New Poem by Jupiter Hammon, a Slave, Discovered at Yale Library
Jupiter Hammon was born into slavery in 1711. Although a slave, he attended school and learned to read and write. Later in life he wrote essays and poetry and is generally considered the first African American writer to be published.
1805 Bill of Sale for Three Slaves Donated to Duke University
The bill of sale lists three slaves, Elizabeth, a 20-year-old woman and her daughter Harriet who was six months old. A third slave Delilah, aged 14, was also included. The three slaves were sold for a total of $493.
Emory University Acquires the Papers of Ophelia DeVore Mitchell
Ophelia DeVore Mitchell was the founder of one of the first modeling agencies for African Americans and a pioneer in the "Black Is Beautiful" movement. Now over 90 years of age, she continues to own and help run an African American newspaper.
Hampton’s William Harvey Named One of the Top Five HBCU Presidents of All-Time
William R. Harvey, president of Hampton University has been named by two organizations as one of the top five HBCU presidents of all time. Norman Francis, current president of Xavier University in New Orleans, was also selected by one organization for the honor.
University of South Carolina Creates Exhibit to Honor Its First Black Faculty Member
The University of South Carolina has recently acquired and placed on displayed the law school diploma of Richard Theodore Greener its first Black faculty member who taught philosophy, Greek, and Latin during the Reconstruction period.
Historical Milestone at St. Augustine’s University
Nita Charlene Johnson Byrd is the first woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest in St. Augustine University's chapel and the first woman to serve as chaplain of the university.
New Mexico State University Honors Its President and an Early Black Football Star
Pervis Atkins' number 27 football uniform was retired but was briefly "unretired" on Saturday so the university could present a uniform jersey to Garrey Carruthers, the 27th president of the university.
New Online Archive of the Papers of Klan Infiltrator Stetson Kennedy
During the 1940s, Kennedy infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia and exposed their rituals and beliefs in a 1954 book. The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, files, fliers, pamphlets, and photographs.
Yale University Authenticates Account of a Nineteenth-Century Black Prison Inmate
Yale University has announced that researchers have determined that a manuscript acquired by the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library in 2009 is the earliest known memoir written by an African American prison inmate.
University of Kentucky Professor Honors the Tuskegee Airmen
Bobby Scroggins, associate professor of ceramics in the School of Art and Visual Studies of the University of Kentucky, was commissioned to cast two bronze sculptures of two Tuskegee Airmen with ties to Kentucky.
New Award-Winning Film Documents Stories of English Women Who Married Black GIs
Valerie Hill-Jackson, clinical associate professor in the department of teaching, learning, and culture at Texas A&M University, has won the 2013 Upton Sinclair Award for her new film documentary.
Harvard Pioneer Chosen for Induction Into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame
William Clarence Matthews, a member of the Class of 1905 at Harvard University, led the university's baseball team in batting for three straight seasons. In 1905 he batted .400 and stole 22 bases.
University of Louisville Discovers Old Photos of Martin Luther King Jr.
The Louis D. Brandeis School of Law recently discovered a series of 12 photographs that document a 1967 lecture given by Martin Luther King Jr. in the school's Allen Court Room.
Simmons College of Kentucky Receives Accreditation
Founded by former slaves in 1879, what is now known as Simmons College of Kentucky has received accreditation for the first time from the Association for Biblical Higher Education.
University of Georgia Shows the Oldest Known Movie of Blacks Playing Baseball
The 26-second film of African Americans in 1919 at the Pebble Hill Plantation near Thomasville, Georgia, was recently screened at a conference, co-sponsored by the State University of New York College at Oneonta and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
University of Southern Mississippi to Double Its Digital Archive of Civil Rights Era Oral...
The University of Southern Mississippi recently received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to digitize its collection of oral histories and make them available to the public. At the present time, many of the oral histories are on reel-to-reel or cassette tapes.
Washington and Lee University Addresses Its Past Ties to Slavery and the Confederacy
Kenneth P. Ruscio, president of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, has issued a response to student demands that the university take actions to address its past.
Traveling Exhibit Showcases African American Academic Surgeons
The National Library of Medicine and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture have developed an exhibit on the history of African American surgeons. The exhibit is appearing on campus across the United States and also online.
