你知道新泽西直到1866年才正式废除奴隶制吗, 成为最后一个这样做的北方州?

你知道"祖辈"这个词吗,在今天的许多合同中使用, is a racially discriminatory phrase initiated by southern lawmakers 谁se goal was to disenfranchise the voters of Americans of African ancestry beginning in the late 19^th 到20世纪中期^th 世纪?

你听说过吗 贝茜·布朗特·格里芬? 她是一位非洲血统的美国发明家, 谁, 20世纪50年代, 发明了一次性纸板呕吐盆, 俗称肾菜. 布朗特·格里芬还发明了便携式容器支架，一种自动喂食装置 smithsonianmag.com 被描述为, “an extraordinary technology that would change lives for disabled veterans of the Second World War."

布朗特·格里芬试图为她的两项发明申请专利, 但美国退伍军人管理局不会接受他们. 她最后 出售专利和相关权利 法国政府的自动喂食器和比利时的肾盘.​

布朗特·格里芬后来成为了 法医笔迹分析员 在被选去苏格兰场学习技术之后. 在世界闻名的警察总部工作了一段时间之后, 她回到了美国, 在70年代末, taught the Vineland (NJ) Police department and several police departments in Virginia how to detect forged documents with her knowledge of forensic handwriting analysis science.

许多当地居民都不知道, 布朗特·格里芬在威尼斯人注册县度过了她生命的最后几天, 在纽菲尔德区, in 2009.

You can find stories like Blount Griffin's and myriad other people in the African Diaspora 谁 have made positive and long-lasting contributions to humanity, 自古以来, 威尼斯人会员注册(RCSJ)坎伯兰校区图书馆. 

rcsj -坎伯兰图书馆长期以来一直处于为学生提供服务的最前沿, 教师, and community members access to information that help them view the world through a diverse and inclusive lens. The 图书馆 continues in its educational role by inviting the public to discover hidden 历史 through its Afrocentric Collection.

根据Kat 给ns的说法, 学院兼职图书管理员, 非洲中心收藏是一个不断扩大的教育资源，充满了书籍, dvd, 和cd.

另外, the collection is accompanied by the Afrocentric Studies and African American Studies Resource Guides. “We also have an Antiracism Resource Guide created by librarian Kelly Hayden," 给ns acknowledged.

rcsj图书馆以非洲为中心的收藏从不起眼的开始.

“In 2016, we began working with (RCSJ adjunct professor) Donna Pearson on resources for her Cultural Diversity course,“rcsj -坎伯兰首席图书管理员, 帕蒂·施密德解释道. “最终，我找到并读了两本书:乔治G.M. 詹姆斯的《威尼斯人会员注册》和伊万·范·塞尔蒂玛的《威尼斯人注册》.'"

“These titles initiated a seismic shift in the 图书馆's collection development trajectory 也 as my own education,施密德接着说. “I was jettisoned into a different worldview and 历史 that had been hidden by Eurocentric intent."

“帕蒂·施密德在图书馆的收购方面一直很有远见，” 皮尔森说，他是这个系列的催化剂. “当我开始教授《威尼斯人会员注册》时, 除了必需的文本之外，我还想添加一个新的维度. 我联系了琼斯女士. 施密德讨论了为我的课提供某些书籍的可能性. 其中包括约瑟夫·本·约翰坎南和约翰·亨里克·克拉克的经典作品."

在获得各种人力资源的宝贵投入后, 施密德开始收集材料，这些材料已成为许多人的重要资料来源. “Ms. Schmid has developed and expanded this collection to become one of the most inclusive collections in the area,皮尔森宣布. 

“我们在2022年增加了两本藏书, 等, 是“埃及的黑人起源(第一和第二部分)”, 这些都是安东尼·T制作的. Richard Delgado和Jean stefanic合著的《威尼斯人会员注册》,施密德说.

