Russell Bailey
/
SIU News
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is working to permanently establish the Southern Illinois African American Heritage Center (SIAAHC) to preserve and promote education about Black heritage in the region.
The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) recently gave temporary approval to establish the center, which is on the sixth floor of SIU Carbondale’s Morris Library. Plans are to seek IBHE approval for permanent center status after four years. The center’s geographic region will be the 30 southernmost counties in Illinois, including the Metro East.
Established after several years of work with regional stakeholders and with special assistance from the late James Grant of Carbondale, an SIU associate professor of practice in public administration, the center will be “a hub for the coordination and stimulation of projects that reclaim, shine scholarship on, and promote education about the African American heritage of Southern Illinois.”
“Southern Illinois University Carbondale is proud to partner with communities across our region to establish the Southern Illinois African American Heritage Center,” Chancellor Austin Lane said. “This center was built through the vision, dedication, and collaboration of community members, scholars, and university leaders who understood that preserving history is a responsibility we all share. Together, we are creating a place where history is not only preserved but shared. By connecting scholarship with community knowledge, we will ensure that the rich contributions of African Americans across Southern Illinois remain an enduring part of our region’s story.”
Connecting the region’s African American heritage
Anne Marie Hamilton-Brehm, Morris Library associate dean and project steering committee member, said SIAAHC “will support community and student engagement, providing research rell over the region that honor the substantial contributions and achievements of African Americans throughout the history of Southern Illinois.”
The proposal grew out of the library’s Special Collections Research Center’s “Reclaiming the African American Heritage of Southern Illinois” project several years ago. That work earned the 2019 SIU Board of Trustees Diversity Excellence Award.
Over the next four years, center plans include:
- Hosting historical presentations and events for SIU students and community members.
- Offering workshops on family history preservation.
- Collecting oral histories and regional family records.
- Engaging with K-12 schools in Southern Illinois.
- Providing access to books and documents about African American history in our region.
During the summer, SIAAHC is staffed from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and by appointment from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for university holidays. Contact the Special Collections Research Center at 618-453-2516 to make an appointment, or visit SCRC, located on the first floor of Morris Library.
Educational and research opportunities
A key component of the center will also be to include a wide variety of SIU academic programs for educational and research efforts, said Costas Tsatsoulis, vice chancellor of research and graduate school dean.
“SIAAHC will build on work already done by taking a broader approach to historic preservation, including cultural heritage sites and oral histories,” Tsatsoulis said. In addition to promoting community-based preservation efforts by local groups, the center “will bring scholarship to bear on local projects to connect them with the broader heritage of African American communities in Southern Illinois and to turn projects into opportunities for teaching and community development.” The steering committee for the center is visiting communities throughout the region to learn more about and promote their African American history and heritage events. Most recently they attended the induction of Brooklyn, Illinois, America’s oldest Black incorporated town, as an historic waypoint on Route 66.
The center will play a vital role connecting generations of Southern Illinois residents, said Paul Frazier, SIU Carbondale vice chancellor for anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion.
“Culture and heritage can provide a sense of belonging and serve as a way to connect individuals to their ancestors, communities, and shared histories,” Frazier said. “We have generations of individuals who have not had the opportunity to truly benefit from some oral history or have not been the benefactor of Intangible heritage, such as traditions, languages, and rituals that play a crucial role in sustaining these connections and fostering intergenerational pride.”
Once the center is fully operational, organizers will consider developing a satellite office in St. Clair County, possibly on SIU Edwardsville’s East St. Louis campus to highlight specific projects in the East St. Louis and Metro East area.
To learn more about opportunities to support the Southern Illinois African American Heritage Center, contact Sherrica Hunt at sherricah@foundation.siu.edu or Jocelyn Popit at jocelynp@foundation.siu.edu.
