African-American History

Princeton University’s Plan to Deal With the Legacy of Woodrow Wilson

At Princeton, Woodrow Wilson had refused to consider the admission of Black students. As President of the United States, he racially segregated the federal government workforce and appointed White supremacists to his cabinet.

University of Virginia to Form a Commission to Examine Its Role in Racial Segregation

In 2013, the University of Virginia formed a commission that investigated the university’s historical relationship with slavery. Now the university has announced the formation of the President's Commission on the University in the Age of Segregation.

New Historical Marker Honors First Black Student to Apply to the University of Southern Mississippi

Clyde Kennard applied for admission to what was then Mississippi Southern College in 1955 and was denied. In 1959, he applied again and was rejected. For challenging the rules of Jim Crow, he was framed and sentenced to seven years in state prison.

Study by Ohio State University Economists Shows Black Politicians Matter

A new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper by Trevon Logan, a professor of economics at Ohio State University, finds that when Blacks hold political power their economic status rises. But when they lose political power, their economic fortunes dwindle.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice Debuts an Online Archive on Slavery in New York

The new online archive includes more than 35,000 records. The index includes census records, slave trade transactions, cemetery records, birth certifications, manumissions, ship inventories, newspaper accounts, private narratives, legal documents and many other sources.

The University of Pennsylvania to Investigate Its Early Ties to Slavery

University founder, Benjamin Franklin was a slave owner early in his life but then became an abolitionist. About one half of the university's original trustees were slave owners. A working group at the university will now dig deeper into this history and offer recommendations for any next steps.

New Historical Markers at Clemson University Relate the Good and the Bad

Clemson University in South Carolina has installed new signs at 11 historic buildings on campus explaining the historical significance of the buildings and also providing information on the people for who the buildings are named.

University of Georgia Launches New Fundraising Initiative Aimed at Black Alumni

On January 9, 1961, Hamilton E. Holmes and Charlayne Hunter-Gault became the first African-American students to register for classes at the University of Georgia. Now the 1961 Club, commemorating that event, has been established to raise funds from the more than 14,000 Black alumni of the university.

Roanoke College Students Create Digital Archive Documenting the Area’s Civil Rights Era

Last semester students in an introduction to public history class at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, created a digital archive of newspaper and other clippings collected during the civil rights era by the Hill Street Baptist Church in Roanoke.

Michigan State University to Develop New Slave Trade Database

The project - Enslaved: The People of the Historic Slave Trade - was made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The new online hub will link archival collections on the slave trade from several major universities.

A New Documentary Film Tells the History of Delaware State University

The film tells the story of the educational institution that started in 1891 with 12 students meeting in an old plantation to the vibrant global university it is today. The project was proposed three years ago by Marilyn Whittingham, executive director of Delaware Humanities.

Alumnus Anthony Foxx Will Chair Davidson College’s Commission on Race and Slavery

The Davidson College Commission on Race and Slavery is charged with investigating how the college's own history is intertwined with the institution of slavery, the lives and work of enslaved persons, and conceptions of race that emerged from this history.

University of South Carolina Honors Slaves Who Contributed to Its Early History

The University of South Carolina has unveiled two historical plaques honoring enslaved men and women who worked on the campus of what was known then as South Carolina College in the years preceding the Civil War.

University of Chicago Honors a Pioneering African American Alumna

The University of Chicago recently unveiled a bust of Georgiana Rose Simpson that sits on a pedestal in the Reynolds Club, the student center on campus. Dr. Simpson is widely considered as the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D.

Colby College President’s House Named to Honor a Former Slave

Samuel Osbourne, born into slavery in Virginia in 1833, came to Maine after the Civil War and served as a janitor at the college for 37 years. His daughter was the first African American woman to graduate from Colby College.

Oregon State to Rename Buildings So as Not to Honor Those Who Supported Slavery

Edward Ray, president of Oregon State University in Corvallis, has announced that the university will change the names of three buildings on campus because the people for whom the buildings have been named had expressed support for the institution of slavery.

Princeton University Explores its Past Ties to the Institution of Slavery

Following the lead of other peer institutions, Princeton University has debuted a new website documenting research on the university's historical ties to the slavery. The first nine presidents of the university owned slaves at one point in their lives.

A New Life for the Last Remaining Structure of Straight University in New Orleans

In 1871, Straight University bought a home at 1423 North Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans that was used as a boarding house and later a dining hall. The building is the last remaining structure that was once part of Straight University.

Emory University Acquires the Archives of Playwright Douglas Turner Ward

In 1967, Douglas Turner Ward was the co-founder of the Negro Ensemble Company at the St. Mark's Playhouse in New York City. Since its founding the Negro Ensemble Company has produced more than 200 new plays and provided a theatrical home for more than 4,000 cast and crew members.

Emory University Acquires a Collection of Letters Written by Barack Obama in His 20s

Rosemary Magee, director of the Rose Library at Emory University, stated the letters "reveal the search of a young man for meaning and identity. While intimate in a philosophical way, they reflect primarily a college student coming to terms with himself and others."
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