鈥淪lavery and Its Legacies鈥 Fellow Mia Owens Develops Antiracist Research Tool
Mia Owens, who earned her master鈥檚 degree in Public History this May, has left behind an important legacy at 17吃瓜在线. She created a virtual subject guide, 鈥 a rich resource that students and researchers can use to learn about the historical influences of slavery on the 17吃瓜在线 campus and throughout the metropolitan area.
The Murdock Davis House, 1897, future site of 17吃瓜在线
Owens is the inaugural Public History Fellow in the History of Slavery and Its Legacies in Washington, DC, a two-year graduate fellowship created through a partnership between 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 Antiracist Research and Policy Center (ARPC), the 17吃瓜在线 Master of Arts in Public History Program, and the . During her fellowship, Owens spent two years conducting research for public history projects related to the history of enslaved people in the nation鈥檚 capital. Her work resulted in a series of articles that promote a deeper understanding of slavery in the DC area, and the subject guide, which will give future researchers the tools to build upon her work.听
鈥淭he fellowship has done so many important things,鈥 says Sara Clarke Kaplan, executive director of 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 ARPC. 鈥淏y increasing public knowledge around the impact and influence of slavery, this collaboration between the White House Historical Association and Antiracist Research and Policy Center contributes to our ongoing national reckoning with a history of systemic racism. At the same time, the fellowship supports the education and training of students committed to creating future forms of public history that increase racial justice.鈥
A Living, Working Resource
The subject guide is accessible online through the 17吃瓜在线 Library. It provides hyperlinked access to dozens of carefully curated historical materials (articles, books, websites, archival resources, census data, court and cemetery records) on the influence of slavery on 17吃瓜在线, including information about local landowners, 17吃瓜在线 founder Bishop John Fletcher Hurst, and more.听
John F. Hurst diary entry, May 12, 1859
The guide is a living and breathing resource, and it will be continually updated by future fellows and scholars. Already, sections on Indigenous history, and regional influences of slavery are in progress, expanding the guide鈥檚 relevance well beyond 17吃瓜在线. Owens created the tool with guidance from faculty and staff across disciplines: ARPC Executive Director Sara Clarke Kaplan and Associate Director Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell; Public History Director Malgorzata Rymsza-Pawlowska; Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies Assistant Professor Elizabeth Rule, and Leslie Nellis, Head Archivist for Special Collections and Digital Initiatives at the 17吃瓜在线 Library.
鈥淚鈥檓 so happy Mia created this important subject guide to share resources related to the influence of slavery on 17吃瓜在线,鈥 says Nellis. 鈥淚 hope the guide is a call to action and will inspire others to investigate, publicize, and further 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 commitment to telling this story.鈥澨
Uncovering the Past
At 17吃瓜在线, the Working Group on the Influence of Slavery on 17吃瓜在线 was first formed in 2018 to investigate the place of slavery in 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 history, explore its implications, and recommend ways to address that history.听It was all prompted by , the then-managing editor of opinion for The Eagle, who published a column critical of the University鈥檚 annual Founder鈥檚 Day Ball. Weeks later, the university announced that听听including staff, faculty, alumni, and Mack to explore the University鈥檚 potential connections to slavery. The group produced a report uncovering that 鈥渆nslaved people were present on the land that is now the University, slaves worked for families involved in the University鈥檚 history, and some of the funds that helped develop 17吃瓜在线 accumulated from wealth from the slavery era.鈥
In 2020, after the brutal police murder of George Floyd, the White House Historical Association reached out to the ARPC to partner on a fellowship dedicated to research on the history of slavery in DC 鈥 and at the White House itself, which relied on labor by enslaved people through the first half of the 19th century. The collaboration soon grew to include ARPC, 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 Public History program, the University Library, and 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 working group on slavery. In fall 2020, the fellowship was launched as a one-of-a-kind opportunity to recruit and support graduate students committed to approaching public history through an antiracist framework, and at the same time, to expand community knowledge about the historical influence of slavery at 17吃瓜在线.
During the first year of her fellowship, Owens conducted research under the mentorship of historians at WHHA as part of the initiative, which features research and educational resources on enslaved and free African Americans who built, lived, and worked at the White House. During her time at the WHHA, Owens鈥 own research was featured on the SPN timeline.听
Several of the articles that Owens featured in the SPN initiative were written by alumni of 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 public history program. In alumna Lina Mann鈥檚 鈥,鈥 Mann describes the use of enslaved labor during White House construction. Owens also highlights alumna Sarah Fling鈥檚 article, 鈥,鈥 which identifies and holds accountable First Ladies for their roles in holding slaves.
Incomplete list of the Pearl fugitives in the April 19, 1848 issue of the Daily Union.
Owens contributed two articles of her own to the SPN timeline. 鈥溾 recounts the attempted escape of 77 enslaved people from Washington, DC, in 1848 on the Pearl schooner. 鈥溾 expands on the stories of Paul Jennings, Monica McCarty, and the lives of other enslaved individuals who worked for Daniel Webster at his house on Lafayette Square.听
Owens says the experience has shown her how the complex histories of race and landscape continue to impact the lives of people today. 鈥淟ooking back at the research that I conducted for these articles, I am encouraged and inspired by others鈥 work to bring these stories to the public eye through public history and art,鈥 she says. 鈥淎t the same time, I am reminded of public historians鈥 continued responsibility to engage in genealogical and historical research, collaboration with descendant communities, and multidisciplinary partnerships to engage in antiracist work.鈥
What鈥檚 Next
Owens is currently working as a research intern at the Smithsonian Institution鈥檚 Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and as a research associate with the 1882 Foundation, focusing on local Chinese American history and historic resources.听
As she looks back, Owens emphasizes the importance of building the subject guide into a resource that the entire 17吃瓜在线 community can access. 鈥淎s a public historian, I wanted my work with the fellowship to provide not only information, but also materials for the community to continue learning about and engaging in conversation with 17吃瓜在线's history and legacy in relation to slavery,鈥 she explains. 鈥淭hrough the subject guide, I hope that students, faculty, and staff at 17吃瓜在线 can build upon the Working Group's preliminary findings to expand our understanding of 17吃瓜在线 history and connections to slavery and settler colonialism.鈥
Fittingly, the next Slavery and Its Legacies fellow, Joshua Johnson, who has a special interest in unmarked African American graves, will have a chance to carry on where Owens left off. At the same time, the ARPC will continue to provide opportunities for the 17吃瓜在线 community and the broader public to engage with the legacy and impacts of slavery through the continued partnership of the Slavery and Its Legacies fellowship and support for ongoing programming.
For More Information
The subject guide is available online at the University Library.听
To learn more about the work of the ARPC, visit the Antiracist Research and Policy Center鈥檚 website.
To learn about how the Working Group on the Influence of Slavery on 17吃瓜在线听was founded, read the group鈥檚 history in . 听