Hidden in Plain Sight

Hidden in Plain Sight

James L. Leloudis
Ongoing

The Hidden in Plain Site is a collaboration between Dr. Leloudis, the University Commission on History, Race, and a Way Forward, and other scholars. The project begins with Dr. Leloudis and his students in his HIST 366, "North Carolina History Before 1865" class looking through and transcribing ledgers and records within the University of North Carolina Papers (1757-1935) that mention enslaved peoples, whether the documents are medical records, receipts for labor, etc. Following the transcription process, the students do further research to find out more about the mentioned enslaved individuals through cross-referencing digitized state records, newspapers, or other sources. The aim of this research is to take the original mentions of enslaved individuals and retell these accounts in a way that humanizes them, instead of their mentions being mainly numbers. Students are able to reveal the active lives and histories of these individuals by learning about their professions, what work they did, and how the University depended on enslaved labor for its creation, income, and more.

Further, the project, beyond the students' research, aims to publicly present UNC's history, as it is embedded and engaged within the institution of slavery at the time. In the future, this project will aim to present this history in digital, interactive, and tactile modes.

Digital Methods: Activism and Advocacy, Curriculum and Pedagogy, OCR and Handwriting Analysis 

Tags: Data as People, History of Slavery, University of North Carolina History

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