Book sheds light on Black history at the University of Idaho

A University of Idaho professor partnered with a UI graduate to create the first book chronicling Black history at the university — a history that is richer than some might expect at a predominantly white college.

“It is my hope that 50 years from now, 100 years from now, that this is the foundational document in which we think about the history of Blacks at the university,” said co-author Dr. Sydney Freeman Jr., director of the UI Black History Research Lab.

The book is called “The Seminal History and Prospective Future of Blacks at the University of Idaho,” and it is available to read free online at uidaho.pressbooks.pub/blackhistory.

Freeman Jr., a professor in the College of Education, worked with Brody Gasper, a lab manager in the UI’s Black History Research Lab, to write and publish the book.

Freeman Jr. said the death of George Floyd in 2020 became the impetus for the book as the university wanted to ensure its Black population on campus felt supported.

With the help of grant funding, Gasper did much of the heavy lifting when it came to researching and writing the text. The process took a year and a half, he said. He dug through archived documents from Black faculty and students, with the assistance of the UI Library, Department of History, and College of Education, Health and Human Sciences.

According to the book’s introduction, the UI is ranked 2,657 out of 3,790 out of all universities in the U.S. with just 16% of its total population being ethnic minorities. Only 1.2% of its students identify as Black.

“These numbers highlight a predominantly White university, making it understandable to assume that the University is one where students of color have not had a significant presence,” the book reads.

However, the book goes on to say that this is far from the truth. For Gasper, it became about shedding light on stories that may have not gotten the recognition they deserved.

“I want to get their stories out there so that some of the people that aren’t as well-known are recognized for all their contributions here,” he said.

Among those stories is that of Jennie Eva Hughes, who enrolled in 1895 and became the UI’s first Black graduate. There are also the stories behind the evolution of the UI’s Black Student Union and the university’s former Black fraternities. There is also the story of Joseph Tasby, a Black student-athlete who gathered more than 400 signatures in 1968 to petition the university to create its first Black studies course.

Freeman Jr. said part of the book’s purpose is to connect events from the past with the present, and Tasby is a pertinent example of that.

“If it wasn’t for Tasby and what he did and fighting for that 50 years ago, we wouldn’t have an Africana studies program,” he said.

The book also tells uglier moments of history, like when the UI employed a radio host and security guard who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. He patrolled the dormitory where Black students had to live, and this led Black Student Union in 1974 to create a list of demands to make campus a more secure place for Black students.

That list included establishing a Black Cultural Institute and a Black Studies Program. Currently, the UI has a Black and African American Cultural Center that is a partner with the Black Student Union.

Another demand was for the UI to hire more Black faculty. Freeman Jr. also said it’s his hope that the UI will hire more Black people in positions of power.

For the UI Black population to grow and thrive, “we’re going to have to ensure that we have black leaders and significant roles of leadership, mid-level roles of leadership, and then have more black faculty,” he said.

“We want to see that you have invested in us, we want to see that you have some infrastructure for us, then we will come,” he said.

Both Gasper and Freeman Jr. envision a bright future for the UI’s Black population, and they hope this book shows readers that the UI has a strong Black legacy.

“I’m hopeful that this is something that will inspire people in years to come,” Freeman Jr. said.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.