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Legacies of American Slavery

Legacies of American Slavery

an initiative of the Council of Independent Colleges

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  • About UsLearn more about the Council of Independent Colleges and the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University.
    • Council of Independent Colleges (CIC)The Council of Independent Colleges is the nation’s leading association of smaller private colleges and universities.
    • Gilder Lehrman Center (GLC)The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at the MacMillan Center (Yale University) is dedicated to the investigation and dissemination of knowledge concerning slavery and its legacies across all borders and all time, from the distant past through the present day.
    • Meet the Project Team
    • Funders
  • What is a Legacy?An essay by David Blight.
    • Legacy ThemesThis project is organized around nine “legacy themes” that help define the afterlives of slavery
  • Network MembersSeven private colleges and universities serve as the backbone of a growing national network of higher education institutions and community partners.
    • Regional Collaboration PartnersSeven institutions serve as coordinating hubs for the national network.
    • Institutional AffiliatesTwelve additional colleges and universities support regional activities as part of the Legacies network.
  • ResourcesWhat are CIC institutions doing to reckon with the legacy of slavery? Find resources and examples here.
    • Resource DatabaseA publicly available, searchable, and sortable database of existing resources at independent colleges and universities related to the legacies of slavery.
    • Virtual Symposium (2022)CIC and the Gilder Lehrman Center hosted a virtual symposium on the Legacies of American Slavery in April 2022.
  • OpportunitiesOpportunities to participate in the Legacies of American Slavery initiative.
    • Summer 2023 Programs for Faculty and Staff from CIC Colleges (and Community Partners!)
    • Other Upcoming Events
    • Regional Conference Schedule, Fall 2022

Legacies of American Slavery: Reckoning with the Past is a multi-year initiative, providing a variety of opportunities for CIC member colleges and universities, their faculty members and students, and community-based partners to participate in research, teaching and learning, and public discussions about the multiple legacies of American slavery. Offered in collaboration with the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at the MacMillan Center at Yale.

What is a Legacy?

An Essay by David Blight (January 2020) — American history has never been for the faint-hearted, nor for those who seek a past that will merely please or entertain—although it may do both. The American past comes to us laden with both enlightenment and terror, with equal parts slavery and…Continue reading “What is a Legacy?”

Reflections

Why Do We Have a Blog?

8 Aug 2022
This blog was created to support the larger work of CIC's Legacies of American Slavery initiative—i.e., to help CIC member colleges and universities; their faculty, staff, and students; and the…
Links and Resources

The Resource Database

14 Jul 20228 Aug 2022
The Legacies of American Slavery network is much bigger than the seven Regional Collaboration Partners. Many CIC member colleges and universities are reckoning with the legacies of slavery through original…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for March 20, 2023: some recent scholarship illustrating the legacies of slavery

20 Mar 202320 Mar 2023
This week, a selection of recent scholarship related to the legacies of slavery. Access to some of these articles may be limited to subscribers. As always, a link here does…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for March 13, 2023: networked resources and racialized threats

13 Mar 202313 Mar 2023
As always, we encourage you to share this post. A link does not imply agreement or endorsement by the Council of Independent Colleges. The interior of the Robert W. Woodruff…
Updates from the Network

Update from Austin College

8 Mar 20237 Mar 2023
George Hughes (left), shortly before he was lynched by a white mob in Sherman, Texas (1930). Rioters also burned down the county courthouse and a significant portion of the Black…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for March 6, 2023: A Weekly Roundup

6 Mar 2023
As always, we encourage you to share this post. A link does not imply agreement or endorsement by the Council of Independent Colleges. Prolific inventor Granville T. Woods (1856–1910) was…
Reflections…

Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute Debuts “Spirit of Freedom”

2 Mar 20232 Mar 2023
We are thrilled to share the news about an exciting new digital history site from Shenandoah University (an Institutional Affiliate of the Legacies of American Slavery network) — “The Spirit…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for February 27, 2023: Black history is everywhere—and in very specific places

27 Feb 202326 Feb 2023
As always, we encourage you to share this post. A link does not imply agreement or endorsement by the Council of Independent Colleges. Oakwood University’s Slave Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama.…
Links and Resources…

Happy Mardi Gras!

21 Feb 2023
To help celebrate Mardi Gras we asked Zella Palmer, director of Dillard University’s Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture and a leading scholar of African American foodways, to…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for February 20, 2023: Frederick Douglass, Reconstruction, the Black Campus Movement—all still relevant!

20 Feb 202320 Feb 2023
As always, we encourage you to share this post. A link does not imply agreement or endorsement by the Council of Independent Colleges. A Frederick Douglass mural in Belfast, Northern…
Links and Resources

What’s New in the Resource Database?

15 Feb 202310 Feb 2023
The Resource Database is a useful, searchable resource for any individual, academic program, or institution that needs inspiration to help reckon with the legacies of American slavery in their own…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for February 13, 2023: Black history, reparations, and the great outdoors

13 Feb 202313 Feb 2023
As always, we encourage you to share this post. A link does not imply agreement or endorsement by the Council of Independent Colleges. Samford University’s Racial Reconciliation Memorial in Birmingham,…

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Council of Independent Colleges

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legaciesproject@cic.edu #CICLegacies
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David W. Blight, Director

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Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed on this site do not necessarily represent those of the NEH.

 

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