Carman Autry ‘22 and Anye Stewart ‘23 spent the summer researching Omar Ibn Said, an enslaved man from Senegal who was an Islamic scholar. Autry, an international affairs major from Youngsville, N.C., created a brochure to accompany a letter and drawings by Said; the brochure is now available at the Spartanburg County Historical Association. Stewart, who came to Wofford from Columbia, S.C., wrote an article titled “Learning the Stories of the Silenced.” She focused on Said’s story and its relevance today.
“It was impossible for me to ignore the ongoing racial tensions and injustices in American society while working on this research,” wrote Stewart in a summary of her project. “While learning more about Omar’s story and the lack of representation of Black historical figures, I could only think about how Black stories and Black voices are still overlooked today. The goal of my article is to make the reader understand that there are many racially motivated gaps in American history and to ignite their curiosity about the stories of these individual Black historical figures. Sometimes people fail to realize that telling American history from this improper perspective only further fuels a cycle of hate; whether this hate is intentional or not, it exists.”
Autry and Stewart were mentored by Colleen Ballance, professor and chair of the Wofford Theatre Department; Dr. Courtney Dorroll, assistant professor of religion; and Dr. Philip Dorroll, assistant professor of religion.
In all, 36 students participated in summer collaborative research with 24 faculty mentors. Other summer research projects involved archaeology in Glendale, hedging strategies, coral reefs and the health of songbirds.