Learn about the
History of African Americans
at Johns Hopkins University
Co-sponsored by the BFSA, this project seeks to expand upon W.E.B. DuBois’ profundity that Black people gave America distinct gifts that no one else offered. What is it that Black folk as a people, distinct from select individuals, have offered to make Johns Hopkins University and the university community what it is today? What is it that we offer that others do not? And how do these contributions help the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) to become the institution we would like it to be?
The project focuses on race in America viewed through the lens of the history of the Johns Hopkins Institutions (JHU). By examining the contributions of African Americans to JHU, the project will build a more complete history of the university and allow student researchers to reflect upon the evolving history of race in the United States. Students will explore the role that race has played in achievement and higher education. From this inquiry, they will distill a larger sense of the importance of African-American culture and experience over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Under the direction of a JHU faculty member, JHU undergraduates, conduct primary research, including oral histories an archival research when applicable. Each student then writes a scholarly paper or develops a multimedia, digital project presenting their research. These projects are then included as part of this growing online exhibition.