Researching and Sharing the Stories of Early Black Yale Alumni

This spring, Beinecke Library launched Shining Light on Truth: Early Black Students at Yale, an online project featuring information on over 300 Black students who attended Yale up to 1940. This ongoing research builds on decades of memory-keeping and scholarship – including by Yale students themselves.

Jeremy Harp '10 began researching early Black Yale students during his time as an undergraduate, focusing particularly on members of the Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He has continued researching and sharing the histories of these students as an alumnus. In this Mondays at Beinecke talk, Harp will discuss his research and reflect on the importance of these stories for students, alumni, and others. Beinecke Community Engagement Archivist Jennifer Coggins will also provide a brief overview of the Shining Light on Truth website and updates on ongoing research.

Mondays at Beinecke online talks focus on materials from the collections and include an opening presentation at 4pm followed by conversation and Q & A beginning about 4:30pm until 5pm. Episodes are generally recorded and published on the library's YouTube channel within a few weeks of the original live program.

You may also like the following events from Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library:

• This Thursday, 23rd October, 04:00 pm, 2025 James Weldon Johnson Memorial Lecture by Margo Crawford in New Haven
• Next month, 4th November, 04:00 pm, 2025 Mark Strand Memorial Reading by Natasha Trethewey in New Haven
• Next month, 10th November, 08:00 pm, Historical Preservation and Education Committee of La Casa Cultural in New Haven, Connecticut