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map of the United States color coded to show where blacks live in the United States; most of the US is in yellow but many states are in blue as well as brown, black, and red were either part of the Union or Confederacy
A series of statistical charts illustrating the condition of the descendants of former African slaves now in residence in the United States of America] Distribution of Negroes in the United States, Chart prepared by Atlanta University students for the Negro Exhibit of the American Section at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900.

Du Bois in Paris – Exposition Universelle, 1900

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Portrait of Daniel A. P. Murray.
Daniel A. P. Murray, (1852 -1925).

The Paris Exposition held in 1900 was a lavish affair featuring contributions from all over the world showcased in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I was really inspired when I saw an image titled “Negro business men in the United States” and was intrigued by information in the note indicating that it had been created by Atlanta University students for the “Negro Exhibit” at the Paris Exposition Universelle. I did some reading and I was even more excited when I saw that Daniel A.P. Murray, an African American researcher and historian at the Library of Congress was involved. He worked with W. E. B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, Thomas J. Calloway, and others to create the exhibit.

While I had a general idea about what the exhibit was, the article “The American Negro at Paris” written by W.E. B. Du Bois (The Monthly American Review of Reviews, November 1900) made things more clear:

The bulk of the exhibit, is natural, an attempt to picture present conditions. Thirty-two charts, 500 photographs, and numerous maps and plans form the basis of this exhibit. The charts are in two sets, one illustrating conditions in the entire United States and the other conditions in the typical State of Georgia. At a glance one can see successive steps by which the 220,000 negroes of 1750 had increased to 7,500,000 in 1890; … (p.576)

Full-length photo of Professor W.E. B. DuBois of Atlanta Georgia, wearing a suit and top hat.
W.E.B. DuBois. From The Colored American, 03 Nov. 1900.

But to find out more I had to understand the organizational scheme of exhibits.  There were two groups/classes that seemed relevant. One was Group 1/Class 6 which featured a number of African American universities including the Tuskegee Institute, Howard University, the Agricultural and Mechanical College in Greensboro, and the Hampton Institute in Virginia. However, Du Bois’ article  refers to material in Group 16/Class 110.  That is how I found the report to the Commission written by Thomas J. Calloway, the special agent in charge of the exhibit, who provided a bit more insight into the exhibit’s goals:

It was decided in advance to try to show ten things concerning the negroes in America since their emancipation: (1) Something of the negro’s history; (2) education of the race; (3) effects of education upon illiteracy; (4) effects of education upon occupation; (5) effects of education upon property; (6) the negro’s mental development as shown by the books, high class pamphlets, newspapers, and other periodicals written or edited by members of the race; (7) his mechanical genius as shown by patents granted to American negroes; (8) business and industrial development in general; (9) what the negro is doing for himself though his own separate church organizations, particularly in the work of education; (10) a general sociological study of the racial conditions in the United States. (volume 2, p.463)

While much of his report is general, he does go into some detail about Du Bois’ contribution on Georgia – including some background and description of some of the charts:

It was as late as December 28, 1899, that Professor Du Bois concluded to undertake the special investigation of Georgia, which he had been requested to make. The State of Georgia was chosen because it has the largest negro population and because it is a leader in Southern sentiment. The second choice would have been Virginia, and the third South Carolina. Professor Du Bois outlined his plan and estimated his expense at $2,500. This amount was appropriated by Commissioner-General Peck, and he began his task. Ten or a dozen clerks were employed and the great machinery of a special census was set to work. (volume 2, p.465)

Paris Exposition of 1900 plan of installation in United States Space Palace of Social Economy, Group 16. The floor plan shows the layout of the booths.
Plan from the Report of the commissioner-general for the United States to the International universal exposition, Paris, 1900, 1901.
Exhibit of the African Americans at the Paris exposition, with pictures hanging on the wall, and shelves of books.
Exhibit of the American negroes at the Paris exposition. Illus. in: American Monthly Review of Reviews, vol. XXII, no. 130 (1900 November), p. 576.

As Calloway indicated, Du Bois developed a number of charts and graphs, including several devoted to property ownership and land valuation, education, income, population, the value of household and kitchen furniture, etc. There were several devoted to occupations including Occupations of Negroes and whites in Georgia, Occupations of Georgia Negroes – Males over 10, one on Occupations which included wage information, and Occupations and Income by sex and by families. Some of them can be seen in the photo of the exhibit (an original of which is in the papers of W. E. B. Du Bois at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst) some of which I think I have identified – one that was a Social Study, another contains statistical charts on the conditions of slave descendants, and the third covers property value. Thankfully, what was used in the exhibit can be searched or browsed in the African American Photographs Assembled for 1900 Paris Exposition collection.

As for the Atlanta University contribution that originally drew my attention, Calloway doesn’t say much, though he does connect it to the efforts of Du Bois:

Case No. 3 contained another set of charts sent by the Atlanta University. These charts told the story of negro statistics for the whole country, much as the charts previously described did for Georgia.(volume 2, p.466)

Sketch portrait of Professor T.J. Calloway.
Professor T. J. Calloway. From The Colored American, 25 Aug. 1900.

