The New York Council for the Humanities has awarded Fordham's Bronx African American History Project (BAAHP) an $18,000 grant. The award, which is the first major outside grant received by the BAAHP, will be used to fund a series of public presentations that will allow the researchers to share the results of their work with the community.
"This grant provides us with a chance to showcase the types of research that we've been doing for the past five years," Dr. Brian Purnell, co-research director of BAAHP and assistant professor of African and African American studies, said in a press release on the Fordham website. "Nobody has really ever studied the black community in the Bronx in any systematic scholarly way. This project helps correct that omission and adds to the historic understanding of African Americans in New York City in general."
The programs funded by the BAAHP will be collectively entitled "The Bronx is Building: The Bronx as a Site for Political Mobilization and Cultural Creativity," and will include 10 programs covering subjects such as civil rights, African Americans in Bronx politics, education, jazz and hip-hop music.
The BAAHP, founded in 2003 as a joint project with the Bronx County Historical Society, is composed of Fordham faculty, students, affiliated scholars and members of the Bronx community. It has compiled over 200 interviews for its oral history.
2008 Woodie Awards
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