National Park Service Historic Context Study: Violence against People of African Descent

Dr. Daniel Royles, Assistant Professor, History

This project, which is being undertaken by members of the Department of History and the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies at Florida International University, will comprise a comprehensive study of violence against people of African descent in the United States and its territories from 1500 to the present day. This study will encourage new interpretations of such history for public audiences, through both future National Park Service theme studies and the addition of key sites to the National Registry of Historic Places and list of National Historic Landmarks. Deliverables for this project will include a multi-chapter monograph, including high-resolution maps of sites associated with the history of anti-Black violence in the United States and its territories. This project will also produce a dataset of the same sites, to assist future National Park Service efforts to evaluate relevant historically significant properties and resources. 

Undergraduate Research Fellow Responsibilities

Under the direction of Dr. Royles, the research fellow will contribute to a comprehensive bibliography of literature on lynching and racial violence, including research in the Journal of Negro History and in historical Black newspapers; identify digitized primary sources on lynching; and participate in other tasks related to the project. 

Apply for an Undergraduate Research Fellowship   [Qualtrics Link]