After nearly three years of deliberation and discussion, the University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice released its final report this afternoon, calling for public acknowledgement of Brown's ties to slavery, the construction of a commemorative "slave trade memorial" and the creation of a center for research on slavery and justice.
Though the recommendations include specific guidelines for the center - including fellowships, a professorship and a focus on both the history of slavery and modern-day slavery - all recommendations remain subject to discussion in the Brown community.
"This is not intended as a last word on the subject," Associate Professor of History James Campbell, who chaired the committee, said of the report. "It's a first word."
"We think it is incumbent upon the community to act," he said. "I think the things we are suggesting are serious."
In an e-mail to the Brown community, President Ruth Simmons said she would respond to the "dense and provocative" report and its recommendations "when it is appropriate to do so."
She commended the committee's work and encouraged community members to read the report in its entirety, not just the recommendations.
The 85-page report includes an examination of the University's ties to slavery and the slave trade, the Civil War and abolitionism. A second section analyzes courses taken by other institutions and nations to confront "legacies of historical injustice" in the present. A third section examines the reparations debate in America from the 18th century to contemporary times.
Interspersed in the report's historical and academic narrative are epigrams taken from both supportive and condemning letters to the committee as well as excerpts from historical documents.
