Universities Studying Slavery (USS)
Universities Studying Slavery (USS) is dedicated to organizing multi-institutional collaboration as part of an effort to facilitate mutual support in the pursuit of common goals around the core theme of “Universities Studying Slavery.” Our goals are:
- to study the history of slavery and race-based unfree labor and their long-lasting impact on the University, the local community, as well as the larger Southern Illinois/St. Louis region
- to memorialize victims of racial violence in our region; and challenge monuments to a hierarchy of human value in our region
- to challenge monuments to a hierarchy of human value
Sankofa Lecture and Dialogue Series: Through our Sankofa Lecture and Dialogue Series, we will reckon with the history and legacies of slavery on our campuses and in our region. Through the series, we hope to facilitate a collective awareness and understanding of the histories and legacies of racial injustice connections between the past and present, with the goal of moving the community towards racial reconciliation.
- Press Releases (the Sankofa series topics to date):
- Sankofa Lecture Series Examines Anti-Black Violence in Southern Illinois
- Sankofa Lecture Series Uncovers Truth About Africa’s Rich History
- Sankofa Lecture Series to Discuss Slavery in Illinois, Registration Now Open
- Sankofa Lecture Series to Focus on Perspectives from East St. Louis (part 2 is planned for Spring 2022)
- Sankofa Lecture Series Focuses on African American Ambition in the Era of Slavery
- Virtual Sankofa Series Continues with “Myths of Slavery” Presentation
- “Monuments in the Age of Black Lives Matter: The View from St. Louis” SIUE Launches Virtual Sankofa Series
- Recordings
- Americanist Dinner Forum: Confronting Slavery & Higher Education in St. Louis.
- “Forgotten Narratives” of Africa
- New Perspectives From East St. Louis
- Stories of Bondage in Egypt–Slavery in Southern Illinois
- “Fight Like a Tiger: The Story of Conway Barbour”
- Monuments in the Age of Black Lives Matter
- Myths of Slavery