Program in African American History, Library Company of Philadelphia

02/15/2024

Happy Black History Month from the Library Company of Philadelphia! We hope you'll join us for our annual Black History Month lecture. This year's talk is titled Jubilee's Experiment: British Emancipation in the Caribbean and Black History in America, and will be presented by Dr. Dexter Gabriel, science fiction author and Assistant Professor of History at the University of Connecticut. Dr Gabriel's talk will explore Black responses to, and advocacy for, emancipation, abolition, and freedom in both the Caribbean and the United States. Register here: https://support.librarycompany.org/jubileesexperiment.

Jubilee's Experiment: British Emancipation in the Caribbean and Black History in America Thursday, February 22 6:00 PM ET Virtual Event | Free In the early United States, the emancipated British Caribbean colonies often entered into debates over abolition in America. This was a public dis...

06/02/2023

June is here, which means Juneteenth is around the corner! We hope you'll join us for our annual celebration. This year's program is The Sounds of Freedom: Juneteenth, Black Music Month, and the Cultural Politics of Empowerment, featuring scholar, author, and musician Dr. Scot Brown. Dr. Brown will be diving into the ways African American people have been exploring freedom through music across the centuries, both here in Philadelphia and beyond. Register for the event here: https://support.librarycompany.org/juneteenth23.

The Sounds of Freedom: Juneteenth, Black Music Month, and the Cultural Politics of Empowerment This year’s Juneteenth Freedom Program will feature multihyphenate Dr. Scot Brown, Associate Professor of African American Studies and History at UCLA, author of Fighting for Us: Maulana Karenga, the...

06/02/2023

Our annual Juneteenth event is a week from today! We hope you'll join us for this year's program, The Sounds of Freedom: Juneteenth, Black Music Month, and the Cultural Politics of Empowerment, featuring scholar, author, and musician Dr. Scot Brown. Dr. Brown will be diving into the ways African American people have been exploring freedom through music across the centuries, both here in Philadelphia and beyond. Register for the event here: https://support.librarycompany.org/juneteenth23.

The Sounds of Freedom: Juneteenth, Black Music Month, and the Cultural Politics of Empowerment This year’s Juneteenth Freedom Program will feature multihyphenate Dr. Scot Brown, Associate Professor of African American Studies and History at UCLA, author of Fighting for Us: Maulana Karenga, the...

03/31/2023

Our monthlong event series celebrating the life and legacy of Phillis Wheatley starts next week. More information below. Hope to see you there!

On the first Wednesday of the month, April 5th, we will be hosting a free virtual event, “The Past, Present, and Future of Phillis Wheatley Peters: 250 Years Later”, with poet-scholars Dr. drea brown and Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Moderated by Dr. Tara A. Bynum. Register here: https://support.librarycompany.org/pwppastpresentfuture.

Following the kickoff event on the 5th will be a three-session virtual seminar course, “Phillis Wheatley and Friends: Celebrating 250 Years of Wheatley’s Poems”. Also led by Dr. Bynum, this seminar rejects efforts to fix Wheatley in time as a lone, singular voice. Bynum’s course will introduce students to another story for the young poet and, by implication, a new story for early African American writing. What if Wheatley is not by herself, but is instead an active interlocutor, friend, writer, and lover in various communities throughout New England, England, and elsewhere? These communities buy Wheatley’s book, live through a war, and later have to mourn the loss of their friend. They are communities, too, that write, read, and leave behind a legacy in manuscript and in print. The aim of the class is to ask new questions and to situate this writing amidst old, new, and different ways of reading and to center the living of Black women and men in the latter half of the eighteenth century. See below for session information and the registration link.

Session One: Wednesday, April 12th | 6:00-7:30pm
Session Two: Wednesday, April 19th | 6:00-7:30pm
Session Three: Wednesday, April 26th | 6:00-7:30pm
Register here: Phillis Wheatley and Friends Seminar: Celebrating 250 Years of Wheatley's Poems - Campaign (librarycompany.org).
Registration is $200 in total for the three-session seminar. Register here: https://support.librarycompany.org/wheatleyandfriends

03/22/2023

This April, the Library Company is holding a monthlong celebration to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Phillis Wheatley Peters’ Poems on Various Subjects. On the first Wednesday of the month, April 5th, we will be hosting a free virtual event, “The Past, Present, and Future of Phillis Wheatley Peters: 250 Years Later”, with poet-scholars Dr. drea brown and Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Moderated by Dr. Tara A. Bynum. Register here: https://support.librarycompany.org/pwppastpresentfuture.

