Moments in Princeton’s Black history

In a special issue, The Daily Princetonian looks at moments in Princeton's Black history. Within the issue, writers examine the history and legacy of slavery at Princeton, the past and present of Princeton's historically Black Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, and the history in Black life at Princeton, from athletics to the gospel choir to nightlife in the 90s.

NEWS | Black alumni provide major endowment to Black Student Union to support campus affinity groups

The Black Student Union (BSU) has received a historic endowment, sponsored by Black Princeton alumni, designed to give direct support to campus affinity groups. Originally designated as the Class of 1972 Fund, the Princeton Black Alumni Fund will provide direct discretionary-spending funds, a minimum of $100,000, to the BSU.

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Black community in historically Black Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood shrinks: The Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, located north of campus along Witherspoon and John Streets, is an area with rich historical and cultural significance as Princeton’s historically Black neighborhood. Yet over the last few decades, the Black population in Witherspoon-Jackson has declined. Pointing to high housing costs, officials look for ways to preserve Black communities in Princeton. 

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Princeton Slavery Project reaches ten-year anniversary, presents findings to New Jersey Reparations Council: Ten years after the creation of the Princeton and Slavery Project, recent events affecting the University and the state of New Jersey have renewed conversations surrounding the project, with a focus on exploring new possible applications. Current events such as the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action, reinforcing the importance of the University history, are important to the relevance of the project. 

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DATA | ‘Our community has become a commodity’: How Princeton’s historically Black community is fading

A ‘Prince’ investigation found that after a 2010 revaluation, property taxes in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, a historically Black neighborhood, increased by over $1,700 on average, nearly a 25 percent increase from the previous year.

The neighborhood has been the affordable centerpiece for the Black community in Princeton for over a century, according to an interview with Princeton Council member Leighton Newlin. At the neighborhood’s height in the 1950s, it had four churches, a hospital, and their own newspaper (the Citizen). But in the past few decades, residents say that the once tight-knit community has faded, along with the neighborhood’s affordability. 

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FEATURES | Revisiting Princeton’s ties to Lincoln University, one of the nation’s early HBCUs

At one point nicknamed the 'Black Princeton,' Lincoln University was the first American college to grant Black students degrees. The Daily Princetonian looked back at the historical ties connecting Princeton and Lincoln. 

As Lincoln’s student body grew, so did its faculty. And many professors came from Princeton, strengthening ties between the two universities. At Lincoln, these professors replicated the classical Princeton curriculum, teaching classes like Latin, geography, and arithmetic. Princeton President James McCosh, at an 1879 forum on African American education, called Lincoln “Princeton’s little sister.”

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• ‘The first student movement to call for divestiture:’ protests against apartheid South Africa
• ‘Irrespective of color’: Princeton’s missed opportunity to integrate in the 1830s

SPORTS | In the face of white-dominated tradition, Black student-athletes foster community

Organizations like the Black Student-Athlete Collective are working to establish a community by providing a safe space for student-athletes to meet others in their shoes and voice their needs and concerns to coaches.Quincy Monday ’23, a three-time All-American wrestler, helped found BSAC in the summer of 2020 following the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. 

“Many Princeton students, regardless of their background, will experience imposter syndrome,” Monday wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’ “This can be exacerbated if you are one of the only Black students in a classroom or participate in a predominantly white sport.”

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PODCAST

• Meet the DJs that ran campus in the ’90s: Back in the ’90s, at the height of the hip-hop scene, one group was at the center of the nightlife scene — the FOPO DJs. Today, Daybreak takes a trip down memory lane and revisits the past with the DJs.
• PUGE: A new gospel choir with a long history: Princeton University Gospel Ensemble, also known as PUGE, reformed at the start of the 2023-24 academic school year. But, this recent iteration is just the newest chapter in a history of student-run gospel choirs that dates back to the early ’80s.