After taking "African-American History to 1865," Redell Armstrong wondered what role free people of color in the North played in shaping the abolitionist movement. Six months later, he was finding the answers for himself in an 1827 issue of the "Freedom's Journal," the first American newspaper written by blacks for blacks.
"I wanted to see whether white and black abolitionists agreed or differed in their thinking about slave resistance, emancipation and the meaning of freedom," Redell said. "It surprised me to learn about these newspapers and how their editors were successful in paving the way for abolitionists like Frederick Douglass who followed."
The project began when Redell approached History Professor Bob Paquette about summer research opportunities. Professor Paquette suggested looking at all of the African-American newspapers published before the Civil War to compare the major issues — a scholarly study that had not been conducted before.
Redell received both an Emerson Scholarship for student-faculty research and a McNair Scholarship to spend the summer at the University of Rochester taking graduate-level preparation classes. In addition to writing a paper on his project, Redell was invited to present his findings at the national McNair Conference this fall.
"Research is demanding and can be isolating at times, but there are rewards," said Redell, who plans to pursue a Ph.D. in early-American history. "I came back to campus with so much information, and that led to engaging discussions with Professor Paquette. We sat down, and he asked me questions. It was a real reversal of roles."
