Jubilee Hall

Fisk University Entrance

Standing on the highest of seven hills in Nashville, in the midst of the famed Jefferson Street, the bastion of Black culture, the stronghold of liberal arts, home of the Jubilee singers, alma mater of W.E.B. Du Bois, 40 acres of what puts the historically in HBCUs, the Fisk University has been “cultivating scholars and leaders one by one” since 1866. Fisk University was planned three months after the American Civil War ended, since then Fisk has been transforming the lives of their students and culture of middle Tennessee. The story of the Jubilee Singers, a group of Fisk students and faculty traveling around the United States and internationally singing to raise enough money to keep the institution open, inspires those interested in the performing arts to attend Fisk. The talent of the singers once caused the former queen of England to exclaim that they must be from some sort of “music city,” since then, Nashville has been proudly using the nickname Music City, USA. The dedication of the Jubilee singers to the institution and the significant role they played in saving the school from bankruptcy and closure has earned the Jubilee Singers the most honorable memorial of being immortalized as the name of the first permanent structure on the campus as well as the center of the Fisk University seal.

The architecture of the buildings on Fisk University’s campus is Gothic and enchanting. The students are warm, welcoming, and talented. Furthermore, it’s Fisk, the first institution for higher education in Nashville, neighbor of the largest producer of Black medical doctors Meharry Medical College, and down the street from the public Historically Black institution Tennessee State University. I could go on about Fisk, but it would only further expose my bias for the school as one of my all-time favorites. Enjoy the rest of the images of campus through my lens.