Following the kickoff event on the 5th will be a three-session virtual seminar course, “Phillis Wheatley and Friends: Celebrating 250 Years of Wheatley’s Poems”. Also led by Dr. Bynum, this seminar rejects efforts to fix Wheatley in time as a lone, singular voice. Bynum’s course will introduce students to another story for the young poet and, by implication, a new story for early African American writing. What if Wheatley is not by herself, but is instead an active interlocutor, friend, writer, and lover in various communities throughout New England, England, and elsewhere? These communities buy Wheatley’s book, live through a war, and later have to mourn the loss of their friend. They are communities, too, that write, read, and leave behind a legacy in manuscript and in print. The aim of the class is to ask new questions and to situate this writing amidst old, new, and different ways of reading and to center the living of Black women and men in the latter half of the eighteenth century. See below for session information and the registration link.

Session One: Wednesday, April 12th | 6:00-7:30pm
Session Two: Wednesday, April 19th | 6:00-7:30pm
Session Three: Wednesday, April 26th | 6:00-7:30pm
Register here: Phillis Wheatley and Friends Seminar: Celebrating 250 Years of Wheatley's Poems - Campaign (librarycompany.org).
Registration is $200 in total for the three-session seminar. Register here: https://support.librarycompany.org/wheatleyandfriends

03/02/2023

We hope you'll join us on a week from today at 6:30 pm ET, for an exciting conversation between Dr. Holly A. Pinheiro and Dr. Hilary Green on Dr. Pinheiro's new book, The Families' Civil War: Black Soldiers and the Fight for Racial Justice. Dr. Pinheiro's work tells the stories of freeborn northern African Americans in Philadelphia struggling to maintain families while fighting against racial discrimination during the Civil War era. Register here: https://support.librarycompany.org/familiescivilwar.

The Families' Civil War: Black Soldiers and the Fight for Racial Justice  A Book Talk with Dr. Holly A. Pinheiro Jr. This book tells the stories of freeborn northern African Americans in Philadelphia struggling to maintain families while fighting against racial discrimination. Taking a...

02/23/2023

We hope you'll join us on Thursday, March 9th, for an exciting conversation between Dr. Holly A. Pinheiro and Dr. Hilary Green on Dr. Pinheiro's new book, The Families' Civil War: Black Soldiers and the Fight for Racial Justice. Dr. Pinheiro's work tells the stories of freeborn northern African Americans in Philadelphia struggling to maintain families while fighting against racial discrimination during the Civil War era. Register here: https://support.librarycompany.org/familiescivilwar.

The Families' Civil War: Black Soldiers and the Fight for Racial Justice  A Book Talk with Dr. Holly A. Pinheiro Jr. This book tells the stories of freeborn northern African Americans in Philadelphia struggling to maintain families while fighting against racial discrimination. Taking a...

11/11/2022

The Library Company of Philadelphia’s Program in African American History, with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is pleased to announce the 2023–24 Mellon Scholars Program of research fellowships, summer internships and workshops.

RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS

Postdoctoral fellowship, with a stipend of $50,000 for the 2023–24 academic year.
Dissertation fellowship, with a stipend of $25,000 for the 2023–24 academic year.
Short-term fellowships, with a stipend of $2,500 for a one-month period.
Application deadline: January 15, 2023. For detailed information and full application instructions, visit librarycompany.org/academic-programs/fellowships/

SUMMER PROGRAMS FOR RISING COLLEGE SENIORS OR RECENT GRADUATES

The Mellon Scholars Internship Program June 2023 provides potential scholars of early African American history with experience in original archival research, guidance on applying to graduate school and developing research agendas, and exposure to the work of research libraries. Interns will be rising seniors or recent college graduates and receive a $1,500 stipend and additional support for travel and housing.

The Mellon Scholars Summer Workshop June 2023 is a one-week professional development program designed to prepare students for the transition to graduate study and for conducting independent research in early African American history archival collections. Workshop participants will be in their first year of graduate study in an MA program or advanced undergraduates. Participants will receive a $500 stipend and additional support for travel and housing.

Application deadline: March 1, 2023, with a decision to be made by April 15. For detailed information and full applications instructions, visit librarycompany.org/mellon-scholars-internship-workshop-program/
For more information, contact Program Director Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens ([email protected]) and Jasmine Smith, Assistant Director ([email protected]).

The Library Company of Philadelphia’s Program in African American History (PAAH), with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is pleased to offer the following summer opportunities for 2023.

06/17/2022

Last chance! Join us this Friday for our annual Juneteenth event! We are delighted to be featuring Michelle Browder and her work on the new "Mothers of Gynecology" monument. Register here: https://support.librarycompany.org/juneteenth

06/13/2022

Join us on Friday June 17th for our annual Juneteenth event! We are delighted to be featuring Michelle Browder and her work on the new "Mothers of Gynecology" monument. Register here: https://support.librarycompany.org/juneteenth