The University of Idaho staged a grand opening Tuesday for a new exhibit celebrating the history of Black students, faculty and staff.

Sydney Freeman Jr., a tenured professor in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences at UI, founded the university’s Black History Research Lab and partnered with the UI Library to launch the physical and digital exhibit.

Freeman made history last year as the first African American man to be promoted to the rank of full professor at the state’s land-grant university.

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