Rhodes College will receive an $800,000 grant to expand their research on racial equity, discrimination, and justice in the Memphis and Mid-South region. Awarded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities, the college has announced the creation of the Institute for Race and Social Transformation.
“We are grateful for support from the Mellon Foundation,” said Dr. Jennifer Collins, president of Rhodes Colleges. “Rhodes is a national liberal arts college where inclusive excellence and building a culture of belonging are central to our mission. We strive to empower students, faculty, staff, and community members to address contemporary social issues through intellectual inquiry, reflective dialogue, and community action."
Rhodes College
The three-year grant will provide funding for the research and documentation of Memphians stories who are often absent from the narratives about the city.
Dr. Natalie Person, dean for curricular development at Rhodes college, notes that Memphis is one of the most understudied regions in the United States. Many of the historical documentation that takes place in the city surrounds the lead up to-and the aftermath of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
“We have lived in that shadow for a long time and that was such a historical moment,” said Person. “It really shook the planet. But there are so many other stories around that time, before that time and since that time that need to be told. And we are a vibrant, culturally rich city with a very interesting history that the rest of the world doesn't know much about.”
