Students of Color Oral History Project

Several racist and anti-Muslim events took place at Millersville University following President Trump’s election in November, 2016. In a case that received national attention, two white students in blackface shared their photo through Snapchat. In another, a Muslim student had her hijab pulled off by a group of young white men on campus.

The Students of Color Oral History Project explored the campus environment for students of color at Millersville University during the academic year 2017 - 2018.

Viewing oral history projects as excellent opportunities for student learning, this project invited students in several classes to collect the oral histories of students of color. Students served as interviewers, narrators and members of the Oral History Project Team in a collaboration between the Psychology department and Archives and Special Collections. This project centered on the narrators’ voices, as well as the challenges and common themes that arose in the interviews. For example, what threats, hate speech, and microaggressions did students of color face as they completed their degrees?  To effectively communicate student’s experiences, the layout of the project included a variety of quotes, images, and text.