Research Guides: African American Studies: Scholarship

Journal Articles

The Memory of Slavery at Saint Louis University This essay examines both the history and memory of slavery at Saint Louis University (SLU). The essay argues that, despite the fact that slavery and slaves featured prominently in the university’s early history, later members of the SLU and St. Louis community have forgotten or misremembered the role of human bondage in the school’s past.
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Millett, N. “The Memory of Slavery at Saint Louis University.” American Nineteenth Century History 16, no. 3 (September 2, 2015): 329-350–350. doi:10.1080/14664658.2016.1138579.
A National Legacy of Enslavement: An Overview of the Work of the Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project As the Jesuit mission in the United States expanded to the west in the early nineteenth century, the Society bought, owned, hired, sold, and forcibly moved enslaved people to support their activities.
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Schmidt, Kelly L. "A National Legacy of Enslavement: An Overview of the Work of the Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project", Journal of Jesuit Studies 8, 1 (2020): 81-107, doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/22141332-0801P005
Enslaved Faith Communities in the Jesuits' Missouri Mission Between 1823 and 1865 members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Missouri utilized the labor of more than seventy enslaved individuals at locations including Saint Stanislaus Novitiate, Saint Louis University, and regional parishes and missions.
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Schmidt, Kelly L. "Enslaved Faith Communities in the Jesuits' Missouri Mission." U.S. Catholic Historian 37, no. 2 (2019): 49-81. doi:10.1353/cht.2019.0008.

Recorded Lectures & Presentations

Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province, "Slavery, History, Memory and Reconciliation Project Research - Preliminary Findings," YouTube Video, 22:13, Filmed in 2018, Posted April 4, 2019, https://youtu.be/ALPUZ9vLnP0.

St. Francis Xavier College Church, "Parish and Community: Slavery, History, Memory and Reconciliation Project," YouTube Video, 24:17, August 12, 2020, https://youtu.be/aWoUaCj0blE.

American Culture Studies, "Americanist Dinner Forum: Confronting Slavery & Higher Education in St. Louis," YouTube Video, 1:28:58, November 8, 2021, https://youtu.be/GeFrOtP6pgc.

State Historical Society of Missouri, "Missouri Historical Review Author Series: Kelly Schmidt on Slavery and the Catholic Church," YouTube Video, 57:55, Aired live on November 17, 2022, Posted on December 14, 2022, https://youtu.be/3mS1eioLPoQ.