The Hallowed Grounds Project explores the history of slavery and the lives of enslaved campus laborers and their legacies at The University of Alabama. The project was created by Dr. Hilary N. Green, an associate professor in the Department of Gender and Race Studies, in 2015, and allows current students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors of UA’s campus to deepen their understanding of the history of slavery on UA’s campus.
The 45-minute walking tour takes participants through the Capstone and shares the lives of the enslaved men and women that lived on campus, highlighting buildings constructed and maintained by the enslaved laborers, including Maxwell Hall, the Little Round House, and Gorgas House. As of December 2021, over 5,000 people have taken the Hallowed Grounds walking tour. The project has been featured in numerous news outlets, including the New York Times, AL.com, and The Crimson White.
Hallowed Grounds also features a large digital archive of Dr. Green’s archival material, including visualizations, transcriptions of primary resources, and other research materials that those who have completed a Hallowed Grounds tour can access for further learning. Housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Gender and Race Studies has been able to provide the programming for Dr. Green to not only teach courses on the history of the slavery at the University of Alabama but also to conduct the research necessary for the project.
Our goal is $20,000. Support for the Hallowed Grounds Project will allow Dr. Green to train and hire students to lead tours, and fund further research on the subjects explored in the project. It will also be used to expand the current archive to include early last-century archival materials, as well as hire an individual in the Department to create a fully-developed digital media site with extensive resources for participants.
- Where to sign up for the tour: https://bfsa.ua.edu/hallowed-grounds-tours.html
- Virtual Version of the tour: https://spark.adobe.com/page/3pmJR6un1szMN/
