Opening on Juneteenth, Newport’s new Center for Black History shares deep roots with the Simmons Center. Directed by Adjunct Lecturer Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes, the Center for Black History features an African spirit bundle, once part of the Reimagining New England Histories exhibition “Entwined.” Brown Public Humanities Master’s students helped to conceptualize inaugural exhibitions and conduct research at the center.

This research cluster is reshaping scholars’ understanding of the history and growth of capitalism and brings together the best scholars on this subject in the world. This three-year project is co-led by the Simmons Center and the International Institute of Social History (Amsterdam).

This community-based project, housed at Brown University, is a collaborative effort to build a database of enslaved Indigenous people throughout time all across the Americas in order to promote greater understanding of the historical circumstances and ongoing trauma of settler colonialism.

"The Words of Rubel" event at Brown University marked a transformative moment for the Symbolic Reparations Project (SRP) which aims to bridge computational approaches with accessible cultural production.

Reflections from Postdoctoral Fellows Christopher Baldwin and Latoya M. Teague

This project fosters collaborative critical inquiry into the study of human trafficking, as well as cultivates an intersectional framework that acknowledges the ways in which race, class, gender, nation, and sexual forms of power and inequality govern contemporary anti-trafficking efforts.

This research cluster seeks to examine punishment and the U.S. carceral state through an interdisciplinary lens. The cluster operates from the frame that race and anti-Black racism are cornerstones to understanding the vast leviathan of punishment in America.

The making of the modern world was in part constituted by the historical injustices of colonialism and racial slavery. This research cluster is a joint project between the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs and the Simmons Center.

Reflections from Akeia de Barros Gomes, Ph.D., Steven Lubar, and Christina Young ’26 A.M.

Reflections from Zawdie Sandvliet and Ningxin Gao.

This research cluster explores the history and persistence of structural racism in biomedicine as it intersects with economic and social conditions. The cluster focuses on reimagining the knowledge we produce about race and health from a social justice perspective.

This endeavor to “follow the money” investigates the technologies of finance that facilitated the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Atlantic plantation complex by developing new perspectives on the financial mechanics of slaving operations and the trade’s relationship to maritime insurance, commodity brokerage, currency arbitrage, banking, and other elements of the financial services industry.

The Simmons Center facilitates a year-long reading group which focuses on historical and contemporary issues of imprisonment, incarceration, captivity, criminalization, and policing. The reading group is a collaboration between various sectors of the Providence community and the Center.

Reflections from Arman Deendar ’25, Shravya Sompalli ’25, Melaine Ferdinand-King ’25 Ph.D. in Africana Studies, Kevin Carter ’25, Nélari Figueroa Torres ’2, 5Laurie Tamayo ’25, and Dillon Stone ’25

Professor Bogues reflects on the year 2025 within its relations to the Simmons Center highlighting two major achievements including the co-curated exhibition, “In Slavery’s Wake: The Making of Black Freedom” and a revitalized MA in Public Humanities at Brown.

Roberto Lugo plates donated to the Simmons Center adding to a robust display of works the Center has acquired over the years.

Join us in celebrating the Simmons Center’s first graduating cohort of Public Humanities Students: Florence Blackwell, Claire Inouye, Christina Young and Ray Zhang.

Prof. Augusto’s research and teaching interests include subjugated knowledges, global Black radicalism, colonial sciences, higher ed. transformation and visual arts. Her most recent work spans Brazil, the U.S., and South Africa. She insists that the study of slavery and its afterlives should be an international, interdisciplinary, multilingual endeavor, and that knowledge is enhanced when our work keeps this in mind.

We're thrilled to shine a light on Robert Farizer, a dedicated caretaker of the Simmons Center garden for the past decade. As Robert embarks on his retirement after 22 years working at Brown, we thank him for his dedication to the Simmons Center and wish him all the best in the years ahead.

Reina Thomas develops and leads programs that connect RI high school students, educators, and the public with the Simmons Center's scholarship and resources. A Brown MAT graduate, her deep background in education and her passion for equity are key to the success of her work, which includes programs like the Black and Indigenous High School Summer Institute (BIHSI), MET in the Text, and The Teach-Ins.

The Simmons Center welcomes a new cohort of six Public Humanities MA Students to campus in the fall of 2025. This cohort is expected to graduate in 2027.

“The Tally” (Voyage of the Slaving Brig Sally 1764–1765) and “Voices from the Middle Passage” are now part of the Simmons Center’s permanent collection and are on view at the Center after being generously donated by the artist, Pamela Pike Gordinier.

In July 2025, we welcomed 15 High School students for a week of learning, reflection, and community-building focused on the often-untold histories of Black and Indigenous peoples in New England. Brown’s Simmons Center, NAISI, and the Tomaquag Museum led courses on the 13th Amendment and The War for the Dawnland, with guest speakers and space to reflect on these important stories.

Taneisha Wilson reflects on the passing of Professor Lundy Braun

As part of the 2023 Black Alumni Reunion, former Ruth J. Simmons Center fellows reflected on their journeys as leaders in curation, preservation, and interpretation. Sharing insights from their work in museums and cultural institutions, they discussed how the Center’s community and vision continue to shape public humanities and the pursuit of restorative justice.

At a conference honoring George Lamming, Professor Brian Meeks examined Lamming’s political vision for a unified Caribbean. Through his edited volume "On the Canvas of this World," Lamming brought together leading regional thinkers to imagine an expansive, inclusive anti-colonial future—one that continues to illuminate paths forward amid today’s global challenges.

During her fellowship with the Reimagining New England Histories project, Cheryll Toney Holley worked to amplify Black and Indigenous voices and challenge traditional narratives of the region’s past. Serving on exhibition, K–12 curriculum, and publication committees, she helped develop community-centered educational materials and public history projects.

Simmons Center Director, Anthony Bogues, reflects on the Center’s 12th year—a time marked by the loss of Professor Lundy Braun, the launch of our pilot MA in Integrative Studies focused in Public Humanities, and the opening of "In Slavery’s Wake", a major exhibition with the Smithsonian exploring Black freedom and the legacies of slavery and colonialism.

The Race, Medicine, and Social Justice Cluster reflects on a year of impactful scholarship and the profound loss of Dr. Lundy Braun. Co-led by Dr. Braun and Dr. Taneisha Wilson, the Cluster advanced critical work on racism in medicine and will continue to honor Dr. Braun’s legacy through ongoing events, research, and transformative public health advocacy.