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...
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, 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...
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.
Boston College Scholars Honored for Their Work on African American Lawyer Robert Morris
Three scholars at Boston College Law School have won an award from the American Association of Law Libraries for their catalog that accompanied the exhibit "Robert Morris: Lawyer and Activist." Morris was the second Black lawyer in the United States.
Framingham State University to Honor Its First Black Graduate
Mary Miles Bibb graduated from the Massachusetts State Normal School in Lexington in 1843, The school later became Framingham State University. The university plans to name a residence hall in her honor.
Alabama Makes Amends to Students It Expelled From Alabama State 58 Years Ago
On February 25, 1960, a group of Black students at Alabama State University participated in a sit-in at a racially segregated lunch counter at the Montgomery County Courthouse. Nine were expelled. Now the state has expunged the records of those disciplined in 1960.
Oberlin College to Name Its Main Library to Honor Mary Church Terrell
Mary Church Terrell, was born in in 1863, the daughter of former slaves. She graduated from Oberlin College in 1884 and went on to become an educator, author, civil rights leader, and feminist activist.
Princeton University Offers a Walking Tour of Its African American History
Princeton University in New Jersey is developing as series of campus walking tours entitled "Making Visible What Has Been Invisible.” The first of these walking tours is entitled "Stories of African American Life at Princeton."
The First Book by Zora Neale Hurston Has Been Published 87 Years After It...
The book had not been published previously due to the heavily accented dialogue that makes it difficult to read for many people. The manuscript had been tucked away in the archives at Howard University for several decades.
Commission Examines History of Washington & Lee University and Makes Recommendations
First and foremost, the commission recommended that the name of the university not be changed despite the fact that George Washington was a slave owner and Robert E. Lee was a slave owner and led the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
Emory University Acquires the Archives of Noted African American Dance Couple
The Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University in Atlanta, has acquired the papers of dancers and married couple Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder.
Princeton University Looks to Diversify its Collection of Portraits
Portraits of Nobel prize winner Toni Morrison and Sir Arthur Lewis have been added to the university's collection. Eight other portraits have been commissioned. Three of the new portraits will feature African Americans.
St. Cloud State University in Minnesota Names Building After Its First Black Graduate
Ruby Cora Webster, the daughter of former slaves, earned a degree in elementary education at what was then called St. Cloud Normal School in 1909.
Salem College in North Carolina Examines Its Historical Ties to Slavery
A new report finds that two enslaved African American students attended the school in the late eighteenth century and that officials at the institution bought and sold slaves and rented them to work on campus.
New Memorial Honoring the African American Victims of Lynchings Opens in Alabama
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, is a project of the Equal Justice Institute and honors the more than 4,000 African Americans who were lynched between 1877 and 1950.
University of California, Santa Barbara Receives the Papers of Civil Rights Activist Shirley Kennedy
Dr. Kennedy first came to the University of California, Santa Barbara, as a student in 1969. She began teaching at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1987 as a lecturer in Black studies.
Scholars Launch Effort to Digitize Records of Black Civil War Troops
A research team led by John Clegg, a doctoral student at New York University, is recruiting volunteers to transcribe the paper records of the estimated 200,000 members of the United States Colored Troops into a searchable database.
Princeton to Name Two Campus Locations After Former Slaves
The board of trustees of Princeton University in New Jersey has voted to honor two former slaves who played a role in the university's early history.
University of North Florida Project Seeks to Educate Area Youth on Civil Rights History
The Hope and History Mural Project, an initiative of the University of North Florida’s Center for Urban Education and Policy (CUEP), is involving students, local leaders, and area artists to produce a mural in a public space that tells the story of what is now called "Ax Handle Saturday."
The University of Wisconsin Addresses Its History on the Issue of Race
Recently, a study group submitted a report to Rebecca Blank, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, documenting the history of the relationship of the Ku Klux Klan to the campus community.
University of Montana’s New Online Archive of Black Criminal Justice History in the State
The timeline, which includes entries from 1864 to 2018, includes archival photos, interpretive commentary and hundreds of individuals and events. The timeline was produced by Julia Sherman, a graduate of the University of Montana's African American studies program.
Drake University Acquires the Papers of Long-Time Iowa Legislator and Alumnus Wayne Ford
Wayne Ford served from 1996 to 2010 in the Iowa House of Representatives. Ford was also the founder of Urban Dreams, a nonprofit organization that aims to improve the lives of residents in low-income neighborhoods.
The College of William and Mary to Honor Its First African American Residential Students
In the fall of 1967, Lynn Briley, Karen Ely, and Janet Brown, became the first African American students to live in residential housing on the campus of the College of William and Mary in Virginia. All three graduated four years later in 1971.
Historical Marker Honors a Tennessee State University Alumnus and Buffalo Soldier
A Buffalo Soldier, Lt. William McBryar earned the Medal of Honor for his "coolness, bravery and marksmanship" on March 7, 1890 when his 10th Cavalry troop was engaged with Apache warriors. He earned a bachelor's degree at the age of 74 at what is now Tennessee State University.
