On Monday, Feb. 26, Western Reserve Academy was honored to welcome David Blight as a virtual guest in our CL Frederick Douglass class. This course examines the writings of the abolitionist and other primary sources to understand the impact of the famous writer and abolitionist, who walked our own brick paths and spoke in our school’s Chapel in 1854.
Appearing on Zoom in the John D. Ong Library, Blight joined our CL Frederick Douglass class to speak about the abolitionist, of whom he is our nation’s leading scholar. In 2019, Blight received the Pulitzer Prize and Lincoln Prize for his book Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, which is only one of the many books he has authored. Most recently, he was in the news for his latest book, Yale and Slavery: A History, which takes an unflinching look at the institution’s complex entanglement with slavery, racism and abolition. At Yale, he holds the title of Sterling Professor of History, African American Studies and American Studies.
How astounding it is — and how lucky we are — to welcome such an expert and established historian to our campus, and it is thanks to our own Social Science Department faculty member Dr. Erik Chaput. Dr. Chaput also coordinated his first appearance on our campus when he visited in-person in October 2022.
Though Blight’s window of time was much shorter for this visit, it held great impact for the students attending. He spoke with them about Douglass’ early life, citing his thorough research and passages from his book and expanding their understanding of this iconic American leader.
From his seat in the library classroom, Dr. Chaput immediately identified and shared two uncanny takeaways.
“One — it’s from one Yale to another ‘Yale,’” he joked.
Though more than 500 miles away, there is a funny thread connecting this historic and esteemed institution to our own campus as we were first established in 1826 under the moniker “the Yale of the West.” As a school settled proudly in the “Modest” Midwest, it’s not in our nature to boast such a comparison, but must admit we do like knowing that our founders were inspired by this great old school in Connecticut.
“And two — it was a meeting of two libraries!”
It’s true. Blight joined us from the famous Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, having paused in his collection of primary resources and research into his next work about James Weldon Johnson, American writer, civil rights activist and leader of the NAACP. Though it was just a brief aside, what a punchy lesson to our students about proper sourcing, endless curiosity, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge in academia.
We are so appreciative of this and all he shared in his limited spare time.
Thank you for joining us, Professor Blight.