Shana Redmonds Named to Professorship Honoring Civil Rights Activist Ella Baker
The University of California, Santa Barbara, has established a visiting professorship to honor Ella Baker, a founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and its network of Freedom Schools. Shana Redmond of the University of Southern California will be the first holder of the post.
1909 Fisk Jubilee Singers Recording Inducted Into the Grammy Hall of Fame
The Recording Academy has inducted a 1909 recording of the spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” sung by the Fisk University Jubilee Singers into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Scholar to Study African American Convict Labor at Clemson University
African American convicts were used to construct some of Clemson’s earliest buildings. Some of these convicts were former slaves or children of slaves. At least one was as young as 12 years old.
Records of 4 Million Former Slaves to Soon Be Available Online
FamilySearch, a nonprofit genealogy organization operated by the Mormon Church, has announced that it will soon make available online the millions of records of former slaves that were collected by the Freedmen's Bureau.
Virginia Colleges and Universities Join Together to Discuss Their Shared Historical Legacies
A new consortium of 12 colleges and universities in Virginia recently held its first meeting to discuss how the educational institutions have dealt with and will deal with the issue of slavery.
Morgan State and West Virginia University Students Team Up for Journalism Project
Students from each school traveled with faculty members to Selma, Alabama, and used photographs, videos, and the written word to tell stories from the city past as well as investigating the community's present and hopes for the future.
The Fordham Bronx African American History Project Is Now Available Online
The Fordham Bronx African American History Project includes downloadable audio files and verbatim transcripts of 300 oral history interviews conducted between 2002 and 2013.
University of Kentucky Covers a Mural Showing Slaves in a Tobacco Field
The University of Kentucky has decided to cover up a mural in the atrium of Memorial Hall that shows slaves working in a tobacco field. The mural, which is 38 feet wide and 11 feet tall, will remain covered until the university decides how and where the artwork will be preserved.
University of New Hampshire Film Explores African American History in the State
The Center for the Humanities at the University of New Hampshire has produced a film that explores the university's and the state of New Hampshire's history regarding slavery and racial segregation.
City of Philadelphia to Honor Slain Educator and Civil Rights Activist, Octavius Catto
Catto graduated as the valedictorian of the Institute for Colored Youth, which today is Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. He later taught English literature, mathematics and classical languages at the institution. He was murdered in 1871 while trying to defend African Americans' right to vote.
University of Kentucky Decides to Unveil Controversial Mural It Had Covered Up
The mural, painted in the 1930s by artist Ann Rice O'Hanlon, had been criticized for its portrayal of African Americans and American Indians in scenes depicting the history of the city of Lexington, home to the university. One image shows slaves picking cotton.
John Carroll University in Ohio to Explore Its Historical Ties to Slavery
John Carroll was the first Catholic bishop in the United States and was a founder of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He owned a least one slave and participated in the management of Jesuit-owned plantations in Maryland.
Bowie State University Study Examines the History of Lynchings in Maryland
The study documented 40 lynchings in the state during the period from 1854 to 1933. The research was conducted by Nicholas M. Creary and two students. Dr. Creary is an assistant professor of history and government at Bowie State.
Two African American Giants of Higher Education to Have Highways Named in Their Honor
The department of transportation in North Carolina plans to have stretches of interstate highways in the state named for Julius L. Chambers, who was chancellor of North Carolina Central University, and John Hope Franklin, the noted historian who was a long-time professor at Duke University.
Hamilton College’s Oral Histories of Jazz Greats Made Available Online
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first jazz recording, Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, has established a YouTube channel where it will share oral history interviews from its extensive Jazz Archive.
Hampton University Scholar Mounts Effort to Digitize Local Historical Documents
Maureen Elgersman Lee, an associate professor at Hampton University in Virginia, is leading a project that encourages African Americans to bring historical letters, documents, and other correspondence to the library where they are scanned and preserved in digital form.
Ohio University Chillicothe Honors Joseph Carter Corbin
A native of Chillicothe, Ohio, and a two-time graduate of Ohio University, Joseph Carter Corbin moved to Arkansas in 1872. Three years later he founded the Branch Normal College, which today is the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
University of Virginia School of Medicine Honors an Early Black Graduate
Dr. Vivian Pinn was the only woman and the only African American in the 1967 graduating class. She later served for 20 years as director of the Office for Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health. Now, the medical research building at the University of Virginia has been renamed in her honor.
