By Angela Hooks C’14
On March 4th, Penn Law students and members of the community gathered in Fitts Auditorium to hear author Dr. Craig Steven Wilder speak about American higher education’s entangled past with slavery, and ill treatment of people of color.
Penn Law’s Black Law Students Association hosted the event in collaboration with Penn’s African American Law Alumni Society, the Penn Program on Race, Science, and Society, the Department of History, Makuu: Black Cultural Center, the Department of Anthropology, and the Center for Africana Studies.
Opening with an overview of the themes in his book, Ebony & Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of American Universities, Dr. Wilder chronicled the complicated pasts of top American universities - focusing on the University of Pennsylvania - with race and slavery, putting the oppressive and exploitative tactics of those known to have pioneered the American academy on full display.
“Within a decade of their arrival, …the English had actually attempted to establish colleges before they solved simple little problems like feeding themselves and securing themselves,” said Dr. Wilder, “One actually has to think about the college as an instrument of colonialism itself.”
The event ended with a conversation between Dr. Wilder and Penn Law’s Raymond Pace and Sadie T.M. Alexander Professor of Civil Rights Dorothy Roberts, bringing the discussion to the present day, exploring ways in which colleges are dealing with their complicated histories.
Join us for a great discussion of “Ebony and Ivy” tomorrow night at Penn Law with @craigswilder and @DorothyERoberts! http://t.co/Jdf8ggKSa9
— Penn Law BLSA (@PennBLSA) March 3, 2014
“When he organized the founding of the University of Pennsylvania, Benjamin Franklin was a slave holder.” - Craig Steven Wilder #pennlaw
— angela (@hooksangela) March 4, 2014
“At Princeton…the first 8 presidents, the first 75 years of the school, were slave owners.” - Craig Steven Wilder #pennlaw #ebony&ivy
— angela (@hooksangela) March 5, 2014
“Yale’s first scholarships are actually paid for by a small slave plantation in Rhode Island.” - Craig Steven Wilder #pennlaw
— angela (@hooksangela) March 5, 2014
@DorothyERoberts @PennLaw Thank you for the wonderful event at Penn Law last night. What a great discussion and exchange.
— Craig Steven Wilder (@craigswilder) March 5, 2014
@craigswilder @PennLaw Thanks also to @PennBLSA students for organizing such an impressive event. @P_R_S_S_ was honored to co-sponsor.
— Dorothy Roberts (@DorothyERoberts) March 5, 2014