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Delaware College, the students said,
received financial support in various ways from wealthy families, many
of them enslavers. They cited several examples, including:
An 1837 college catalog listed the 28 members of the Board of Trustees; research revealed that 18 of them were enslavers.
Much of the land on which UD now sits was at one time owned by a slave-holding family.
Delaware College received donations and tuition payments over the
years from individuals and families that took part in enslavement or
exploitation of Black labor. A fundraising drive in the 1850s, for
example, found that about 20% of the money that was donated came from
enslavers and 6% from those who used indentured labor.
The students also discussed other findings, including ways in which
Black Delaware College workers (commonly day laborers or cleaners) used
their wages to invest in the surrounding community, renting or buying
land and homes and building churches in the New London Road area of west
Newark. That Black community continued for over a century.
What’s next
Plans are for the History Department to offer the seminar course,
HIST 460/660: Race and Inequality in Delaware, annually, including
during the 2022-2023 academic year. Other projects that are anticipated
include courses on the global history of racism, community workshops and
other public outreach.
The video of the students’ Dec. 7 talks, which were presented
virtually and recorded, along with questions from the online audience,
is posted on the UD Library website under the Recorded Events heading.
Article by Ann Manser
Photos by Evan Krape and courtesy of UD Special Collections and University Archives and Stanford University
Published Jan. 11, 2022