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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.
    • A Timeline of the Legacies of American Slavery Initiative
    • 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
  • Legacies and ThemesDefining the “legacies” of slavery.
    • What Is a Legacy (Now)? Afterlives and the Turbulent PresentA reflection on the Legacies of American Slavery initiative by David Blight, looking back from 2025.
    • What Is a Legacy?An introductory essay by David Blight (2020).
    • 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.
    • Virtual Sessions: Independent Colleges and the Legacies of Slavery (September 19 and 21, 2024)
  • Archived ProgramsClick on the menu items below to learn more about previous programs, including a national conference in 2024.
    • Conference: Independent Colleges and the Legacies of Slavery
    • Summer 2023 Programs for Faculty and Staff from CIC Colleges (and Community Partners!)
    • Regional Conference Schedule, Fall 2022

Tag: Economic Disparities

Persistent disparities of wealth, income, and home ownership by race; persistent industrial and economic underdevelopment in parts of the South and cities across the nation; and varieties of unfree and semi-free labor since emancipation.

Links and Resources

Legacies links for August 26, 2024: Politics, Monuments, and Segregated Schools

26 Aug 202426 Aug 2024
As always, we invite you to share this post with students, colleagues, and anyone else who is interested in the legacies of slavery. A link here does not imply agreement…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for August 12, 2024: Sonya Massey, Michael Brown, Jr., and Other Expressions of White Supremacy

12 Aug 202412 Aug 2024
As always, we invite you to share this post with students, colleagues, and anyone else who is interested in the legacies of slavery. A link here does not imply agreement…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for June 10, 2024: Resistance, Reparations, Racial Equity

10 Jun 20249 Jun 2024
As always, we invite you to share this post with students, colleagues, and anyone else who is interested in the legacies of slavery. A link here does not imply agreement…
Uncategorized

Legacies links for May 6, 2024: Using the Arts and the Airwaves to Reckon with Slavery

6 May 20246 May 2024
As always, our editorial team encourages you to pass this post along to friends, students, colleagues, etc.; as always, a link here does not necessarily mean agreement or endorsement by…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for April 15, 2024: Poetry, Property Taxes, and Political Violence

15 Apr 202415 Apr 2024
As always, our editorial team encourages you to pass this post along to friends, students, colleagues, etc.; as always, a link here does not necessarily mean agreement or endorsement by…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for April 1, 2024: History in the Archives (and the Genes), a Broken Link in Baltimore, and Beyoncé

1 Apr 20241 Apr 2024
It may be April Fool's Day, but none of the following links are jokes (despite the rich tradition of tricksters in the African diaspora)! As always, our editorial team encourages…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for March 25, 2024: A New Museum, the Afterlives of Redlining, and Sojourner’s Truth

25 Mar 202425 Mar 2024
As always, our editorial team encourages you to pass this post along to friends, students, colleagues, etc.; as always, a link here does not necessarily mean agreement or endorsement by…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for March 18, 2024: Cemeteries, Civil Rights, and Other Contested Spaces

18 Mar 202418 Mar 2024
As always, our editorial team encourages you to pass this post along to friends, students, colleagues, etc.; as always, a link here does not necessarily mean agreement or endorsement by…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for January 15, 2024: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

15 Jan 2024
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! As we contemplate the legacy of Dr. King and other great freedom fighters, we invite you to think about all the legacies of slavery…
Links and Resources

Legacies links for December 18, 2023: Radical Acts — Reparations, Resting, Residing, Removing Statues, Revisiting the Past

18 Dec 202318 Dec 2023
Happy Holidays! We'll be taking a short break after this week’s oversized roundup of links (see you in January). As always, we encourage you to share this post, though a…

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Commemoration and Memory Contested Citizenship Critical Race Theory Cultural Creativity Economic Disparities Environmental Justice Halloween Hispanic Heritage Month Institutional Histories John Brown Mass Incarceration Museums Phillis Wheatley Poetry Public History Race Race, Health, and Medicine Race, Place, and Migration Racial Violence and Resistance Reading Lists Reflections Religion and Slavery Reparations Slavery tourism Teaching about Slavery Teaching slavery


© Council of Independent Colleges except where otherwise indicated.

Council of Independent Colleges

1 Dupont Circle NW
Suite 320
Washington, DC 20036
legaciesproject@cic.edu #CICLegacies
202-466-7230

Organized in collaboration with

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David W. Blight, Director

With generous support from


and additional support from

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

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