Universities Studying Slavery

In addition to research detailing slavery’s influence on the history of William Jewell College, members of the SMJP have conducted a wide-ranging survey of the experiences of the more than fifty other academic institutions who, in the past two decades, have undertaken investigations of their own slaveholding past. Our aim was to identify ‘best practices’ that guided the actions of college communities who are regarded as the most successful in honestly discussing slavery’s influence on their institution and taking steps to use knowledge of that history to build a more inclusive community in the future. One of the best sources of information is the Universities Studying Slavery consortium":

“The Universities Studying Slavery (USS) consortium, created and led by the University of Virginia, represents a multi-institutional collaboration focused in sharing best practices and guiding principles about truth-telling projects addressing human bondage and racism in institutional histories. Member schools are all committed to research, acknowledgment, and atonement regarding institutional ties to the slave trade, to enslavement on campus or abroad, and to enduring racism in school history and practice.

USS additionally allows participating institutions to work together as they address both historical and contemporary issues dealing with race and inequality in higher education and in university communities.  Together, the growing movement of schools committed to this work seek to address the complicated legacies of slavery in the modern world.

Member institutions also work together on developing ways for individual institutions to commit school resources to addressing equity in the twenty-first century. Finally, USS hosts semi-annual meetings to discuss strategies, collaborate on research, and learn from one another.”