African American students started enrolling at the University in the late 1880s and their numbers continued to increase incrementally through the turn of the century. Professors Tamara Hoff and Vanessa Rouillon share their research on the African American experience in these earliest years on campus and in the Champaign-Urbana community. They illustrate how these students organized, networked and supported one another through social organizations (such as Alpha Kappa Alpha) and through the local community’s educational and social outlets (specifically, the Bethel AME Church).
Speakers are Tamara Hoff, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Chicago and Vanessa Rouillon, Assistant Professor, James Madison University. Contact Ellen Swain at eswain@illinois.edu for more information.
Thanks to Jason Quackenbush of the University Library for this information item.
**********