The murder of George Floyd prompted a number of American colleges and universities to reckon with their historic roles in slavery. Three years later, many institutions have abandoned those efforts. One that’s still going strong is the Hard Histories Project at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by historian Martha Jones, the director of that effort. The scholars associated with the project have uncovered many challenging truths, including evidence that the founder of Johns Hopkins—widely hailed as an abolitionist—owned slaves.

Guest: Historian Martha Jones, Director of the Hard Histories Project at Johns Hopkins University

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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