Furman has joined the dozens of colleges and universities across the United States currently confronting and making amends with their participation in slavery. In a similar fashion to the Seeking Abraham Report produced by the Task Force of Slavery and Justice, and the accompanying physical exhibition held in 2018, this digital exhibition invites the Furman community and the general public to reckon with its legacy of slavery. We want to increase access to historical artifacts and documents that uncover a painful practice engendered by the ideology and the rhetoric of Furman founders, by the surmountable wealth they amassed in great part by enslaved labor.

As you enter this exhibition, become aware of the knowledge presented here may contain discomforting and offensive language and imagery. You have the agency to decide how and when you wish to gain a deeper understanding of the history of this campus and the struggles faced by those of us who are still enduring the legacy of slavery. Through the cases we are about to present, we hope you feel that the histories of those who came before us are properly represented, especially members coming from institutionally marginalized groups.