53Results for "New York Times"
Stories
Princeton and the Ku Klux Klan
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During the early 1920s, Princeton students came into contact with local members of the Ku Klux Klan. Their interactions with the Klan reveal both curiosity about the organization and anxiety about the following it could develop on university campuses.
The Minstrel Tradition at Princeton University
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Princeton students performed in blackface in the 19th and 20th centuries, until as late as 1949. The legacy of Princeton’s minstrel traditions continues to live on in American culture through the popular folk song “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.”
"The Celebrated Alexander Dumas Watkins": Princeton's First Black Instructor
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Alexander Dumas Watkins (1855-1903), a self-taught biologist, conducted significant scientific research alongside Princeton University professors from the 1880s until his death in 1903. Despite holding no formal academic position, Watkins worked in Princeton’s laboratories and taught courses as the University’s first black instructor—and the last until the 1950s.
Student Origins
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Between 1746 and 1865, about 40% of Princeton students arrived from the slaveholding South. As college leaders recruited elite southerners, enrollment tracked the geographical spread of the slave economy.
A Southern Woman in "Negro Town"
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On an 1855 trip to Princeton, Louisianan Ann Maria Davison visited fourteen homes in the town’s black neighborhood. Davison’s observations convinced her that Princeton’s free black residents were intelligent and hard-working people fully capable of supporting themselves and their families—a position that contradicted common arguments in favor of slavery.
Primary Sources
"Nights of the Nightshirt at Princeton"
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Photograph of members of the Princeton Class of 1920 dressed in Ku Klux Klan robes at the University's 1924 Reunions celebration.
Clara Voorhees Obiturary
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New York Times obituary for Clara Voorhees, a former slave and longtime chef at Princeton.
"Attacks Follow Defense of Klan"
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Princeton professor William Starr Myers compares the Ku Klux Klan to labor unions and other activist organizations in the New York Times.
Photograph from "All in Favor"
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Photograph of Princeton students in blackface during the Triangle Club's performance of "All in Favor," which the New York Times called "a faithful imitation of the old-time minstrel show."
Letter from Harriet Beech
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A letter from Harriet Beech, a member of the African American community in Princeton.
News
Princeton to Name Two Campus Spaces in Honor of Slaves
The New York Times, 4/17/18
Five months after the release of sweeping research into its deep historical connections with slavery Princeton University announced on Tuesday that it would name two prominent spaces in honor of enslaved people who lived or worked on its campus.
After 274 Years, Princeton Will Have Its First Black Valedictorian
The New York Times, 5/12/20
Nicholas Johnson, who was named valedictorian of Princeton’s Class of 2020, called the achievement especially significant, given the school’s struggle in recent years to confront its troubled history with slavery.
Putting the Ghosts of Princeton’s Racial Past Onstage
The New York Times, 11/6/17
The voices of enslaved people can be hard to hear in the archives. But they are front and center in the Princeton & Slavery Plays, a suite of seven 10-minute works that will have their premieres at the McCarter Theater on Nov. 18 and 19.
Princeton Digs Deep into Its Fraught Racial History
The New York Times, 11/6/17
Princeton University has a long history connected to slavery, which has remained hidden until now.
The Princeton & Slavery Project Mentioned on Legal History Blog’s “Weekend Roundup”
Legal History Blog, 11/11/17
Events
Princeton & Slavery: A Paradox of American History
Thursday, May 3
6:30 pm Reception; 7 pm Presentation and Discussion
Princeton Club of NY (15 West 43rd St.)
The Princeton & Slavery Project: What We Learned and How We Learned It
Saturday, June 2
8:45 to 10 am
McCormick Hall, Room 106