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R.J.S. Center for Race and Justice

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY EXPERTS AVAILABLE FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH INSIGHTS

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (February 3, 2025) - Prairie View A&M University is proud to announce that a distinguished group of faculty members from various disciplines are available to provide expert insights and perspectives for news programs during Black History Month.

Defender: Houston leaders champion MLKā€™s legacy through local initiatives

Dr. Marco Robinson, co-chair of theĀ Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice at Prairie View A&M University, carries forward the institutionā€™s legacy as a pillar of empowerment and advocacy.

Opinion| Beyond the MLK Holiday: Reflections on Community Engagement, Social Responsibility, and PVAMUā€™s Legacy

The Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) National Holiday provides all Americans with an opportunity to reflect and refocus our energies on solving the issues profoundly impacting American society. Indeed, much uncertainty looms around American citizenā€™s social, economic, and political existences going into this new year. Although we are enduring global conflicts, plagues, and pestilence, we [...]

PVAMU Professors, Students Dominate Media During 2024 Election Coverage

The 2024 election season was marked by intense and dynamic events, and Prairie View A&M University stood out as a major source of expertise and timely commentary. Our faculty and students were at the forefront, providing insightful analysis from the perspective of one of the stateā€™s leading Historically Black Colleges and Universities.Ā  Dr. William [...]

Dr. Ruth J. Simmons awarded National Humanities Medal by President Joe Biden

Ruth J. Simmons, Prairie View A&M University's eighth president and the first woman in the Universityā€™s history to hold the prestigious role, was presented the National Humanities Medal by President Joe Biden during a ceremony at the White House on October 21, 2024. This prestigious honor, which acknowledges those who have significantly enhanced our understanding [...]

Bestselling author, novelist Tayari Jones named PVAMUā€™s 2024-2025 Writer-in-Residence

ā€œItā€™s among Tayariā€™s many gifts that she can touch us soul to soul with her words.ā€ ā€“ Oprah Winfrey Photo by Tyson Alan Horne PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (Sept. 12, 2024) - Prairie View A&M University proudly announces that New York Times bestselling author Tayari Jones will serve as the 2024-2025 Toni Morrison Writer-in-Residence. [...]

Opinion| Freedom to Be: Prairie Viewā€™s First Generation of Graduates and the Promotion of Juneteenth

Figure 1: Picture of Charles Joel Robinson, courtesy of the Williams Family General Gordon Granger formally decreeing slaveryā€™s end in Galveston on June 19, 1865, was an epoch event that demolished the existing social, economic and political foundations of society in Texas. Moreover, the end of slavery in the Lone Star State ushered [...]

PVAMU receives new grant to help train students in computing to address social issues affecting rural communities

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (April 11, 2024) - Prairie View A&M University has received a Responsible Computing Challenge award from the Mozilla Foundation, aimed at developing ā€œcurricula that empowers students to think about the social and political context of computing.ā€ Mozilla, most widely known for developing the Firefox browser, has made making the internet a force [...]

PVAMU, NHC Summer Institute on teaching African American Studies focuses on the perspectives of women

How does our understanding of American history and culture change when viewed through the eyes of Black women? How should we incorporate Black womenā€™s voices in curriculums to ensure students can benefit from those perspectives? These and related questions will be the focus of (re)Centering the Narrative: Black Womenā€™s Voices of the 19th and 20th [...]

Opinion| Locating Lucinda: Exploring the experiences of Enslaved People held at Alta Vista Plantation

My first encounter with Lucinda, an enslaved woman held atĀ Alta Vista PlantationĀ owned byĀ Jared Kirby, came by way of reading her details on Rice Universityā€™s SlaveVoyages website. Kirby carried fifteen-year-oldĀ LucindaĀ on Tuesday, May 25, 1858, from New Orleans, Louisiana, on board the steamshipĀ GalvestonĀ to Galveston, Texas, with the help of a shipping company, Fellows & Co. The fine [...]