Considering the Past: Topics in M.C. History

In Spring 2023, the students in Dan Fountain's "Introduction to Public History" class conducted research and wrote entries for the Locating Slavery's Legacies Database. The Locating Slavery’s Legacies database (LSLdb) contains information about monuments and memorials linked to slavery, the American Civil War, and the Confederacy on American college campuses. The database also includes memorials erected in opposition to the Lost Cause and white supremacy and in support of racial equality and universal Civil Rights.

The LSL database is sponsored and led by the Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee and is a part of the Legacies of American Slavery Initiative. Meredith is one of the 8 original pilot participants with the database project that now includes over 20 colleges and universities including Davidson College, Elon University, Furman University and the College of William & Mary. The student entries are another contribution to Action Step 3 of the Meredith Anti-Racism Initiative that calls for the college to "work to understand the realities of our history and any linkage to systemic racism."  Moving forward, as campus research progresses deeper into the 20th century there will be opportunities for students to not only explore additional "hard history" stories but also our history of integration, first Black graduates, and other diversity milestones.  Campus community members can visit the Meredith pages within the LSL Database here:

 https://locatinglegacies.org.locatinglegacies.reclaim.hosting/s/meredith/page/home

                                                                                                                                            - Introduction written by Dan Fountain