Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom During the Civil War is a 2024 book by American historian Edda L. Fields-Black, PhD Dr. Fields-Black documents Harriet Tubman’s service during the American Civil War, particularly her role in the June 1 – 2, 1863, Combahee River Raid. The raid was a Union military operation that freed 756 enslaved people from rice plantations in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.
Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black is Professor in the Department of History and Director of the Dietrich College Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research specialty is the trans- national history of West African rice farmers, peasant farmers in pre-colonial Upper Guinea Coast and enslaved laborers on rice plantations in the antebellum South Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry. Throughout her career, Dr. Fields-Black has used interdisciplinary sources and methods to uncover the voices of historical actors in pre-colonial West Africa and the African Diaspora who did not author written sources.
Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black’s book received the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History, among numerous other awards. Dr. Fields-Black will be available to sign copies of her book at Hampton University Museum on the last day of the exhibition, Sunday, September 27, 2026 from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm. Books will be available for sale at the signing. RSVP at deanna.brooks@hamptonu.edu or (757) 727-5308.
Are you interested in art and history? Are you enthusiastic, friendly, and dependable? If so, we want YOU! Apply today to become a Hampton University Museum Volunteer by clicking the link! HU Museum Volunteer Application
If you prefer the fillable PDF, download it, fill it out, save it and email to andrea.lewis@hamptonu.edu or billy.smith@hamptonu.edu. Or you can always print it and drop it off at the Museum.
Step into a world where art and history meet and explore the oldest African American Museum in the country. Learn about the lives of Native Americans who attended Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute or dive into rich African culture and tradition in our first floor galleries. Immerse yourself in 200 years of African American fine art in our second floor galleries and see which new and exciting exhibits are featured in our changing galleries. So much discovery awaits your visit!
The purpose of the Hampton University Museum is to collect, preserve, study, exhibit, and interpret artifacts and works of traditional art. Art which illustrates the cultures, heritages and histories of African, Native American, Oceanic and Asian peoples, as well as the works of contemporary African American, African and American Indian artists and three-dimensional objects which relate to the history and significance of Hampton University are the Museum’s focus.
Multiplicity in Motion invites viewers to explore the depth and breadth of a single artistic vision expressed through multiple works. This exhibition challenges the notion of singularity by presenting a series of pieces that, while distinct, are interconnected through the artist’s evolving ideas, techniques, and perspectives.
Organized by the Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC, this exhibition is inspired by Dr. Edda Fields-Black’s 2025 Pulitzer Prize Award-Winning Book
Before Henry Ossawa Tanner became world-famous for his incredible religious paintings that often incorporated dramatic glowing light, he was outdoors painting nature scenes. These early paintings deserve way more attention than they get.
William Henry Johnson was a painter associated with the Harlem Renaissance. As a young man, he was trained in the European classical style of painting. While in Europe he moved beyond the classical style as modernism became the trending movement. Upon returning to America, Johnson once again transitioned his painting style — this time into the folk-art tradition.
In 1943, at the height of World War II and a time when racial segregation permeated nearly every aspect of American society, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City staged an unprecedented exhibition.
