Stretch your legs and take a socially distanced walking tour of important people and events in our school's history of civil rights. View thirteen stops across campus where you can learn more about the efforts of those who've come before us.

 Below you will find all the stops in chronological order.

Take the Tour

  • Sources

    • On the history of segregation at The Catholic University of America, see C. Joseph Nuesse, “Segregation and Desegregation at the Catholic University of America,” Washington History, Spring/Summer, 1997). See also Nuesse’s general work on the history of the University: The Catholic University of America, A Centennial History (The Catholic University of America Press: Washington, D.C., 1990).
    • On William Tecumseh Sherman Jackson:
      Nuesse, “Segregation and Desegregation,” 58; Nuesse, The Catholic University of America, 115. “A Slice of History,” Amherst Magazine, Winter 2007: https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/magazine/issues/2007_winter/blazing/slice.
    • On the integration of Catholic Sisters College, Nuesse, “Segregation and Desegregation,” 60; Shannen Dee Williams, August 3, 2020: https://twitter.com/BlkNunHistorian/status/1290346942388723712; Roy DeFerrari, Memoirs of The Catholic University of America, 1918-1960 (Daughters of St. Paul: Boston, 1962), 281-289.
    • On Euphemia Lofton Haynes, Maria Mazzenga, “The Archivist’s Nook: African American History? You’re Standing On It,” February 4, 2016: https://www.lib.cua.edu/wordpress/newsevents/7329/; Finding aid to the Haynes Lofton Family Papers: https://libraries.catholic.edu/special-collections/archives/collections/finding-aids/finding-aids.html?file=haynes-lofton
    • On Cyprian Davis, Maria Mazzenga, “The Archivist’s Nook: African American History Related Collections,” November 17, 2020: https://www.lib.cua.edu/wordpress/newsevents/13467/
    • On Sister Thea Bowman, Shane MacDonald, “The Archivist’s Nook: Sister Bowman Goes to Washington, March 23, 2020:  https://www.lib.cua.edu/wordpress/newsevents/12482/; Rachel Wood and Valerie McGraw,“Sister Thea, Our Saint in the Making,” Department of English of The Catholic University of America Newsletter, February, 2019: “https://english.catholic.edu/about-us/newsletter/february-2019-newsletter/article-sr-thea.html
    • On Gilbert Hartke, Mary Jo Santo Pietro, Father Hartke:
      His Life and Legacy to the American Theater, (The Catholic University of America Press: Washington, D.C., 2002), 157-172.
    • The Tower student newspaper (online and in print) covers civil rights activities on campus in 1964: http://tower.lib.cua.edu/Olive/APA/CatholicUniversity/Print.Article.aspx?mode=image&href=TTR%2F1964%2F04%2F24&id=Ar00104
    • On Samuel Williams and the BOS-CUA (also known as the BOSACUA):
      Nuesse, The Catholic University of America, 448; The Tower student newspaper online has several issues covering Williams and the BOS-CUA:
      http://tower.lib.cua.edu/Olive/APA/CatholicUniversity/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=TTR%2F1969%2F03%2F14&id=Ar00901&sk=06DA1EEF&viewMode=image; http://tower.lib.cua.edu/Olive/APA/CatholicUniversity/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=TTR%2F1970%2F04%2F24&id=Ar00306&sk=25FDFAB7&viewMode=image; http://tower.lib.cua.edu/Olive/APA/CatholicUniversity/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=TTR%2F1971%2F01%2F22&id=Ar00604&sk=D0278206&viewMode=image