African-American History

Bryn Mawr College Takes Action to Confront the Racism of a Former President

M. Carey Thomas served as the second president of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania from 1884 to 1922. During this period she refused to admit Black students and refused to hire Jewish faculty.

Tuskegee University Receives the Photographic Archives of Prentice H. Polk

Prentice H. Polk was one of the most influential photographers of his time. Much of Polk’s work was centered around Tuskegee Institute, and celebrated family life, national and local elite individuals, and specific events occurring on campus.

Oregon State University Changes Building Names That Honored Proponents of Slavery

Last fall, Edward Ray, president of Oregon State University, announced that the university would change the names of three buildings on campus because the people for whom the buildings had been named had expressed support for the institution of slavery. The university recently announced the name changes.

Princeton University Brings HBCU Students to Campus to Garner Interest in Archival Research

Last month, Princeton University in New Jersey held its inaugural Archives Research and Collaborative (ARCH) program on campus. Fourteen students from five historically Black colleges and universities spent five days on the Princeton campus with the goal of interesting them in careers in archives research.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Aim to Preserve Slave Records

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has undertaken a research project entitled "People Not Property." The goal of the project is to digitize slave deeds in 26 counties across North Carolina. These deeds contain information about the slaves' names, age, family, and skills.

University of Virginia to Launch a Crowdsourced Transcription Effort of Julian Bond’s Papers

On August 15, individuals who join the transcription effort will be asked to go to five locations in Charlottesville where they will transcribe some of Bond's speeches. People interested in participating in the transcription effort will also be able to contribute to the project online.

Rice University’s New Archive on Texas’ Convict Leasing System

The system routinely leased out prisoners to local plantations and other private landowners, where they were worked under horrendous conditions. Large numbers of these leased prisoners were African Americans.

Newark Campus of Rutgers University Honors Frederick Douglass

On April 17, 1849, Frederick Douglass delivered an address at the First African Presbyterian Church in Newark, New Jersey. The church, which no longer exists, was located on the current site of the university's athletic fields. The fields now have been named to honor Frederick Douglass.

Florida State University to Remove Name of Segregationist Judge From Its Law School

President John Thrasher will recommend to the legislature that the name of the B.K. Roberts College of Law be changed. Roberts was a founder of the law school and was a member of the Florida Supreme Court. He wrote several pro-segregation opinions during the 1950s.

College of William and Mary to Erect Marker at Site of Early School for African Americans

In 1760, the Associates of Dr. Bray, a London-based charity opened a school for enslaved and free Black children on the campus of the College of William and Mary in Wiliamsburg, Virginia. The college will place a historical marker at the site where the school is believed to have been located.

Project Aims to Expand Research on Obscure African American Novels

The Black Book Interactive Project at the University of Kansas is building the first searchable digital collection of previously unavailable and understudied African-American novels. Maryemma Graham, University Distinguished Professor of English, is overseeing the project.

University of Missouri Names Building After a Black Woman It Had Rejected for Admission in 1939

In 1939, Lucile Bluford, who had worked as a journalist for several newspapers, applied for admission to the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She was accepted for admission but later was turned away when university officials saw the color of her skin.

University of Utah Debuts New Online Archive on the History of Blacks in the Mormon Church

The digital history database - Century of Black Mormons - documents Black participation in the Church of Latter-day Saints between 1830 and 1930.

University of Pennsylvania Research Uncovers Its Early Ties to Slavery

Research has shown that no fewer than 75 of the university’s early trustees owned at least one enslaved person. The labor of enslaved people was used to support and care for Penn faculty and students.

Building That Honored a Leader of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment to Be Renamed

The building, named for former U.S. Surgeon General Thomas Parren, is home to many of the programs of the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh.

Harvard University Acquires the Family Papers of Professor Patricia J. Williams

The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University has acquired the archives of the family of Patricia J. Williams, the James L. Dohr Professor at the Columbia University School of Law. The archives include 65 boxes of family documents going back more than a century.

“Propped Up” by Higher Education

Angela Mae Kupenda, a professor of law at the Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson, relates how the dream of higher education propped up her early life - in more ways than one.

Rutgers University-Newark Acquires the Archives of Jazz Legend Count Basie

The Count Basie Collection includes his pianos, Hammond organ, photos, correspondence, concert programs, business records, housewares and press clippings. Nearly 1,000 artifacts are included in the collection.

Baylor University Is Preserving the Recordings of the Golden Age of Black Gospel

These early Black gospel recordings - containing valuable history and culture - are rapidly disappearing. The Baylor University project seeks to preserve as many as these recording as possible in digital format.

UVA Appoints Members for Its Commission on the University in the Age of Segregation

The University of Virginia's Commission on the University in the Age of Segregation is being chartered for four years and will examine the university’s history during this period and make recommendations for appropriate action in recognition of this history.
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