Month: March 2026

The Library Company of Philadelphia Honors Former Program of African American History Director Deirdre Cooper Owens

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Associate professor of history, Deidre Cooper OwensPlease join the Library Company of Philadelphia on April 17th for a conversation with Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens and Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson, moderated by Dr. Jim Downs

Since its inauguration, the Program in African American History has expanded its efforts to collect, preserve, and interpret Black women’s experiences across centuries, continents, and legal statuses. This event honors the tremendous strides Deirdre Cooper Owens led on this journey, in her legacy as a former Director of the Program, and through her lasting impact in the field of Black women’s history.
The event will be held Friday, April 17th, 2026 at 5:30 PM at the Library Company in Philadelphia. For more information and to register for tickets, please visit The Library Company’s site.

Manisha Sinha Cited in Article “Fugitive Sanctuaries” on Key Forces in Migrant Movement and Freedom

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The article, written by Ananya Roy for Jewish Currents, contextualizes the current immigration “enforcement” crisis among historical moments that shaped laws now serving as the backdrop for the criminalization of racialized migrant communities. One of the key moments which demonstrates the article’s emphasis on communities creating their own networks and momentum towards freedom rather than states or cities fostering and protecting this freedom as its own mission, is of course that of the Abolition Movement and the Underground Railroad. Sinha’s article “The Abolitionist Underground” is cited amongst other scholarly work evidencing how governments respond to freedom movements rather than being the agents enabling and protecting residents as many are taught to understand historical narratives around individual freedoms being codified.

Read Fugitive Sanctuaries by Ananya Roy

Read The Abolitionist Underground by Manisha Sinha