News

The 1856 Project welcomes applicants for an internship for the Fall 2023 academic term. Interns will have the opportunity to do the following: engage in primary research meant to uncover data relevant to enslaved individuals and communities tied to the history of the university and its intersections with the surrounding community; build skills in packaging complex research to large audiences through digital humanities-related work; assist in producing The 1856 Project podcast; provide copy editing support, develop questions and storyboards, and assist with scheduling; and assist in producing social media campaigns focusing on primary resources and project findings.

The application deadline is March 31st, 2023. 

Photo source: University Archives Digital Collections

The 1856 Project will once again be collaborating with the BSOS Summer Research Initiative (SRI) and the Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) hosted by College of Arts and Humanities to seek rising juniors and seniors to participate in an 8-week (June 5-July 28, 2023) in-person research internship. The 1856 Project SRI/SROP scholars will work with the University of Maryland Libraries' Special Collections and University Archives in the historical exploration of the slave economy and how slavery operated in the immediate vicinity of the Maryland Agricultural College (MAC, now the University of Maryland). Fellows will have the opportunity to utilize and uncover primary resources pertaining to the histories of the enslaved. 

By Casey Hughes and Sara Ludewig, Terrapin Tales

February 25th, 2021

In the coming months the 1856 Project, the University of Maryland’s contribution to the Universities Studying Slavery, will be exploring the role that enslaved individuals played in the founding and early history of our institution...

Photo courtesy of Anacostia Community Museum

By Karen Shih, Maryland Today

January 31st, 2023

At the start of Black History Month, organizers of a University of Maryland initiative probing the institution’s historic intersections with slavery are inviting community members to learn about their research and progress and join their work.

Tomorrow, The 1856 Project’s inaugural symposium will bring together UMD researchers and students...

By Hannah Ziegler, The Diamondback

February 22nd, 2022

Members of the University of Maryland community got a first glimpse Monday into the work of this university’s 1856 Project — an initiative that looks to investigate the Black experience at this university and analyze institutional ties to slavery...

Photo by Daryl Perry

By Liam Farrell, Maryland Today

February 21st, 2022

From investigating historic connections to the slave economy to examining the experiences of current Black students, the University of Maryland’s ambitious 1856 Project aims to illuminate the past and influence the future of a diverse institution...

Photo by John T. Consoli

By Anaya Truss-Williams, The Diamondback

October 19th, 2020

Last week, before visiting a section of an orientation course meant to introduce new students to the University of Maryland, university archivist Lae’l Hughes-Watkins reviewed the slides that had been shown to educate the class about the school’s history.

She noticed a few key omissions...

Photo by Julia Nikhinson

As the University of Maryland becomes a member of Universities Studying Slavery in July 2020, the country is witnessing another watershed moment in the aftermath of the ongoing murders of Black people...