About Us

           Universities Studying Slavery (USS) is dedicated to organizing multi-institutional collaboration as part of an effort to facilitate mutual support in the pursuit of common goals around the core theme of “Universities Studying Slavery.” USS additionally allows participating institutions to work together as they address both historical and contemporary issues dealing with race and inequality in higher education and in university communities as well as the complicated legacies of slavery in modern American society. USS hosts semi-annual meetings to discuss strategies, collaborate on research, and learn from one another.

           Through its membership in the Universities Studying Slavery consortium, Guilford College acknowledges the need to delve deeper into the campus’ history related to slavery. The college seeks to honor its abolitionist roots, while interrogating its complicity in a larger system of white supremacy. Krishauna Hines-Gaither (Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) and Gwen Gosney Erickson (Quaker Archives) co-chair the Guilford College USS Working Group in collaboration with several students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members. Work predating our USS membership includes our Underground Railroad trail and K-12 Curriculum, recognition of our Quaker Archives as a research facility and our campus property as a site in the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program, and ongoing campus anti-racism work. As we acknowledge the complexity and complicity of our past and wrestle with its enduring legacies, we esteem the important work of Universities Studying Slavery.