James Solomon Russell at Saint Paul's College in 1928
A photograph taken on May 15, 1928, depicts the Reverend James Solomon Russell, center left, speaking with a group of men on the grounds of Saint Paul's College (originally Saint Paul Normal and Industrial School). Russell founded the African American school in 1888.
This image was taken by Jackson Davis, an amateur photographer who documented African American schools in the South with nearly 6,000 photographs. Davis worked as a field agent for the General Education Board, a philanthropic foundation created by John D. Rockefeller to support education and to modernize farming techniques. The Board had a particular interest in African American and white rural schools in the South.
Citation: Jackson Davis Papers, 1906–1947. Accession #3072, #3072-a. Special Collections, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.