University Legacies of Slavery in the South

Dr. Brandon Inabinet, Furman University

View the recording of the event below.

This image captures Joseph Vaughn desegregating Furman University in 1965. A statue modeled from this image will be dedicated on April 16 as a result of the Seeking Abraham Project. Image file from Furman University Special Collections.

Rhetorical theory tells us that humans have a deep communicative need to “out-group” and “in-group” for meaning making. Language itself, as Richard Weaver posited, is hierarchical and regional, and built on notions of kinship. In this talk, Professor Inabinet takes us through the work of Universities Studying Slavery at ACS schools from this perspective: what are the limits of inclusion in DEIA pedagogy, and how are intergenerational wealth and space important levers of response to institutionalized trauma? Examples from Furman’s own “Seeking Abraham” project will be provided as case study.