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This Week in the Archive: SOBA and Progress

Irina Rogova Uncategorized , ,

by Dominique Harrington

When I’ve attempted to explain to people what I’ve been doing this summer, I’ve gotten a few typical responses.  First, I get the generic, “That’s so cool! Good luck!”  The next one provokes more of a conversation, “That’s interesting, but what’s the point?”  However, the response I’ve received most frequently is, “Wow, that must be pretty depressing!”  When I explain that I am grappling with the University of Richmond’s racial history, I think they probably thought that I would be faced with more violent instances of racism during the Jim Crow era.  However, I’ve mostly gone through letters to President Modlin and Academic Departmental Reports; I haven’t witnessed anything as egregious as one might expect in the former capital of the Confederacy from 1946-1971.  Still, I’ve found myself quite disheartened more times than I anticipated — not because of what I saw, but because of what I didn’t see: progress.

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No John Trumbull

Irina Rogova Uncategorized , ,

BlogPost3.Photo1_Lim_062217By Karissa Lim

The title for this piece is sourced from the song “No John Trumbull” from the Hamilton Mixtape. Watch if performed here.

Located near Chinatown in Old City, the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) is the first institution built by a major US city to preserve, interpret, and exhibit African American culture. Across from the museum are two federal buildings: the Federal Detention Center and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The museum consists of four galleries; currently, they have two art exhibits and two history exhibits. On display on the first floor of the museum is “Audacious Freedom: African Americans in Philadelphia: 1776-1876.” This exhibit attempts to tell the history of African Americans in Philadelphia through photos, light projections, a timeline, and audio. It answers questions museumgoers may have about African American culture in Philadelphia and the contributions they made to not only the abolitionist movement but also the city’s history. Read more

This Week in the Archive: Diversity & Brochures

Irina Rogova Uncategorized , ,

By Maryam Tahseen

“UR Welcomes Class of 2000 – Diversity Increases” stated the front page article of the 5th September 1996 issue of the Collegian. This article discussed the great strides our university admissions department made in accepting a diverse student body, specifically African American students. From what one could gauge from this article, it seemed that campus diversity and minority student representation was increasing at the university.

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Seun Hi Kim: How Her Story Helps Shape Mine

Irina Rogova Uncategorized , ,

by Joshua Kim

The beginning of my research was definitely very forward and shallow in terms of what I was looking for. When you join a project called “The Race & Racism Project” it’s easy to lose yourself in the obvious.

RACIST WORD RACIST WORD RACIST WORD RACIST WORD RACIST WORD RACIST WORD RACIST WO–

My initial search terms were all obvious. It was every racist term you could imagine: the N word, Chink, Gook, Injun, Redmen, etc. And these all led me to very obvious articles, pictures, columns, so and so forth. What it didn’t lead me to; however, were people. Real people.

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Site in the Spotlight: IPS Crispus Attucks Museum

Irina Rogova Uncategorized , ,

by Dominique Harrington

The Indiana Public School (IPS) Crispus Attucks Museum, a museum which commemorates the first black high school in Indianapolis, was founded in 1998 to preserve the school’s rich history.  Despite being next to the Crispus Attucks High School’s gym and auditorium, I never noticed that the museum was there.  The museum is attached to the school, on its south side, closest to the sporting fields.  Equipped with my phone to take pictures, a pen, and my notebook, I walked up to the door of the museum.

The exterior of the museum features this painting that places Crispus Attucks, with the “CA” at the top, with a grander narrative of African and African-American history as displayed through the African imagery present.

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Research Challenges

Irina Rogova Uncategorized ,

By Jennifer Munnings

One thing is for certain when digging through history, you never know what you’re going to find. When I came to the University of Richmond, I was conscious of the fact that I was attending a formerly Baptist university in the capital of the confederacy. But it’s different to know something than to see actual evidence of it. I was vaguely aware that UR was segregated for a long time, that blackface was performed regularly, and that what are now known as racial slurs, were used as everyday language. However, finding articles in The Collegian of students performing minstrel shows in places I am familiar with, hit home in a way I hadn’t expected. It has sparked a conflictual relationship between myself and the University, on one hand, I’d like to celebrate how far it has come and be grateful for the opportunities it has provided me. On the other hand however, I can’t help but dwell on the fact that the progress that has been made, is not enough.

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The Power of a Name

Irina Rogova Uncategorized ,

By Benjamin Pomerantz

Today, on the top shelf of my bedroom closet in my childhood home in St. Louis, Missouri sit three stuffed animals that used to rest with me when I was younger: a piglet, a teddy bear, and a small bear that wore an even smaller NYU shirt. Like most children, I created names for my stuffed animals, and being the creative child that I was, I named my stuffed animals Piglet, Teddy Bear, and New Yorkie, respectively. (So original, right?!) I was also the kid whose favorite shape was a square, so the fact that I assigned those names to my animals shouldn’t come as a surprise. But the point that I want to get at is that I named my stuffed animals. Most kids do, albeit with more creative names. Children give names to their stuffed animals because to them, their stuffed animals are important to them. Parents give names to their children for the same reason—because they value their kids. We, as humans, use naming as a way to assign importance to people, pets, and even stuffed animals.

