Task Force on Untold Stories and Disenfranchised Populations
The Task Force on Untold Stories and Disenfranchised Populations (Task Force) was established in 2019 following the discovery of disturbing images in Emory yearbooks. Charged by President Claire E. Sterk and Provost Dwight A. McBride with reflecting on potential approaches, strategies, and forums for examining Emory's complex history and its relationship to the university's vision for its future, the Task Force met throughout the fall 2019 semester and submitted its report in spring 2020.
In response to renewed calls from the Emory community to reevaluate its founding narratives, President Fenves and Interim Provost Jan Love, on October 22, 2020, reappointed and recharged the Task Force with focusing its scope on telling the story of Emory's past with specific attention to two disenfranchised populations—the enslaved persons with ties to Emory and Indigenous peoples on whose land Emory's campus was erected.
The Task Force's Charge
Serving in an advisory capacity to the president, the Task Force on Untold Stories and Disenfranchised Populations was charged with reviewing opportunities for recognizing, observing, and memorializing the contributions of disenfranchised populations to Emory University.
The Task Force developed recommendations for:
- honoring enslaved persons whose labor contributed to the construction of Emory College;
- awarding scholarships to attend Emory to descendants of the enslaved persons whose labor contributed to the founding and operation of Emory College, with preference for undergraduate scholarships;
- memorializing Indigenous peoples who previously lived on land now owned by Emory; and
- expanding existing curricular offerings focused on the legacies of slavery and Indigenous populations.
Task Force Working Groups
Indigenous Language Path Working Group
Emory University acknowledges the Muscogee (Creek) people who lived, worked, produced knowledge on, and nurtured the land where Emory’s Oxford and Atlanta campuses are now located. Emory seeks to honor the Muscogee Nation and other Indigenous caretakers of this land by seeking knowledge of their histories and respectful stewardship of the land.
Learn more about the Indigenous Language Path Working GroupTwin Memorials Working Group
Following recommendations made by the Task Force on Untold Stories and Disenfranchised Populations to memorialize Indigenous peoples who previously lived on land now owned by Emory, the Twin Memorials Working Group moves to implement a plan for memorials that will articulate and interconnect the shared histories of the Emory and Oxford campuses.
Learn more about Twin MemorialsTask Force Report
The Task Force on Untold Stories and Disenfranchised Populations submitted its full report to President Fenves on April 1, 2021, and made available an executive summary to the community.
Task Force Membership
Chairs
- Yolanda Cooper
Task Force Co-Chair and Dean and University Librarian
Email Dean Cooper - Paul Root Wolpe
Task Force Co-Chair and Director, Emory Center for Ethics
Email Director Wolpe
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Anandhi Bharadwaj | Vice Dean for Faculty and Research; Goizueta Endowed Chair in Electronic Commerce and Professor of Information Systems, Operations Management, Goizueta Business School |
| Mary Dudziak | Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law, Emory School of Law |
| Gregory Ellison II 99C | Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Candler School of Theology |
| Eugene Emory | Professor of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences |
| Deborah Lipstadt | Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies, Emory College of Arts and Sciences |
| Molly McGehee 07PhD | Associate Dean for Faculty Development, Director of the Oxford Center for Teaching and Scholarship, and Associate Professor of English and American Studies, Oxford College |
| Megan E. O'Neil | Assistant Professor and Faculty Curator, Art of the Americas, Michael C. Carlos Museum |
| Alyasah A. Sewell | Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences |
| Kylie Smith | Associate Professor and Andrew W. Mellon Faculty Fellow for Nursing and the Humanities, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing |
| Shakira Suglia | Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health |
| Jason Ward | Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of History, Emory College of Arts and Sciences |
| Craig Womack | Associate Professor, Department of English, Emory College of Arts and Sciences |
| Name | School |
|---|---|
| Zakiya Collier 21C | Emory College |
| Michael Griffin 21PH | Public Health |
| Preye Jituboh 21C | Emory College |
| Riya Kalra 19Ox 21B | Business |
| Astria Wilson 21T | Theology |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Darlene Berry | Executive Administrative Assistant, Office of the Provost; Administrative Support |
| Melissa Daly | Assistant Vice Provost and Chief of Staff; Liaison to Office of the Provost |
| John Leach | Associate Vice Provost for University Financial Aid |
| Matthew Pinson | Assistant Vice President and Chief of Staff to the Senior Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement |
| Anjulet Tucker 00C 09PhD | Director of Presidential Initiatives and Special Projects, Office of the President; Liaison to Office of the President |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Sue Haupert-Johnson 95T | Trustee |
| Carol Henderson | Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, Chief Diversity Officer, and Adviser to the President |
| Douglas A. Hicks | Dean, Oxford College |
| Name |
|---|
| Avis Williams 78Ox 98C 08T 18T |
