The Scarlet and Black Project Digital Archive illuminates the history of Rutgers University and slavery in New Jersey, the lives of free people of color in New Brunswick, and the experiences of the first black men and women to matriculate at the university. This archive serves as a digital companion to the Scarlet and Black books published by Rutgers University Press.
Explore the exhibits that highlight key historical events and people or browse our collections of archival sources.
Our new book is here!
Our second book Scarlet and Black, Volume 2: Constructing Race and Gender at Rutgers, 1865-1945, edited by Kendra Boyd, Marisa J. Fuentes, and Deborah Gray White, has been published by Rutgers University Press. This latest volume includes: an introduction to the period studied (from the end of the Civil War through WWII) by Deborah Gray White; a study of the first black students at Rutgers and New Brunswick Theological Seminary; an analysis of African-American life in the City of New Brunswick during the period; and profiles of the earliest black women to matriculate at Douglass College.
Recently Added Items
Removal of Phillis to Louisiana, sold by slaveholder Staats Van Deursen to Jacob Klady
Middlesex County Clerk
1817-09-23
This is a record of Phillis's removal from the state of New Jersey to Louisiana. Phillis was a 22-year-old black woman enslaved by Staats Van Deursen.…
Photograph of Harry Hazelwood Jr. with Leo P. Carlin and Howard J. Devaney
1957-02-12
Photograph of Harry Hazelwood Jr. RC1943 with Newark Mayor Leo P. Carlin and Howard J. Devaney in 1957.
Featured Collection
Slavery Era Newspaper Clippings
This collection consists of New Jersey newspaper clippings from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, including runaway ads, slave sale…
Featured Exhibit
Rutgers Alumni Gallery: The Forerunner Generation
In 1892, James Dickson Carr became the first black man to graduate from Rutgers University. Over the course of the...