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A Shameful Past

Irina Rogova Uncategorized ,

By Vishwesh Mehta

I started working with the Race & Racism at the University of Richmond Project as a junior during my second semester. Initially, I decided to this research for solely selfish academic reasons. Having spent most of my life in India I knew little about the history of the country. Even though I had taken a course on American History it felt like I only got an overview of the complicated history. When I transferred to the University of Richmond I knew I was moving into a city which was the former capital of the Confederacy with a very dark history of involvement in the slave trade. However, I did not expect the University, being a place of intellect and acceptance, to have a track record of blatant racism. When I started my research last Spring I was taking a shot in the dark because this was one of my first ever research experience and I did not know what to expect from the project. However, as the weeks went by and I began looking at University publications and communications, I found a a holistic view of the race relations on campus. For most of my research I have used the online archives of The Collegian, a student run newspaper provides a ground level perspective of the conversations and incidents happening on campus when it came to race.

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On Charlottesville

Nicole Maurantonio Uncategorized

We, the Race & Racism at the University of Richmond Project advisory group, write to express our outrage at the violent actions of white supremacist and Nazi groups during a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville this weekend. We condemn the actions that took place in our community in the strongest possible terms. We express our condolences to all those injured and to the family of Heather Heyer, who lost her life in an act of terrorism.

We represent a project drawing together members of the Richmond community, on campus and within the city, attempting to connect archival work at the University to the present-day challenges of building and fostering a more inclusive and equitable community. Our project attempts to recover and honor the stories of people of color and necessarily interrogates systems of oppression that have silenced and demeaned them. By seeking to identify the effects of white supremacy and other acts of racism, past and present, we understand the importance of naming the causes of such violence: white supremacy and racism, as well as sexism, antisemitism, islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, ableism, and other manifestations of hatred.

Language matters, and we must be courageous enough to name the paralyzing virus of hatred spreading and circulating among us, even when it masquerades as “free speech.” While free speech is a cornerstone of democracy, it is not unlimited and cannot legally or morally be used to incite violence. When white supremacists use “free speech” as a legitimating cover for directing hate speech at our most vulnerable and marginalized citizens, we have an ethical responsibility to denounce it and the physical violence it promotes. As a community, we cannot claim to uphold diversity and inclusivity as a societal and institutional value, whilst turning a blind eye to the symbolic and physical violence inflicted when racist ideologies are protected and allowed to spread under the banner of “free speech.”

The hatred that spurred the violence in Charlottesville is not new, nor is it unique. While we bore witness to the violence this weekend captured in graphic photographs and streamed on the internet, acts of hatred and bigotry occur daily in venues that are not always as visible or as intensely covered by news organizations. The persistence of these acts reflects a climate that has been part of U.S. culture since the nation’s founding. It has historic roots. It must stop.

As educators, we are dedicated to fostering brave spaces where ideas can be shared and debated. This, we believe, is how learning happens – by having the courage to challenge our most cherished world views through rigorous, collective, and respectful inquiry. However, the events of the weekend remind not that “blame” should be shared by “both sides” as President Trump insists on repeating. Rather, such efforts to evenly distribute blame are efforts to tip the scales in favor of white supremacy.

We invite you to join us in standing up against and denouncing racism, white supremacy, and hate. Naming those ideas and actions is an important step toward holding them accountable. And we need to do better. We must do better.


The Race & Racism at UR Project Advisory Group

Julian Hayter, Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies
Patricia Herrera, Associate Professor of Theater & American Studies
Glyn Hughes, Director of Common Ground, Affiliated Faculty, Sociology & Anthropology
Lynda Kachurek, Head of Rare Books & Special Collections, Boatwright Library
Nicole Maurantonio, Associate Professor of Rhetoric & Communication Studies and American Studies, Project Coordinator
Rob Nelson, Director of Digital Scholarship Lab, Affiliated Faculty, American Studies
Bedelia Richards, Associate Professor of Sociology & Anthropology
Irina Rogova, Race & Racism at the University of Richmond Project Archivist

Sides, Strategy and Slavery in the Civil War

Irina Rogova Uncategorized , ,

by Elizabeth Mejía-Ricart 

What is it like to be part of the losing side? For the German nation, for instance, it means conciliating with its problematic past and honoring those that were hurt by their actions in the wake of WWII. However, in other communities, like Richmond, having a controversial history still presents a challenge, which in most cases leads to defensiveness and denial. In particular, this inquiry guided me throughout the exhibit of the American Civil War Museum at Tredegar during my visit on Wednesday, June 21. In a chronologically organized presentation, the institution displayed the evolution of the Civil War, giving a particular emphasis to the significance and strategic use of slavery throughout the process. Still, the overarching theme displayed a rather interesting comparison between the North and the South, emphasizing non-apparent similarities between both sides of the dispute.

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