"College Servants" & the University of Alabama: A Case Study in Identifying Records of Enslavement in University Archives

Abstract

The University of Alabama was one of many institutions in the United States that benefited from the labor of enslaved workers. In recent years, a small group of faculty researchers has been working to trace the archival record of this practice, from financial documents and administrative ledgers to personal diaries and letters. Identifying these documents has positioned the University to become an important part of the scholarly conversation about the history of slavery on college campuses, especially in the South. Special collections has been a partner in this work. In addition to digitizing many known resources, staff have taken an active role in helping researchers navigate the obscure and irregular University Archives record group containing the materials that survived the burning of the campus in 1865. In collaboration, researchers have explored these materials and used their contextual knowledge to identify new sources of information, and in turn, archivists have used their findings to make the record group more accessible. This poster will present the history of slavery at the University of Alabama as seen in archives and published primary sources, an example of what enslavement records look like at one institution. It will also share lessons learned in identifying and providing access to those records, to assist others in taking on a similar project.