Black History Month Exhibition

In celebration of Black History Month, College Library is once again featuring an exhibition of images from the University Archives and UW Communications which showcase African-American history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The display on the 2nd floor features ten large-format posters of images from the 19th through 21st century. In addition, there are four didactic panels, three of which were created by Harvey Long to provide context for the history of African-Americans on campus. The final panel was informed by work that Karla Foster and Harvey Long did for the 2016 opening of the Black Cultural Center on campus. These panels include a timeline covering the years 1840 to 2015 and a selection of smaller images highlighting achievements by black students, along with descriptions of the racial climate on campus. In an article for the alumni magazine On Wisconsin, Long noted that with increased calls for greater diversity and inclusion, the university community needs a better understanding of black students’ long, complicated history at the UW and how race played a key role in their isolation from campus activities.

To round out the exhibition, there is also a display of books and videos which celebrate the black experience in the United States. It is located just outside the entrance to the Computer Lab (Room 2250) on the library’s second floor.