Black History

Vanderbilt University will host an acclaimed multimedia art exhibit celebrating more than 100 years of influential Black writers—from the end of the Civil War through the Civil Rights era—at several campus locations this spring.  Read More

In celebration of Juneteenth, a new mural honoring Black country music artists was unveiled on June 19 at the site of the former Vanderbilt Printing Services building. The mural, created by local artist Elisheba Israel Mrozik, draws inspiration from stories and history featured in Vanderbilt professor and award-winning songwriter Alice Randall’s latest book, My Black Country. Read More

A partnership of the Metro Nashville Historical Commission, Vanderbilt University and Washington Junior High School alumni succeeded in erecting a historical marker honoring the school where it once stood. The marker, at the intersection of 25th Avenue North and Morena Street, was a celebration of the effort to honor Black history in Nashville by preserving the legacy of the school. Read More

Vanderbilt University Press has launched a new trade series, Global Black Writers in Translation, which will publish a variety of texts by authors of African descent translated from their source languages into English. The goal is to amplify a body of writing that introduces anglophone readers to the range and complexity of Black literary and cultural production, history and political thought. Read More

Lessons from the 1961 Freedom Rides and their relevance to today’s racial justice protests were discussed by alumnus and author Eric Etheridge and rider Rip Patten during a recent campus visit. Read More