Visiting the Hampton Institute in Virginia with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Visiting the Hampton Institute in Virginia by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

I discovered the Hampton Institute at the end of our stay in Virginia and could not believe that I almost missed visiting such an excellent museum.

The Hampton Institute was set up in 1868 to educate African-Americans and Native-Americans.  The school’s most famous graduate was Booker T. Washington.

The Museum houses masterworks such as African-American artist Henry Ossawa’s The Banjo Lesson painted in 1895.  The West African art collection has a full regalia medicine man’s outfit and armchairs in it.

While we were there, the museum was holding a special exhibition about the Harlem Renaissance painters William Johnson and Malvin Johnson.

I was surprised that we were the only visitors at the museum.  It was a gem.

Lunch at the air-conditioned Pizza Hut afterwards - mushroom-cheese pizza with a large salad.  I still eat this combination and am a well-preserved, middle-aged woman.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

Ruth Paget Selfie