Begin With a Clock: How Brown University Addressed Its Connection to Slavery
In 2003, Brown University President Ruth Simmons appointed a Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice, charged to investigate the university’s historical relationship to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.
The final report, released in 2006, recommended a series of measures, including the creation of a center for the study of slavery and injustice, rewriting Brown’s history to acknowledge the role of slavery, creating a memorial to the slave trade in Rhode Island, and recruiting more minority students. Currently, other universities -- among them Yale, Columbia, and Georgetown -- are also investigating their past.
Brenda Allen was a member of the Brown Committee and will speak at Duke Feb. 7 about the committee's work. Currently, Allen is provost at Winston Salem State University and a vice-chancellor for academic affairs.
Her talk is part of "Dangerous Memories," a series that features speakers addressing the challenges of dealing with difficult or hidden histories at American universities. The series is part of a Bass Connections project looking at Duke's past and how it is reflected on campus.
Robin Kirk, the co-director of the Duke Human Rights Center@FHI and the leader of the Constructing Memory project, conducted this interview via email.
Robin Kirk: What steps led to the Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice being formed? Was there student, faculty and alumni support?
Brenda Allen: The committee grew out of the then popular public debate about reparations for slavery. There was support for this effort, but the support wasn't unanimous in any of these groups.
RK: Brown acted well before other universities. What were the factors that led to the university taking on this complex issue?
BA: For me, it was President Simmons’ courage and respect for the academy’s place in the debate that led to this important work.
RK: Many more universities are taking on these questions. If you could tell them 2 things to keep in mind, what would they be?
BA: No one is better prepared than the university to engage in a rigorous intellectual process related to these issues. Recommendations emanating from the process should keep in mind that the primary roles of the university is to educate and further knowledge production.
RK: Now that you are in a leadership position at a North Carolina Historically Black College, what advice would you give to other HBCUs and North Carolina universities about dealing with the past?
BA: We cannot continue to act as if the past never happened.
Allen will speak Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 5 p.m. in the Holsti-Anderson Family Assembly Room in the Rubenstein Library.