Project Collections

The 2006 Report of the Brown University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice made a deep and permanent contribution to historical scholarship on racial slavery in the Americas and transformed higher education’s engagement with its history of slavery. This digital student edition features an interactive reading experience, an expanded set of historical documents, and an array of supplemental resources.

For the First Readings Assignment we encourage you to read the Front Matter before you dive into the Report itself.

This publication is an archive of content that is retained exclusively for reference and research. It was created prior to May 11, 2026. Contact [email protected] to request accessible content.

Slavery and Justice

First Readings

Published July, 2021

Nicholas Brown

When the Roman revolution broke out late in 1848, Pope Pius IX fled the Papal States and called on the Catholic powers of Europe to send their armies to restore him to power. Giuseppe Mazzini led the Roman Republic that briefly came to power, with Giuseppe Garibaldi leading his ragtag forces to defend it. At the time, the only U.S. diplomat in Rome was the American consul, Nicholas Brown. Brown’s copious correspondence with Mazzini and other key figures of the Roman Republic were left to his alma mater, Brown University, with which his family was closely associated. This unique collection is here made available, with associated critical apparatus, to the scholarly community worldwide.

This publication is an archive of content that is retained exclusively for reference and research. It was created prior to May 11, 2026. Contact [email protected] to request accessible content.

Nicholas Brown and the Roman Revolution

Updated April, 2026

Race & in America

Over the course of the 2020–22 academic years, the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown, in partnership with the Office of the Provost, undertook a systematic investigation of the enduring contemporary effects of anti-Black racism in America. Drawing on the expertise of Brown scholars from a range of fields and perspectives, a series of thirteen webinars generated critical engagements with society’s most fundamental and urgent questions around race. The Race & in America series amplifies the impact and extends the reach of these penetrating discussions through expanded content and resources presented over thirteen volumes.

This publication series is an archive of content that is retained exclusively for reference and research. It was created prior to May 11, 2026. Contact [email protected] to request accessible content.

See the full collection

Slavery and Justice

First Readings

Nicholas Brown and the Roman Revolution

Race and Performance in America

Volume 13 of the Race & in America series, an enhanced exploration of the origins, history, and legacies of anti-Black racism in the U.S., designed to deepen knowledge and awareness in the service of promoting a more just and inclusive community and world.

Race and Environment in America

Volume 12 of the Race & in America series, an enhanced exploration of the origins, history, and legacies of anti-Black racism in the U.S., designed to deepen knowledge and awareness in the service of promoting a more just and inclusive community and world.

Race and Music in America

Volume 11 of the Race & in America series, an enhanced exploration of the origins, history, and legacies of anti-Black racism in the U.S., designed to deepen knowledge and awareness in the service of promoting a more just and inclusive community and world.

Race and Poetry in America

Volume 10 of the Race & in America series, an enhanced exploration of the origins, history, and legacies of anti-Black racism in the U.S., designed to deepen knowledge and awareness in the service of promoting a more just and inclusive community and world.

Slavery and Justice

First Readings

Nicholas Brown and the Roman Revolution

Race and Performance in America

Volume 13 of the Race & in America series, an enhanced exploration of the origins, history, and legacies of anti-Black racism in the U.S., designed to deepen knowledge and awareness in the service of promoting a more just and inclusive community and world.

Race and Environment in America

Volume 12 of the Race & in America series, an enhanced exploration of the origins, history, and legacies of anti-Black racism in the U.S., designed to deepen knowledge and awareness in the service of promoting a more just and inclusive community and world.

Race and Music in America

Volume 11 of the Race & in America series, an enhanced exploration of the origins, history, and legacies of anti-Black racism in the U.S., designed to deepen knowledge and awareness in the service of promoting a more just and inclusive community and world.

Race and Poetry in America

Volume 10 of the Race & in America series, an enhanced exploration of the origins, history, and legacies of anti-Black racism in the U.S., designed to deepen knowledge and awareness in the service of promoting a more just and inclusive community and world.