Library Develops Digital Archive on the University’s Black History

Library Develops Digital Archive on the University’s Black History

During the Spring 2022 semester, Library faculty and staff continued their support of campus research into the University’s Black history through the development of a digital archive. Re-membering Blackness at The University of Scranton: History as a Call to Action (www.scranton.edu/rememberingblackness) shares the University’s racial story through a collection of archival records from the University Archives.

Led by the Institutional Black History Subcommittee of the University’s Council for Diversity and Inclusion, the project seeks to examine the University’s historical relationships with Black faculty, staff, students, and the broader community as part of campus efforts to address anti-Black racism and foster greater diversity, equity and inclusion. Grounded in the University’s Jesuit and Catholic mission, these efforts draw on notions of “moral memory” – the collective and moral act of remembering – and “metanoia” – a process of individual and community-based change, spiritual transformation, and renewal.

Assistant Professor and Digital Services Librarian Colleen Farry serves on the Subcommittee on Institutional Black History and led a team within the Library to discover resources from the University Archives and develop the online archive.

Research conducted by Digital Services Assistant David Hunisch uncovered nearly 600 items to date related to the University’s Black history and made these resources publicly available in the digital archive. Historical documents include newspaper clippings, records related to student activities, faculty writings, University reports, photographs, and more. The documents cover topics ranging from discussions of the Black experience, the civil rights movement, and affirmative action, as well as documentation of episodes of racism on campus.

Library Systems Specialist and Digital Services Web Developer Jennifer Galas led the design and development of the archive website as well as its complementary site dedicated to undergraduate student research using the archive (digitalprojects.scranton.edu/s/hist190).

In addition to historical records, the Library is working to document contemporary activities and resources for the collection. For example, the archive includes the recent May 2022 issue of CCG News, a publication of Peace and Justice Studies in collaboration with Christians for the Common Good.

This issue includes the essay, “We have the Blueprint: Pastness and Moral Memory in Black Studies and Christian Practice,” by Assistant Professor Nicole Hoskins, Ph.D., originally presented during the Office of Equity and Diversity’s Lunch & Learn Series on April 28, 2022. The issue also shares an exit interview with graduating students Tiannah Adams and Koebe Diaz, founding members of the Louis Stanley Brown Black Student Union. A recording of the Lunch & Learn presentation by the Institutional Black History Subcommittee is also available in the collection.

Primary resources from the archive will continue to be connected to teaching and learning at the University, and the Library continues to support undergraduate research projects that explore our racial history.

The digital archive does not capture a comprehensive history of the Black experience at the University due to lost, uncollected, or not-yet-discovered records and narratives. Records that document the legacy of the University’s Black community are still being discovered, and the Library is actively seeking materials to extend our research and expand the archival collection.

The University Archives will accept any material that may be relevant to the University’s Black history from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the wider community. To learn how to contribute, visit www.scranton.edu/rememberingblackness/ contribute or contact Colleen Farry at colleen. farry@scranton.edu.

—Assistant Professor Colleen Farry, Digital Services Librarian Jennifer Galas, Systems Specialist III and Digital Services Web Developer, David Hunisch, Digital Services Assistant

Louis D. Mitchell, Ph.D., 1974

Louis D. Mitchell, Ph.D., 1974 Dr. Mitchell, the University’s first African American tenured faculty member, taught in the English department from 1961 until his death in 1989. Dr. Mitchell, who was also blind and a gifted musician, had a prestigious career in education after earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fordham University and Ph.D. from New York University. His scholarship covered such topics as African American literature and 18th century literature, and he received numerous accolades including being named to the 1976 edition of “Who’s Who Among Black Americans.”

Article from the May 1969 issue of Esprit discussing the Black experience in Scranton titled “Scranton – Short View, A Microcosm,” by Louis D. Mitchell, Ph.D.

Retired Lt. Col. Everett “Rhett” Jenkins

Retired Lt. Col. Everett “Rhett” Jenkins received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University in 1967. He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army, through the University’s ROTC program, and went on to serve 22 years in the infantry. While at the University, Col. Jenkins, also known as Rhett “the Jet,” studied education, with membershipin the philosophy and history clubs, and played basketball; he was the only player to reach the 1,000-point club in two years. During the 1966-67 season, he received numerous awards, including the Les Dickman Award. He was twice named to the Middle Atlantic Conference All-Star First Team and was inducted into the University’s Wall of Fame in 1978.

Article from the Spring 1967 issue of Esprit by undergraduate student Rhett Jenkins, titled “On Being an American Negro.”

Clipping from the Nov. 11, 1980, issue of the student newspaper The Aquinas.

Louis Stanley Brown BlackStudent Union In 2021, the Louis Stanley Brown Black Student Union (BSU) was formed to advocate for the needs of Black students, provide a safe space to engage in conversation about the Black experience, and provide leadership to foster community. The BSU is named in honor of Louis Stanley Brown, the first African American graduate of The University of Scranton (then St. ThomasCollege), who earned his commercial degree in 1919. In 2016, the University dedicated the building at 600 Linden St. as Louis Stanley Brown Hall in his honor.