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Slavery and The University

Introduction

This section of the Libguide explores the working lives of black individuals at The Citadel throughout its early history, both free(d) and enslaved. Our timeline spans the years 1842 to 1929, approximately, and traces the history of the black individuals who shaped the life of The Citadel. We took research cues from Mark Auslander's ethnographic study of Emory University's enslaved population and their descendents. Auslander indicates that, "descendent families, who often trace their lineages back to both slaveholders and the enslaved, negotiate at times ambivalent relations to educational institutions (277)."  This libguide enables researchers to navigate the ambiguity and grasp the complicated relationship that The Citadel and those who were enslaved and employed by it may have.