The story of student activism and various social movements at colleges and universities has historically and primarily been made accessible through administrative records. Presidential papers exuding their frustration with anti-war protests, communications with public relations to address the litany of letters from outraged parents and residents about the use of their tax dollars to support LGBTQ student organizations/events, to list of students considered “problematic,” along with the names of parents are all examples of records found in repositories at academic institutions. In the last few years, Project STAND has worked to advocate for the ethical documentation of student activism in marginalized communities and the increased discoverability of archives that tell the story of student-led social movements through their own words and the systematic inclusion of these narratives into the institutional record utilizing a reparative framework.

Speakers

Dr. Clarissa Myrick-Harris

Professor of Africana Studies, Morehouse College

Dr. Myrick-Harris’s career includes positions chair of the Humanities Division at Morehouse College, as interim associate provost of Strategic Academic Initiatives and Graduate Studies, Lincoln University, Missouri (2019) and provost at Savannah State University (2016-17). During her earlier tenure at Morehouse College (2012-16), she was Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, the first woman academic dean at the institution; and then Associate Provost for Pedagogical and Curricular Initiatives. In addition to her current position at Morehouse, she is the convener of the Committee to Commemorate the Atlanta Student Movement, which has developed the Atlanta Student Movement Initiative to share the stories and lessons of student activism of the 1960s. She is the co-leader of the Global Issues Honors Consortium (GIHC), the third iteration of an initiative she first led in partnership with University of Minnesota Twin Cities over two decades ago to help prepare students for graduate study and careers related to international affairs. Myrick-Harris is the college’s lead organizer of the Morehouse/Points of Light initiative Listen Learn Act to End Racism, which is convening a series of virtual conversations with scholar/activists, community activists, social justice leaders, and corporate supporters to raise awareness of the historical and present day manifestations of systemic racism and social injustices.

Dr M. Bahati Kuumba

Women’s Research & Resource Center Associate Director, Professor, Women’s Center

As professor of Comparative Women’s Studies and associate director of the Women’s Center, Dr. Kuumba mentors the next generation of scholar-activists. Her classes include “The Black Female Body,” “Women and Social Resistance Movements,” and “Feminist Qualitative Research Methodologies.” In addition, she facilitates the Toni Cade Bambara Scholars/Writers/Activism Program and annual conference that engages students from all majors in consciousness-raising lectures, dialogues and projects. She also serves as a faculty advisor to several student organizations, including the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, Afrekete, SisterFire Open Mic and the TCB Collective.