RCSJ的非洲中心收藏还包括儿童和青少年文学, 历史, 非洲中心主义的小说, Afrofuturistic小说, 女人的历史, LGBTQIA +, 音乐, 和更多的.

根据Schmid的说法, 在过去的几个世纪, 很多关于非洲人后裔的历史都是伪造的, 扭曲的, 和隐藏. The librarians and Pearson articulated the significance of having this culturally diverse collection available to all.

施密德说:“广泛传播和获取这些材料非常重要. “It seems as though many people don't know about this information – including people of African descent. 当历史被有目的的作者故意隐藏, 故事遗失了, 材料就会变得飘忽不定."

“We can't expect people of all backgrounds and cultures to have access to historical truth when curriculums in public schools and higher education are whitewashed with resources filtered through a Eurocentric, 异性恋男性镜头,吉文斯补充道. “它强化了我们社会中的种族主义和压迫."

“The purpose of teaching cultural diversity is to give all students a chance to learn about the many cultures and experiences that make up our multicultural world,皮尔森说。. “In order for students to fully understand 'diversity' they have to have access to the resources needed to learn. 此集合提供该访问."

非洲中心收集给RCSJ学生, 教师, and community members an opportunity to glean information about 历史 from a different perspective. 在整理这本书的过程中，施密德、皮尔逊、吉文斯和阿瑟. 角, 高级教育机会基金顾问, RCSJ, 发现了不为大众所知的尖锐信息.

“作为一个生来就有高水平黑色素生成的人, the Afrocentric Collection has provided me with the knowledge that the world's physical mass is large in scope but so is the existence of African/African American cultures,霍恩说。, 谁 played an integral role in the inception of the collection by reviewing and recommending resources currently on display. “The collection will provide people with more context of the pluralism that exists [within] the [African diaspora]."

“I have learned of ancient Temples that were African centers of science and math," Schmid revealed. “I have learned about ancient African civilizations (pre-Greek and Roman) that were sophisticated urban centers. I have learned that many of the origin stories of Western Religions are based on ancient African oral histories and stories."

“I have learned that so much African American 历史 did not begin in 1619 and that there is a wealth of information available,“皮尔森 说. “Learning about our 历史 through an Afrocentric lens gives greater depth and meaning to our current existence."

“非洲人和非裔美国人的文化有奴隶制之前和奴隶制之后的历史,吉文斯说。, 谁 suggested people should read books like “The First Americans Were Africans: Revisited" and “NJinga of Angola: Africa's Warrior Queen.”“在欧洲人殖民和奴役非洲大陆之前, 那里有比欧洲更先进的文明和社会, such as the intellectual treasures of the Mali Empire and the gifts ancient Egypt (Kemet) gave to civilizations reaching up to the present."

霍恩指出，那些做出决定的人会掩盖真相, 不管是遗漏还是误传, 能把全体民众置于精神奴役的状态吗.

“社会结构依赖于对公民的错误教育，”霍恩说. 正如卡特·G. 伍德森在他的书中写道 'The Mis-Education of the Negro': 'If you can control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. When you determine what a man shall think you do not have to concern yourself about what he will do.'

Schmid and 给ns expressed that they felt they have been lied to their entire lives after uncovering some of the truths that have been hidden by numerous historians, 还有教育系统, and believe the Afrocentric Collection is an invaluable tool in bringing different cultures together. 皮尔森同意.

“This Collection contains a wealth of information that gives credence to the fact that we are all, 不管我们的背景如何, 相互联系的,皮尔森说。. “学生们对这个系列提供的信息感到惊讶, 不仅在标题上，而且在视觉媒体上, 也. 我经常从学生那里听到的一个评论是，“我从来不知道。.'

欲知详情，请浏览 RCSJ.edu/Library/坎伯兰.

注意: This is an updated version of a 2022 article titled RCSJ 图书馆 Exposes Hidden Truths with Afrocentric Collection.​