There is a great cover story from the November 3 edition of the Colored American written by Calloway (they also published Calloway’s plea for support). It contained information about the history of the exhibit, a transcription of a letter written by Calloway proposing the exhibit, letters from supporters like Mary Church Terrell, and information about the exhibit itself (including most if not all, of his report to the Commission). There was an interesting account on page two about the exhibit’s genesis:

In the meantime President McKinley had become interested. Mr. Booker T. Washington made a personal visit to the President on behalf of the movement, and he was seconded my Messrs. Lyons, Cheatham and White. The result was that the President became deeply interested, and after a consultation between the President and the Commission General, I was told that the exhibit had been arranged for and I had been selected to carry out the plans. It was not till November 15th that I received my commission, and there remained just five months to collect, transport 3,500 miles across the ocean and install in a foreign land an exhibit that was to reflect credit upon nine million people scattered over 45 States and distributed in every line of occupation common to white Americans. (p.2)

Also in that November 3 Colored American, the editor wrote:

Few things have been done for us in the last two decades that have counted so much for our dignity and capacity as the winning of so many prizes of high distinction in Paris last summer. (p.8)

Cover of the Colored American, showing a man sitting in an office chair at the exhibit, surrounded by pictures on the wall and shelves of books.
W. E. B. DuBois surrounded by his work. The Colored American, 03 Nov. 1900.

So the exhibit was a success. There were a number of medals awarded, including two Grand Prix – one for the collection as a whole, and another to Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Gold Medals were award to the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Howard University, T. J. Calloway as the compiler, W. E. B. Du Bois. Silver Medals were awarded to Fisk University, Agricultural and Mechanical College, Berea College, Atlanta University, and Booker T. Washington. Bronze Medals were awarded to Roger Williams, Central Tennessee College, Atlanta University, and Pine Bluff Normal and Industrial School. Lastly, two Honorable Mentions were given to Haines Normal and Industrial Institute and Claflin University. As the Exposition Report says:

“It is impossible to do justice to this exhibit in a few lines of descriptive matter. The material presented was not only of high scientific value, but was show in the most graphic way. There was no better example at the Exposition of the appreciation of the Exposition idea that exhibits must be made attractive and interesting.” (volume 2, p.408-9)

If you want to know more about the Paris Exposition and more about the American exhibits, the Library has many items in the collection including the Report of the commissioner-general for the United States to the International universal exposition, Paris, 1900 … February 28, 1901. Read, referred to the committee on printing, and ordered to be printed (volume 2 contains the complete report from Thomas Calloway “The Negro Exhibit” on pages 463-467), Catalogue of exhibitors in the United States sections of the International universal exposition, Paris, 1900, and the Rapports de Jury international.

Comments (9)

  1. Fascinating! Thank you for collecting so much good information and so many images in one excellent blog post.

  2. I have picture of thomas Julius

    a Calloway with wife!

  3. Thanks for your work !
    There is now here in Paris an exhibition
    The Color Line (at musée du quai Branly, till january 2017. whère again we parisian can watch this beautyful work and achievement which most of the common people including me had not heard of before… i document it on this blog
    http://tapisvolant789.blogspot.fr/2016/11/the-color-line-des-artistes-et-des.html

    Bien à vous
    Myriam

  4. I came across this in following up on a cryptic comment in something I read quite some time ago about “curious” American teaching methods showcased at the Paris Exposition of 1900.

    Thank you for your diligent research.

  5. Thank you for this work, it has filled some of the blanks I have about Dubois work with the 1900 Paris exhibition. Residents of his birthplace have been celebrating his legacy to mark 150 years of his birth. I am particularly interested in the role photographs played in his early work.

  6. Adding my thanks to Ellen Terrell for writing this blog. It provided some useful links for me to follow up on. Thanks also to Myriam for the link to The Color Line exhibition in Paris

  7. Thanks for your wonderful work. I find it fascinating. Thomas Calloway is becoming a hero of mine as I’m discovering the balancing act he maintained as a mentee and assistant of Booker T Washington and a college classmate and friend of W.E.B. DuBois. For over ten years I lived in the community started by Calloway and others called Lincoln. I hope to do more research on him and ensure he is recognized in a fashion commensurate with his contribution in the early 20th century to African American aspirations and perceptions.

  8. I visited the library of Congress to see parts of the exhibit. I was only able to see the electronic version as the location was temporary closed where the physical documents were housed. I am interested in Thomas Caloway as I grew up a few doors for his home in Lincoln Md. A planned African American community developed by Thomas Calloway to help African Americans become self sufficient. Thanks for any info.

    • Yes we have the material digitized – it is physical but not on display.

      You can search https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ for mentions. There are good DC papers as well as a number of papers produced by African Americans. Most of what you will find are his activities. There was notice that he died at Garfield Hospital in 1930 but his obituary didn’t say all that much.
      The database ProQuest Historical Black Newspapers has many African American papers. In the Sep 27, 1930 (p18) issue of the Afro American reported on his estate but didn’t go into too much detail. It also has The Chicago Defender and the May 24, 1930 (p 2) reported on his death. It said he was born in Cleveland, TN in August 1866. He went to Fisk and Howard Law. He was an assistant principle for a school in Evansville, Indiana and a clerk in the War Department. Fro 1894-1897 he was president of Alcorn college and an assistant principle of the Tuskegee Institute from 1897-1899. 1899-1901 he was a special commissioner to the Paris exposition but from 1901-1906 he was a clerk at the War Department. He took up real estate and practice law from 1907 and was first secretary of the Maryland Interracial Commission appointed by Albert C Ritchie. His wife’s name was Lettie and his daughters were Mrs. Lucille Washington (in New York) and Miss Caroline Calloway a teacher at Dunbar.
      A notice of his burial in the May 24, 1930 Afro-American (p 2) had a photograph
      Thomas Calloway’s house is on the National Register of Historic Places but the application doesn’t seem to have been digitized. It is also recognized by the stage of Maryland. The information related to that has some information.
      https://mht.maryland.gov/nr/NRDetail.aspx?NRID=1476
      https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-1401.pdf

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