PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (March 26, 2021) – Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) formally launched its Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice this week.
Melanye T. Price ’95, Ph.D., Director
Nearly one year ago, through an impassioned letter to the PVAMU community following the death of Houston native George Floyd, President Simmons called for a proactive response across the nation to rebuild race relations. Her call to action gave way to the establishment of the Center at PVAMU.
Through innovative research and programming, the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice will facilitate conversations that mitigate bias and offer substantial policy recommendations to decision makers. Participants will engage in transformational and interdisciplinary public history projects that advance understanding of how to achieve racial justice across the board.
Center Director Melanye T. Price ’95, Ph.D., endowed professor of political science, detailed the first three projects, or “centerpieces,” for the Center.
The Epa Committee on the Legacy of Slavery and the Impact of Segregation at Prairie View A&M University
The Epa Committee on the Legacy of Slavery and the Impact of Segregation at PVAMU was formed under the direction of President Simmons in the wake of the national protests for social justice that galvanized the United States during 2020. Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice administrators adopted the short name, the Epa Committee, in connection with the Ghanaian Adinkra symbol. The Epa is a sign of handcuffs representing slavery and justice, which reminds society that all forms of slavery are discouraged by the law.
The Epa Committee is composed of PVAMU faculty, staff, students, administrators, experts, and community members. The groundbreaking work of this committee, one of the first self-studies on slavery and segregation at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), will provide a model for other HBCUs to follow in order to more deeply understand the legacy of slavery and the impact of segregation on historically black institutions.
The Epa Committee has embarked on a multi-year self-study of the legacy of slavery and the impact of segregation at PVAMU. This self-study will explore the contours of the lives of enslaved people on the former plantation grounds, the circumstances around the erection of the university, and the impact of segregation on the local black community and the institution. Faculty researchers, experts, committee members, and local community volunteers will join forces to bring light to these topics.
The committee, along with PVAMU student researchers, is currently teaming up with community partners and experts to conduct archival searches and oral histories with Prairie View, Texas residents. Leading experts will consult with the committee on conducting the study. At the conclusion of the data collection, the committee will produce a formal report that will be released around the 150th anniversary of PVAMU in 2026.
The PVAMU HBCU Voting Rights Lab
For decades, HBCU campuses have been targeted by politicians wishing to suppress what is essentially a bloc vote. Election officials at the state and local level have manipulated the rules to make it more difficult for students to participate in the political process, and students have responded with persistent activism, lobbying, and litigation. Though this is happening at many campuses, there is currently no space where this political work can be viewed together or where student activists can network with each other. This will be a tremendous benefit to students who can learn the political history of their own campuses in the context of a larger HBCU history. Like the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s, it will connect like-minded students in an attempt to form coalitions and conceive a national response to the problem of voter suppression.
As a result, the platform will serve as both a digital museum that can be curated by individual HBCUs to tell their own stories and a space to foster inter-campus cooperation among students who are currently doing a lot of this work in silos. We will begin with a full accounting of the experiences of students at PVAMU that really exemplify the modern battle against voter suppression for both African Americans and college students. Despite prevailing beliefs about the lack of youth engagement, students at Prairie View and other HBCUs offer an alternative narrative that should be better documented and highlighted.
The Implicit Bias Training and Equity Project (IBTE)
The far-reaching and detrimental impact of implicit bias, or the unconscious knowledge and beliefs about certain groups in society, has been well documented. The City of Houston’s Health Department has been leading an ongoing effort to not only address implicit bias in the context of schools but in other sectors that affect the lives of youth.
The Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice is currently collaborating with the City of Houston, My Brothers’ Keepers, and the National Training Institute on Race and Equity (NTIRE) to develop and implement a framework for cross-sector implicit bias training. The cross-sector model brings together the justice system, school leaders, and advocacy groups to build a comprehensive and intentional citywide effort to debias organizations and institutions. Through our efforts, PVAMU’s faculty, staff, and students will have the opportunity to broaden their awareness of implicit bias by participating in implicit bias workshops and trainings. The Center hopes to become a resource for Houston-based organizations wanting to establish and maintain equity.
For more information about the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice, visit www.pvamu.edu/simmonscenter.
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