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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

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 freedom,…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…
Reflections…

Reflections on the Legacies Initiative: The University of the South

23 May 202516 May 2025
Between 2020 and 2025, Sewanee: University of the South (Sewanee, TN), served as a Regional Collaboration Partner in CIC’s Legacies of American Slavery network. Located on a campus that was…
Reflections…

Reflections on the Legacies Initiative: Meredith College

22 May 202516 May 2025
Between 2020 and 2025, Meredith College (Raleigh, NC), served as a Regional Collaboration Partner in CIC’s Legacies of American Slavery network. Meredith is a single-sex college with a tradition of…
Reflections…

Reflections on the Legacies Initiative: Lewis University

22 May 202516 May 2025
Between 2020 and 2025, Lewis University in Romeoville, IL, served as a Regional Collaboration Partner in CIC’s Legacies of American Slavery network. The university is located near the terminus of…
Reflections

Reflections on the Legacies Initiative: Huston-Tillotson University

21 May 202516 May 2025
Between 2020 and 2025, Huston-Tillotson University (Austin, TX), served as a Regional Collaboration Partner in CIC’s Legacies of American Slavery network. Huston-Tillotson is an HBCU located in a city (and…
Reflections…

Reflections on the Legacies Initiative: Dillard University

21 May 202516 May 2025
Between 2020 and 2025, Dillard University in New Orleans, LA, served as a Regional Collaboration Partner in CIC’s Legacies of American Slavery network. Located in a city and region that…
Reflections…

Reflections on the Legacies Initiative: Centenary College of Louisiana

20 May 202516 May 2025
Between 2020 and 2025, Centenary College in Shreveport, LA, served as a Regional Collaboration Partner in CIC’s Legacies of American Slavery network. The institutional team focused on the theme of…
Reflections…

Reflections on the Legacies Initiative: Austin College

20 May 202516 May 2025
Between 2020 and 2025, Austin College in Sherman, TX, served as a Regional Collaboration Partner in CIC’s Legacies of American Slavery network. The college is located in the shadow of…
Links and Resources…

Legacies Links for April 28, 2025: Memorials and memories

28 Apr 202528 Apr 2025
On March 29, representatives from Austin College (Sherman, TX) participated in the unveiling of a new historical marker on the grounds of the Grayson County Courthouse, site of a lynching…
Links and Resources…

Legacies Links for April 21, 2025: Quiet and Unquiet Violence

21 Apr 202528 Apr 2025
Earlier this month, CIC member Roanoke College hosted a dedication ceremony for “Authors and Architects,” a memorial sculpture that recognizes and honors the role of enslaved people in the college’s…
Links and Resources…

Legacies Links for April 14, 2025: Slavery at the Seder Table (and Elsewhere)

14 Apr 202528 Apr 2025
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on this day in 1865. James Brown, age 104, was the oldest Civil War veteran in Illinois when he was photographed with this portrait of Lincoln…

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© Council of Independent Colleges except where otherwise indicated.

Council of Independent Colleges

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legaciesproject@cic.edu #CICLegacies
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Organized in collaboration with

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David W. Blight, Director

With generous support from


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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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