A Most Peculiar Institution: Slavery, Jim Crow, and the American University Today
Most American universities that were founded before the Civil War profited from slavery. Some schools' endowments were started with the help of family fortunes made from the slave economy, while other colleges owned and sold people to bolster their financial position. Both before and after the Civil War, defenders of slavery and advocates of the inferiority of non-white peoples made their intellectual homes in American universities, even as they used these same sites to develop important arguments about the blessings of democracy. These complicated legacies are being critically reviewed and debated at institutions of higher education across the country. As Brown University's Committee on Slavery and Justice put it, "How do we reconcile those elements of our past that are gracious and honorable with those that provoke grief and horror?" And, critically, what role can a deeper understanding of history play in informing these conversations? Our program will explore these questions with two people actively engaged in the dialog.
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| Jonathan Holloway | Adriane Lentz-Smith Duke University Dept. of History |