Black History Matters: Documenting the Legacy of Charles H. Williams on the Campus of Hampton University

FAIN: AB-277598-21

Hampton University (Hampton, VA 23668-0108)
Laura Battaglia (Project Director: July 2020 to June 2022)
Ronald J. Kloster (Project Director: June 2022 to present)
Beverly Cordova Duane (Co Project Director: December 2020 to present)
Laurie Jean Carter (Co Project Director: January 2021 to June 2023)
Benjamin Garner (Co Project Director: January 2021 to present)

A two-year initiative to create teaching and archival resources about dance and campus architectural history and to integrate them into the university curriculum.

The “Black History Matters” Architecture and Dance initiative seeks to promote the humanities at Hampton University by creating a digital teaching resource for three programs – the Pre-College/Summer Bridge program, University 101 and ARC314. Inspired by the research conducted by Dr. Mary Ann Laverty in her book, “Charles H. Williams and the Hampton Institute Creative Dance Group and Their Use of African Diasporic Dance 1934-1948,” this resource will provide archival information on dance and campus architectural history at Hampton University during Charles H. Williams’ tenure and its significance to broader issues of race and inclusion at that time.