The Murals of Hannah Hall

The plaque describes how a mural earned its place on these walls; in 2010 two of them lost it. Harvey Johnson had painted them as a senior project in 1971, in the spirit of Black Power, and later taught at TSU for thirty-four years. That September, President John Rudley had them painted over outside his office and said, "All art isn't good art." Students protested and the Houston Chronicle condemned the decision. Rudley then set aside $50,000 for a conservator and announced a preservation campaign for every mural on campus. The University Museum has since begun digitizing the collection.

What the plaque says

The Murals of Hannah Hall The student murals of Hannah Hall, located on the campus of Texas Southern University, embody the culminating experiences of a people as seen through the eyes of student artists. Almost from the beginning of the Art Department in 1950, it became a ritual for art students to paint murals on the walls of their temporary building. By 1952, the Art Department moved to the third floor of the newly built Hannah Hall. Under the direction of distinguished muralist and artist Dr. John T. Biggers, the murals were to be a catalyst for pride in the artists' heritage and the self-identity of a people. They became the art students' theses and dissertations, and when a mural was deemed superior based on the professor's judgment, the mural was allowed to remain. The murals, some dating to 1950, cover several eras and themes. They depict mostly the lives of African Americans, portraying the brutality committed against them and the hurt and injustice they endured during their history. Some murals depict the artists' feelings toward hope, faith and religion, while others are defiant, bold and striking depictions of oppressive police, brutal slave masters and even unforgiving nature. Overall, a theme of survival amidst insurmountable odds is apparent. The murals are a beautiful, historic monument to the spirit of the university imparted through its students. They tell the story of the struggle of a people through color, texture and time, and are a cultural treasure of Texas Southern University, Houston and the State of Texas. (2012)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Emancipation Park — 0.9 mi
  The Third Ward park that freedpeople bought for Juneteenth in 1872, rebuilt in 2017 on Emancipation Avenue and still the center of the city's June 19 celebration.
• Buffalo Soldiers National Museum — 1.4 mi
  A museum in Houston's 1925 Light Guard Armory that tells the service of Black soldiers from the Revolutionary War onward, built from one veteran's thirty years of collecting.
• Museum of Fine Arts, Houston — 1.8 mi
  The oldest art museum in Texas, grown from a 1900 schoolroom art league into a campus of Watkin, Mies van der Rohe and later buildings, with Ima Hogg's Bayou Bend up the bayou.
• Rothko Chapel — 2.3 mi
  An octagonal chapel open to all faiths, built by the de Menils around fourteen dark canvases by Mark Rothko, with Barnett Newman's Broken Obelisk standing in the pool outside.

More markers nearby

• Dr. Thomas F. Freeman — steps away
• John Thomas Biggers — steps away
• George Thomas "Mickey" Leland III — 0.2 mi
• Barbara Charline Jordan — 0.2 mi