Jonathan Jasper Wright Institute for the Study of Southern African American History, Culture and Policy

Vision:

Claflin University is poised to become the first college or university in South Carolina to have an Institute for research and study designed to undertake an ongoing program of intellectual inquiry, research and published scholarship devoted to both the historic and contemporary significance of Southern African American history, culture and policy. In doing so, this endeavor affords both the Institute and Claflin University an immediate opportunity to rival the most distinguished research and policy institutes in the nation on issues affecting African Americans situated within the south.

The Jonathan Jasper Wright Institute for the Study of Southern African American History, Culture and Policy at Claflin University envisions itself participating within both academic and mainstream public discourses about issues affecting African Americans within the South Carolina and the wider southern region. And the Institute is uniquely situated to fill this tremendous void of research, scholarship and public commentary upon issues involving African Americans in the south.

It is housed at South Carolina’s oldest historically black college and university, and it would be the only historically black college or university with such an institute; it is organically linked to a robust population of African Americans in South Carolina—a state that holds a formative place in the research areas and policy concerns that the Institute seeks to address; it is located within 60 miles of Columbia, South Carolina, South Carolina’s capital city and home of its flagship research university, The University of South Carolina; It is geographically positioned within 100 miles of Charleston, South Carolina (the landing place of thousands of African American antecedents formerly called slaves) and thus, ideally situated to attract researchers, faculty members, students and interested persons who are vested in the Institute’s areas of study; finally, the Institute has access to a strong nucleus of capable and budding undergraduate students who embrace Claflin University’s historical linkage to its strong African American heritage and are being trained to further it in a variety of capacities.

To be sure, individual scholars situated within regional colleges and universities have published academic research that has made invaluable contributions to the Institute’s areas of investigation. However, such work has been largely detached from serving the wider public in matters related to southern African American history, culture and policy for a most important reason. This work—and the persons conducting it—have not been collated nor cohered into an enduring institutional entity designed to make its findings available to academia, the wider public and the primarily African American constituency that this research might serve. As a result, major southern African American discoveries and research, as well as, deliberate attempts to bring this work to bear upon African American policy concerns are—at best—relegated to ancillary importance, or—at worst—altogether ignored within broader academic and public conversations.

In keeping with President Tisdale’s long-term vision of excellence for Claflin University, The Jonathan Jasper Wright Institute for the Study of Southern African American History, Culture and Policy at Claflin University will work to become a nationally/internationally-recognized scholarly and intellectual Think Tank in both historic and contemporary matters related to the study of Southern African American history, culture and policy. Faculty Fellows will develop and pursue an ongoing and achievable program of individual and collaborative research resulting in scholarly publications and informed commentary in both academic and public discourses throughout the state of South Carolina, the Southern region and The United States of America. The Institute will offer the following benefits to Claflin University:

• It takes a pioneering role among similarly-situated liberal arts institutions in placing the rich vitality of the southern African American experience alongside of other equally viable research pursuits and interests.
• It will increase Claflin University’s public stature within South Carolina and throughout the nation, thus assisting with student recruitment.
• It will attract talented faculty members who are committed to both teaching and individual programs of research.
• It will engage in areas of research and publication that are organically linked to African American issues of both historic and contemporary importance.
• It will help foster a richer and more intellectually vigorous academic setting.
• It will promote, encourage and help facilitate undergraduate research in preparation for graduate study.
• It will be serviceable to both the community members and people groups situated within its area of activities by addressing policy concerns that concern them.