Oregon State University, a land-grant institution with an enrollment of almost 20,000, has been shaken by controversies over both blackface and a noose in the past year. The incidents here, however, were not seen as clear-cut expressions of racial animus, for which specific people should be held accountable, so much as acts of ignorance and…

This article discusses a youth travel program to honor the civil-rights leaders. The trip was composed mostly of Vanderbilt University students, who organized the Freedom Rides. The planned weekend trip was designed to challenge, to inspire, and to encourage a new generation of students to work for social and political change. Furthermore, this…

The origins of African-American studies are shrouded in a hazy collective memory, and it is becoming increasingly clear that before the field can move into the future, it is necessary to clear up some continuing confusion about why and how it began. Clarifying its beginnings has significant implications for how people think about not just a…

This article discusses a fight at Guilford College engaging athletes and students and the continued argument about what to call the incident. In their appeals for patience, officials have cited the college's Quaker traditions, including the "testimony of integrity," which is associated with honesty, fairness, and the search for truth. This…