On July 4, 2022, the Roberson Project participated in the July 4th Celebration. This was part of our five-year anniversary celebration. Our interns walked our community members through current projects and participated in the parade.
On Sunday, July 3, 2022, the Roberson Project unveiled 5 historical markers that tell of the important places in the St. Mark’s neighborhood. This was accomplished through collaboration with community members, staff of the Roberson Project and undergraduate students working for the Bonner Legacy Program, and many employees of the University of the South, who generously gave their time and energy to make this project a reality. Please review our heritage trail website for more information.
On March 5, 2022, the Sewanee Symphony Orchestra and the University Choir as presented masterpieces from Black composers of 20th-century America, including works by Scott Joplin, H.T. Burleigh, William Grant Still, and the long-neglected "Credo" by Margaret Bonds, written on text by W.E.B. Du Bois. This was done in collaboration with the Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation.
Thursday, January 20th at 7 pm, the Order of the Gown, in collaboration with the Roberson Project, held an event to discuss the history of the Order. This event will take place in the Mary Sue Cushman room. Rev. Dr. Benjamin King and Dr. Kendy Altizer discussed with attendees the origin of the Order of the Gown tradition and the legacy of its founder, Chaplain William Porcher Dubose. As we are approaching the 150th anniversary of the Order of the Gown, it has become increasingly more purposeful for us to clearly understand where we came from, what we stand for now, and where we wish to go from here.
The debate over granting reparations to the descendants of the enslaved has intensified over the last decade, with universities and seminaries now instituting programs that directly benefit persons with ancestral ties to the enslaved. Throughout the Semester of Fall 2021, Dr. Andrew Maginn led University students, staff, and faculty members in a “Reading Group” that discussed the debate over reparations, entitled, Perspectives on Reparations for Slavery.
Two of the foremost authorities today in the movement to pay reparations to the descendants of enslaved persons in the United States, Dr. William Darity Jr., and Ms. Kirsten Mullen, came and had a Town Hall discussion with the Sewanee Community. The event took place at Convocation Hall on November 19th at 2 pm. This appearance is sponsored by the University of the South’s Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation in partnership with other campus groups to encourage and support meaningful dialogue about the most important issues and questions surrounding the university’s commitment to creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus community.
Two of the foremost authorities today in the movement to pay reparations to the descendants of enslaved persons in the United States, Dr. William Darity Jr. and Ms. Kirsten Mullen, presented their work and research to the Sewanee Community in a talk entitled “A Presentation on Race and Wealth Inequality.” This took place in Guerry Auditorium on November 18th at 7 pm. This appearance was sponsored by the University of the South’s Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation in partnership with other campus groups to encourage and support meaningful dialogue about the most important issues and questions surrounding the university’s commitment to creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus community.
On Tuesday, November 9, 2021, the Roberson Project hosted a panel where experts in Philosophy, History, and Economics amongst Sewanee faculty discussed Black reparations within their discipline and what reparations can look like at the university level. The panel consisted of Dr. Mark Hopwood (Philosophy), Dr. Matthew Mitchell (History) and Dr. Katherine Theyson (Economics). Dr. Woody Register, director of the Roberson Project moderated.
On Thursday, October 28th, from 3:15 to 4:30 pm in Hargrove Auditorium Ebonee Davis of Virginia Theological Seminary and Miles Aceves-Lewis of Georgetown University discussed reparations programs at their respective institutions. They explained where those programs are now, assess their program's impact, and share their thoughts on the importance of student activism. The panel was moderated by the Rev. Dr. Benjamin King, Professor of Christian History at the School of Theology and Working Group Member of the Roberson Project.
On October 13, 2021, the Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, & Reconciliation along with the Sewanee Department of Athletics hosted a viewing of a documentary trailer and a Q&A with its subjects, Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick and H. D. Kirkpatrick. Their story assisted students, staff, and faculty in their understanding of the legacies of slavery and racial injustice in American life.
Additional information about the Kirkpatricks can be found on the web: A very concise amount with details is available here and their oral histories can be found here.
On September 28, 2021, the Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation and Sewanee Spoken Word hosted an open mic night to challenge racism through music, poetry, and stories. It was Emceed by Sewanee Sophomore Michaela James-Thrower.
On September 22, 2021, students, staff, and faculty had a front porch dialogue to talk about the many buildings and places on our campus that are named for Confederates, Slaveowners, or Defenders of the ”Lost Cause.” They discussed the questions: what should we do about these memorials to men who fought to preserve a civilization of bondage? Or memorials to those who were outspoken in their belief in White Supremacy?
On September 15, 2021, Dr. Michelle Caswell, Professor of Archival Studies in the Department of Information Studies at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), one of the most compelling voices in archival theory, shared a disruptive critique of dominant Western narratives about the aims and purposes of historical archives. Dr. Caswell contended that traditional archival practices are designed to be oppressive. She advocated for alternative methods and practices that members of minority communities can be used to create independent archives that build ties within communities and disrupt cycles of oppression. Archives cannot be neutral, Dr. Caswell argued. Instead of trying to make them so, Dr. Caswell urged us to focus on making archives catalysts of liberation.
This talk launched the new Participatory History and Archiving Project, with the Roberson Project, Centre College, Fisk University, Rollins College, University of Richmond, and Washington & Lee University. The project is funded by a diversity and inclusion grant from the Associated Colleges of the South and a Legacies of American Slavery grant from the Council of Independent Colleges.
The Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation invited community members to the third St. Mark's Community history reunion, devoted to celebrating and preserving the history of African Americans in Sewanee. It took place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 4, 2021.
Monday, March 9, 2020 at 4:30 University Art Gallery. This is the first in a series of dialogues about Sewanee residence halls named for Confederate figures. Come to learn about Stephen Elliott and dialogue about what it means to live or work in these spaces! Co-sponsored by the Roberson Project, Residential Life, & Dialogue Across Difference
A Lecture by Kirt von Daacke, Professor of History, The University of Virginia Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. The Founders Ballroom, The Sewanee Inn. Sponsored by Southern Studies, The Roberson Project on Slavery, Race and Reconciliation, and the University Lectures Committee
Film Screening, February 26 at 5PM in Guerry Auditorium Panel Discussion on Mass Incarceration, February 27 at 6PM in Guerry Auditorium Co-Sponsored by the Sewanee NAACP, Office of Inclusive Excellence, Office of Civic Engagement, and 213-A Leaders Program
Continuing the conversation from Dr. Glancy's lecture. Monday, February 17 at 4:30 in the EQB House.
This lecture by Dr. Jennifer Glancy was held on February 5, 2020 in Gailor Auditorium. Watch a recording of this lecture on our YouTube channel!
November 11 4:30-6PM Convocation Hall A conversation about reparations and Sewanee
Held on November 5-7 in Sewanee, Tennessee
"Slavery & the Old School Tie: Shouldering Responsibility for Alma Mater’s Role in the Slave Trade" was held on September 23, 2019 in Convocation Hall. Watch a recording of this lecture on our YouTube channel!
