The charge of the Yale and Slavery Working Group (YSWG) is as follows:
to investigate Yale’s historical roles in and associations with slavery, the slave trade, and abolition.
Guided by this scholarly objective, the group has conducted research at Yale and beyond in order to shed light on the university’s history. This research helps us come to a better understanding of Yale and will contribute to the scholarship on slavery and abolition more broadly.
Members of the YSWG include leading Yale scholars, current Yale students, and community members with a deep interest in and knowledge of relevant histories.
To stimulate discussion, remembrance, and learning, the Yale and Slavery Working Group has shared work-in-progress through a variety of public engagements include panel discussions, community outreach sessions, and the GLC Annual Conference, Yale and Slavery In Historical Perspective (October 28-30, 2021).
YSWG Chair David Blight is the lead author of a narrative history based on the work of the Yale and Slavery Research Project: Yale and Slavery: A History (Yale University Press, February 2024).