. and so, there is this idea of fellowship and continued support

and the idea that, this is the beginning of a continuing relationship, where they will -- they are providing resources for not only the amistad folks but others in the communities they came from to be educated and hopefully to be able to live the kinds of lives they want to lead and not find themselves again in the throes of a slavery situation. this is the second set of -- the second cycle of murals that hale woodruff completed for talladega college. these were finished a little later in 1942. after his prints in doing the first three. really not much more than a year, he was able to spread out the time that it took to produce these other three murals

because we should remember he was -- at the same time he was doing the murals, he was a professor, involved in organizing exhibitions at atlanta university and being a great public figure as a representative of african-american art and culture. so he was a busy guy. but he did do the second cycle. the first one focuses on the underground railroad. and the reason he wanted to do that, the college wanted him to do that, is that there is a strong connection by way of the american missionary association. they were the very outspoken very effective, very dedicated group of abolitionists antislavery folks, who, among other things were the backbone of the underground railroad. so, the first panel is dedicated to the underground railroad. and what you see is people being

helped, being given guidance as to where they could go to hide out, being given supplies to help them escape and run away and be successful in taking their freedom into their own hands. because that is a lot of both these cycles are about is that agency. and i think so often we think of slaves, people who are under the control of others, as not being able to act for themselves. and in both the case of the amistad and the case of the underground railroad, these are people who risked their lives, but they decided like the amistad crew, they are going to take that chance in order to try to escape to freedom and build a new life for themselves. so, the american missionary association, who helped the amistad crew, is helping these other folks. and a lot of those who escaped through the underground railroad end up being amongst the first

students to be educated at talladega college. it is one of the earliest historically black colleges in america founded in 1867. right after the civil war. so the american missionary association that had been so active in the pre-war period continued to be active. this time or in this era in trying to establish educational institutions for the freed slaves. so the middle of the cycle, the larger panel, which corresponds to the trial panel in the other cycle, shows the opening day at talladega college. and what i think woodruff wanted to communicate was, first of all, it was very much an interracial activity and collaboration. and so, you see white figures and then you see various

african-american individuals who are -- who have determined that they want to be educated. now, no one has any money in that group. so, they are coming with payment in kind. so they are coming with grain, they are coming with fruit, they are coming with animals that they can use to pay their way so they can become students at the college. and in the background, you see the first building at the college. the college evolved from that. i do not know if i mentioned but woodruff had studied mural painting with diego rivera in mexico. murals were a technique, a strategy to encourage social action. and so, in both cases, it is all about people moving from slavery to freedom.

and people making those transitions on the basis of their own activity, their own agency. and so, that is an important link between the two. i should say that in each of the compositions, woodruff has placed certain individuals in a very important spot. and in general, the most important figures correspond to where cinque is in the trial scene, the person directing, at the center of the canvas. in this case, it is william savery in this section. in this mural devoted to the opening of the college. the third mural in this cycle devoted to the founding of talladega college is devoted to the construction of the library. and this, of course, we are now

in the 20th century. and savery library is the space in which these murals hung originally and had been in place for many decades. and so what you see in this picture is a mr. fletcher on the left. again, in that important place on the left which gives him a certain authority, as in the case of cinque. so you know he is important guy. he was a building engineer, a graduate of talladega. and he was involved in directing the construction of savery library, and ultimately involved in creating this building where these great murals would be on display for many decades into the future. in fact, until just recently when they were taken down and

restored and put on the current tour, which has brought them to our galleries here in washington at the smithsonian. the exhibition focuses on hale woodruff's other interests. he was very much a social activist in the sense that he , felt that art should be used to talk about issues of importance in terms of social justice. at the time this is done in the late 1930's, the situation for black people was not terrific, especially in the south. it is a period of lynchings and the ku klux klan and segregation was still in full flower. and so, to see these murals and become aware of the story was a big shot in the arm and also a

way to remind people that one of the ways you move ahead is to collaborate, to move ahead together with others who believe as you do and who support you. and so, people found it very uplifting then. i think we find it uplifting now. and it is all about good people standing together and supporting each other. i think these murals are important, because they tell an important story that many people are unaware of. we hear so many negative stories about the period of slavery. of course, it is a negative subject, but there were some moments of triumph. and there are situations, cases

in which african americans were able to take their destiny into their own hands, not an easy thing to do. but in this case, though these were africans, it becomes an american story because they were able to receive justice because they are in america, because we do have laws and we do have a system. when that system works, it is possible for anyone and everyone to receive justice. and so, it is such an american story. this could never have happened anywhere else, that these folks come under these circumstances people support them, they educate themselves, they build a case, they stand strong, they attract all kinds of people to their side, and they ultimately triumph and are able to return to their original lives. and then in the second cycle, it is the same thing. here are people who have been

enslaved. they have no money. they are not educated. they do not have proper places to live. but they have people who are supporting them and who understand how important it is to be educated. and they understand how important it is to be educated. and so, with these interracial collaborations, talladega comes into being, as do many other ultimately, historically black colleges and universities like hampton and tuskegee and howard and so on. it is just a great example that displays that positive way of mutual support that results in the kind of america and our being able to tell the kind of story that makes us very proud to be citizens in this country. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] >> you're watching american history tv. 48 hours of programming on american history every weekend on c-span. follow us on twitter at @cspanh istory for information on our schedule and keep up with the latest history news. >> here are some of our future programs this weekend on the c-span networks. tonight at 8:00 eastern, supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg on national issues like gay rights, race relations in america, and a production of a movie about her life and career on c-span. sunday night at 6:35, interview with presidential candidate ted cruz.

this morning at 10:00 eastern, we are live for the annual reservoir reading festival at the fdr presidential library and museum on c-span 2. authors include christopher o'sullivan and sheila collins and also how books up the morale of our soldiers. on sunday at 9:00 eastern mona best and we are live at the gettysburg college civil war institute summer conference. this morning beginning at 8:30 eastern with university of california this professor john wah. sunday morning, we continue our live coverage beginning at 8:30 with city college of new york history professor gregory downes on the consequent us of the

civil war. at 11:00, a discussion about treason and loyalty during the civil war with william blair. get our complete schedule at c-span.org.