Princeton and Slavery

November 7, 2017 6:14 AM

Princeton University, founded as the College of New Jersey in 1746, exemplifies the central paradox of American history. From the start, liberty and slavery were intertwined. The Princeton and Slavery Project investigates the University’s involvement with the institution of slavery, through a range of primary sources and stories exploring its slaveholding presidents and professors, its African American communities on campus and in town, its first African American students, and the legacy of slavery in its archives and public memorials.
posted by verstegan (4 comments total)

I thought I'd post here that Albert Einstein (Princeton professor) was very forward thinking in regards to race and worked with Paul Robeson on anti-lynching efforts.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:38 AM on November 7, 2017

Liberty and slavery were not "intertwined." Some people had liberty, and some people were slaves. The freedoms Americans celebrate—like religion and speech and press—did not and do not rely on anyone being enslaved.
posted by andrewpcone at 10:25 AM on November 7, 2017 [2 favorites]

I just started grad school at Rutgers, and discovered they are doing a similar project called the Scarlet and Black Project. While researching, the committee discovered that Sojourner Truth and her parents were owned by the family of Rutgers’ first president. There's a book out about the discoveries made so far, Scarlet and Black: Slavery and Dispossession in Rutgers History.
posted by ceejaytee at 12:06 PM on November 7, 2017 [1 favorite]

Another one: NPR's Planet Money did an excellent podcast (part 1 - part 2) about the town of Maringouin, Louisiana and it's connection to the slaves owned by Georgetown University.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:44 PM on November 7, 2017