Reflecting the United States' birth as a slaveholding republic, many higher education institutions in pre-Civil War America promoted white supremacy ideologically and were subsidized economically by profits made via racial slavery. Students explore the role of US colleges and universities in institutionalizing racism, from this era of slavery though the heyday of Jim Crow racial segregation in the 20th century, and probe resistance to this regime among abolitionists, African American educators, Reflecting the United States' birth as a slaveholding republic, many higher education institutions in pre-Civil War America promoted white supremacy ideologically and were subsidized economically by profits made via racial slavery. Students explore the role of US colleges and universities in institutionalizing racism, from this era of slavery though the heyday of Jim Crow racial segregation in the 20th century, and probe resistance to this regime among abolitionists, African American educators, Reflecting the United States' birth as a slaveholding republic, many higher education institutions in pre-Civil War America promoted white supremacy ideologically and were subsidized economically by profits made via racial slavery. Students explore the role of US colleges and universities in institutionalizing racism, from this era of slavery though the heyday of Jim Crow racial segregation in the 20th century, and probe resistance to this regime among abolitionists, African American educators, integrationist lawyers, social scientists and civil rights organizations, as well as recent attempts by universities to confront their racist roots.