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.
University of Michigan to Rename Two Campus Buildings That Honor Racists
Clarence Cook Little who served for a brief time as president of the University of Michigan, was a proponent of sterilization for the "unfit." Professor Alexander Winchell wrote about "the inferiority of the Negro."
University of California, Berkeley Acquires Its First Archival Collection of a Black Photographer
The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley has acquired more than 5,000 negatives and photographic prints from 91-year-old photographer David Johnson. He was the first African American student of legendary photographer Ansel Adams.
Duke University Establishes an Online Archive of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, has established the SNCC Digital Gateway to make the story of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee available for students and researchers.
Four Universities Receive National Park Service Grants for Preservation Projects
The National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior has announced a series of grants totaling more than Q$12 million to preserve key sites relating to African American history. Four universities are among the organizations receiving grants.
College of William and Mary Honors Its First Black Graduate
Edward Augustus Travis enrolled at the William and Mary Law School in 1951 and graduated three years later with bachelor of civil law degree. No other Black student graduated from the law school for the next 18 years.
Brown University Cancels the Display of a Home Where Rosa Parks Stayed in Detroit
Brown University had planned to host an exhibit that included the reconstruction of a small home where Rosa Parks had stayed in Detroit after leaving Alabama. But the display of the home has now been cancelled.
University of Oklahoma Names an Academic Department to Honor Clara Luper
The University of Oklahoma has announced that it is recognizing educator and civil rights leader Clara Luper by naming the department of African and African American studies in her honor. Known as the "Mother of the Oklahoma Civil Rights Movement," she taught high school history for 41 years.
The Andrew Brimmer Collection at Harvard Is Now Available for Scholarly Research
Andrew F. Brimmer was a respected economist who was the first African American to serve as a governor of the Federal Reserve System. His massive archival collection of papers is now available for scholarly research at the library of Harvard Business School.
Rhodes College Students Set the Record Straight on Nathan Bedford Forrest
Students in a history class at Rhodes College in Memphis spent the fall semester researching the slave trade that occurred in the city prior to the Civil War. As a result of this research, a new historically marker will be erected where Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest sold slaves.
University of Mississippi Unveils Six New Historical Markers on Campus
Some of the markers pay tribute to enslaved laborers who took part in the construction of several buildings on the campus of the state's flagship university.
New Website Pays Tribute to Black Grandmothers
LaShawnDa Pittman, an assistant professor of American ethnic studies at the University of Washington, has established the website Real Black Grandmothers where she presents oral histories of African American grandmothers who play a vital role in the Black community.
Scholar Develops a Traveling Exhibit on the History of African Americans at Clemson University
Rhonnda Robinson Thomas, an associate professor of English at Clemson University in South Carolina, is creating a museum exhibit that will travel to 10 sites across South Carolina over the next two years.
MIT Debuts a New Website Documenting Its African American History
At present, the website offers more than 500 illustrations, photographs, and other archival material. An additional 2,500 items already collected by the MIT Black History Project will be included in the future.
Towson University Faculty Produce Film on Jim Crow-Era Baltimore
The film, produced and directed by three faculty members in the College of Education at Towson University, presents oral histories of seven Baltimore residents who recount growing up in the city before the civil rights era.
The University of Maryland’s Online Tour of Its African American History
The tour features 17 locations on campus that are significant to the history of African Americans at the university. It includes landmarks that celebrate the contributions of African-Americans to the campus and community.
University of South Carolina Honors Its First Black Faculty Member
In 1873, during the Reconstruction period when Blacks held political power in South Carolina, Richard T. Greener joined the faculty at the University of South Carolina. Four years later, all Black faculty and students were purged from the university.
MIT Is the Latest University to Explore Its Ties to Slavery
Slavery was outlawed in Massachusetts in the late 1780s. However, researchers discovered that MIT's first president - William Barton Rogers - owned slaves while he lived in Virginia.
University of Tennessee Students Creating Digital Archive of Records of Black Civil War Troops
More than 180,000 Black troops served in the Union Army during the Civil War and 1,100 were members of the 1st U.S. Colored Troops (Heavy Artillery) that was formed in Knoxville in 1864. More than three fourths of the Black troops in Knoxville were former slaves.
Harvard University Acquires the Papers of Angela Davis
Professor Davis, who taught at the University of California, Santa Cruz until 2008, has been a political activist for most of her life, advocating for the rights of African Americans, women, and prison inmates.
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...
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...
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.
