Last week, alumna Dr. Anne C. Bailey ’82 led her final lecture for St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s faculty about the history of anti-Black racism in the United States. The five-part lecture series began with the history of the ancient civilizations of Africa and ended with a look towards memorialization, reparations, and the ongoing work of educators in anti-racism.
Dr. Bailey emphasized the importance of students both learning U.S. history and also recognizing the active role they play in improving our society. “I want this generation to be the ones who finally help us to heal,” she implored.
Learning from Dr. Bailey has been informative and inspirational for the faculty, and in turn, Dr. Bailey reflected that the “Living History Teach-In” series brought back “such fond memories” of her time as a student at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s.
Dr. Bailey is a professor of history at SUNY Binghamton and the founding Director of the Binghamton University/Harriet Tubman Center for the Study of Freedom and Equity. She is the author of The Weeping Time: Memory and the Largest Slave Auction in American History and you can read her article for The New York Times 1619 Project here.