Brown & Slavery & Justice
Resources
Committee Communications
Communications among then-President Ruth J. Simmons, members of the Steering Committee and the Brown community from 2003 to 2006 are collected here:
- President Ruth J. Simmons’ letter to prospective committee members, April 2003
- Committee chair’s letter to the Brown community, March 2004
- President Ruth J. Simmons’ thank you letter to the committee, October 2006
- President Ruth J. Simmons’ letter to the Brown community, October 2006
- Steering Committee’s letter of acknowledgements, October 2006
Library Collections and Archives
The original building records for University Hall, handwritten documents pertaining to a slave voyage funded by the Brown brothers, and other documentation of Brown’s historical entanglement with racial slavery and the slave trade are available in the Brown University Library collections.
Typed transcriptions of select handwritten historical documents illustrated in the 2006 Slavery and Justice Report, including the building records for University Hall, documents pertaining to a slave voyage funded by the Brown brothers, and other materials, are included in resources collected for the 2020 First Readings program.
Voyage of the Slave Ship Sally
Historical documents related to the slave-trading voyage sponsored by the Brown brothers of Providence are available in the Brown University Library collections. In 2006, the Slavery and Justice Steering Committee presented this collection of documents as part of its report.
The University Library gathered resources such as databases, literature, artifacts and government documents that may prove useful in research projects on racial slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.
The John Carter Brown Library, a private institution on the Brown campus, created a collection of its biographies, Brown family business records, maps, travel narratives, and other historical documents and artifacts that pertain to the history of slavery in the Americas.
The Brown University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice compiled its advertisements for public conversations, conferences and town halls hosted by the committee from 2004 to 2006 as it engaged the community toward developing the Slavery and Justice Report.
The Steering Committee collaborated with undergraduate students and the Rhode Island Historical Society to present an exhibition and corresponding pamphlet confronting Rhode Island’s historical ties to the transatlantic slave trade.
Slavery and Justice Report News and Press Archive
The Brown University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice began its work upon receiving its charge from President Ruth J. Simmons in 2003. Early University announcements and press releases about the activities and events surrounding the committee’s work are collected here. This ranges from the release of the Slavery and Justice Report and the University’s response through the earliest years of the fulfillment of some of the major recommendations of the report.
Latest News
Read more about Brown’s teaching, research, scholarship, community engagement and University initiatives addressing legacies of racial slavery in our contemporary world.
Contact Us
Have additional questions or research requests? Contact the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice.