Universities Studying Slavery
Campus and Community
Multi-Institutional Collaboration
The Universities Studying Slavery (USS) consortium, created and led by the University of Virginia, represents a multi-institutional collaboration focused on sharing best practices and guiding principles about truth-telling projects addressing racialized human bondage and racism in institutional histories. Member schools are committed to research, acknowledgment, and atonement regarding institutional ties to the slave trade, enslavement on campus or abroad, and enduring racism in school history and practice.
USS additionally encourages participating institutions to work together as they address both historical and contemporary issues dealing with race and inequity in university communities. Together, the growing movement of schools committed to this work addresses the complicated legacies of slavery in the modern world.
USS at FMU
Francis Marion University joined USS in September 2021, making it the seventh South Carolina university to join the consortium. Current South Carolina colleges and universities who are members of USS are The Citadel, Clemson University, College of Charleston, Furman University, University of South Carolina, and Wofford College.
USS at FMU is a collaboration of university faculty, staff, and students as well as members and leaders of the Pee Dee community. The Pee Dee is a twelve-county region of South Carolina with an often neglected, but rich history. The legacies of colonialism, plantation slavery, and postbellum racism are apparent everywhere from the landscapes of the Pee Dee to the everyday lives of its residents.
FMU has been an institution for higher education in the Pee Dee for more than fifty years and has a developed strong presence in Florence’s downtown. USS at FMU builds upon and deepens relationships with neighboring communities through research and education. The first phase of the initiative focuses on youth and family in the Pee Dee region.
Mission Statement
To create a robust, comprehensive, and accessible understanding of the Pee Dee region’s historical connections to slavery and its legacies through campus and community collaboration.
Pee Dee Oral History Project
Established in the spring of 2021 under Dr. Erica Johnson of the History Department, the Pee Oral History Project collects historical experiences, insights, and perspectives from those originally from and living in the Pee Dee region. Initially focusing on race relations in the Pee Dee, the collection currently includes accounts of the hewn-timber cabins (located on FMU’s campus), sharecropping, the Mt. Zion Rosenwald School, the Civil Rights Movement, military service, school segregation and integration, and the university’s history.
Interviewees include Allie Brooks, Jr., John Miller, Ann Nelson Gregg, Annie Lee Robinson, Otis Waiters, Priscilla Brown, Ed Addison, Tim Waters, and Yvette Pierce. We record the interviews and preserve them in the Rogers Library.
Pee Dee Historical Markers Project
In 2019, Dr. Meredith Love of the English Department at FMU and Cherish Thomas, Registrar of the Florence County Museum, began collaboration on researching the history of Green Book sites in the Pee Dee. First published in 1936 by a New York City postal worker named Victor Hugo Green, The Negro Motorist Green Book propagated the names and locations of boarding houses, hotels, restaurants, bars, and other businesses across the country where African Americans were welcome as customers. Thomas had already completed extensive research into the addresses and owners of Green Book sites in Florence and Darlington; Love was working on the role of the Green Book in the state. After Love and Thomas presented this research at the Museum in January 2020, it was apparent that there was a good deal of community interest in learning more about the Green Book sites and sharing that research with a larger audience.
Working with the City of Florence, USS at FMU has successfully placed a historical marker for the Ebony Guest House located at 712 N. Wilson Street. For roughly 25 years, African American ministers, soldiers, and even celebrities came to the Ebony Guest House for its hospitality, modern conveniences, and ideal location. The next marker is in production. It will be for Dr. Iola Jones Park.
Contact Us
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Dr. Johnson EricaDr. Erica Johnson Associate Professor of History, Co-Director African & African American Studies ejohnson@fmarion.edu Phone843-661-1497 DepartmentsHistoryUSSOfficeFH 204More info
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Steadman Allison M.Allison M. Steadman Associate Provost, Professor of Theatre Arts - Costume Design, Administrative Liaison with the National Consortium of Universities Studying Slavery ASteadman@fmarion.edu Phone843-661-1685 DepartmentsFine ArtsProvost's OfficeUSSOfficeHFAC 225More info
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Dr. Johnson EricaDr. Erica Johnson Associate Professor of History, Co-Director African & African American Studies ejohnson@fmarion.edu Phone843-661-1497 DepartmentsHistoryUSSOfficeFH 204Additional information
Bio
A native of Oklahoma, Dr. Erica Johnson specializes in the history of the Atlantic World. She is author of a monograph, Philanthropy and Race in the Haitian Revolution, part of the Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). She has published articles in The History Teacher, the Southern Quarterly, the Journal of Transnational American Studies, and the Journal of Western Society for French History. Her research interests include race, religion, and revolution in the greater Atlantic World. She is the faculty coordinator for FMU's Universities Studying Slavery initiative.
Education
PhD, Florida State University, 2012
Courses Taught:
European History to the French Revolution
The Historian's Craft
Medieval Europe
Native American History and Culture
Atlantic World
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Steadman Allison M.Allison M. Steadman Associate Provost, Professor of Theatre Arts - Costume Design, Administrative Liaison with the National Consortium of Universities Studying Slavery ASteadman@fmarion.edu Phone843-661-1685 DepartmentsFine ArtsProvost's OfficeUSSOfficeHFAC 225Additional information
http://www.allisonsteadman.com/
Education
Masters of Fine Arts, Costume Design May 1999- University of Tennessee, Knoxville Projects in Lieu of Thesis: Costume Design/Developmental Collaboration, Adaptation of The Threepenny Opera, Director: Beth Craven Costume Design, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Modern Interpretation, Director: Liviu Ciulei
Bachelor of Arts, Theatre May 1996- Mississippi University for Women, Columbus
Biography
Originally from Pensacola, FL., I have been designing in educational and professional theaters since 1992. I received my BA degree in Theatre from Mississippi University for Women and my MFA degree in Costume Design from The University of Tennessee. I have also trained at the Skoulli Art School with Frank Hänig.
As a Costume Designer and Theatre Artist, I strive to create designs that inform and enhance the production through the development of character as supported by the text. I am at my best working in a collaborative environment where I can develop my designs with the director and actors as the characters evolve through the rehearsal process. I also enjoy the challenge of creating designs in a fast-paced repertory setting.
As an Educator, I believe in fostering students’ passion and talents in a nurturing and challenging environment. Whenever possible I create opportunities for learner-centered practical application of theory. I feel that students learn best when permitted to take risks and learn from their mistakes as well as their successes. It is the educator’s responsibility to share their knowledge and to provide the student with clear guidelines and a method of evaluation and assessment. The why is as important as the how.
As a Costume Technologist I have experience in all levels and types of costume and costume craft construction from draping to tailoring to millinery. I am a draper with a particular interest in corsetry.