In Spring 2021 Washington University in St. Louis joined the global consortium of Universities Studying Slavery (USS), where academic institutions study and address their entanglements with histories of slavery and legacies of inequality in higher education and university communities. WashU is the third institution in greater St. Louis to join USS, following Saint Louis University and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
In this Americanist Dinner Forum, Washington University & Slavery Project director Prof. Geoff Ward joined Dr. Kelly Schmidt and Prof. Bryan Jack in a discussion of St. Louis Universities Studying Slavery. The three discussed origins and objectives of these initiatives, key insights to date, how they have engaged students and community, and how the projects might contribute to a broader reckoning with slavery and its legacy in our region. The event was moderated by AMCS Lecturer Zachary Manditch-Prottas.
