The Scarlet and Black Project is a historical exploration of the experiences of two disenfranchised populations, African Americans and Native Americans, at Rutgers University. Its initial work begins with Scarlet and Black, Volume 1: Slavery and Dispossession in Rutgers History, which traces the university’s early history, uncovering how the university benefited from the slave economy and how Rutgers came to own the land it inhabits.  

The committee was charged with seeking out the untold story of disadvantaged populations in the university’s history.

The project is undertaken by the Committee on Enslaved and Disenfranchised Populations in Rutgers History, which was created in 2015 by Rutgers University–New Brunswick Chancellor Richard L. Edwards. With his guidance, the Committee was charged with seeking out the untold story of disadvantaged populations in the university’s history and recommending how Rutgers can best acknowledge their influence. Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of History Deborah Gray White chairs that Committee, which comprises prominent faculty, staff, and students.

The Scarlet and Black Project intends to provide a fuller record of Rutgers University by adding to its chronicles the experiences of African Americans and Native Americans—peoples whose experiences are often lost in the pages of history.