Browse Items (216 total)

After the name change from State Teacher’s College to Madison College in 1938, the school pennants reflected the new branding in bold colors. Continuing the tradition of displaying pennants in dorm rooms, pennants remained a consistent adornment for…

Pennants were common decorations in student dorm rooms. They were often made of wool felt and demonstrated support for a particular school or sport. Many resident students hung them on the walls, both for their own and other schools like Virginia…

Printed in a 1954 issue of Madison College's newspaper, The Breeze, this article demonstrates the strained relationship between blacks and whites in 1950s America--college campuses not exempt. Made up in ‘blackface’, white students held a party with…

Both local residents and JMU students march down Main Street in support of the Equal Rights Amendment. A rally was held at the Rockingham County Courthouse with a large turnout, despite poor weather conditions.

Reproduced image of a local 19th century business. This grocery, located downtown, has many young African American boys pictured in front of the shop. Some carry baskets and others are driving a buggy. An African American man, presumably a shop keep,…

This church was the first and the oldest African American church in Harrisonburg. Formerly located at the corner of Wolfe and Mason Streets, the church, along with many other buildings, was torn down during the urban redevelopment projects of the…

The M & S Restaurant, once located at 172 North Main Street in Harrisonburg, was one of the many black-owned businesses in the city’s downtown. This building along, with many others in the 1960s, was destroyed during the R4 and R16 Projects. The…

Fraternities and sororities got their own space in the late 1970s with the construction of Greek Row by Newman Lake. Originally housing both sororities and fraternities, currently sororities are the only Greek organizations housed on campus. The area…

Early photograph of Ashby and Jackson Halls, “Dormitory No. 2,” and “Dormitory No. 1,” respectively. Ashby remains a dormitory today, and was built in response to growing enrollment numbers.

This smiling student is either packing or unpacking her overnight case on her bed. Her roommate’s bed is covered in a fringed chenille bedspread, which were very popular. Visible in the background is a radio, which freshmen were advised to bring to…