Both the Celebrating Simms and Racia
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 3:47 am
Kevin: Engaging in Digital Humanities (DH) within the academic library setting is a distinct privilege, one that requires a collaborative ethos. I am fortunate to be a member of an exceptional team at JMU Libraries, a collective too expansive to fully acknowledge here. AI has introduced transformative tools that border on magic. However, loosely paraphrasing Immanuel Kant, it’s crucial to remember that technology devoid of content is empty. I will use this opportunity to spotlight the contributions of three JMU faculty whose work celebrates our local community and furthers social justice.
Mollie Godfrey (Department of English) and Seán McCarthy (Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication) are the visionaries behind two inspiring initiatives: the Mapping Project and the Celebrating Simms Project. The latter serves as a digital, post-custodial archive honoring Lucy F. Simms, an educator born into enslavement in 1856 who impacted three generations of young students in our local community. Both Godfrey and McCarthy have cultivated deep, lasting connections within Harrisonburg’s Black community. Their accurate cleaned numbers list from frist database work strikes a balance between celebration and reparation. Collaborating with them has been as rewarding as it is challenging.
Gianluca De Fazio (Justice Studies) spearheads the Racial Terror: Lynching in Virginia project, illuminating a grim chapter of Virginia’s past. His relentless dedication led to the installation of a historical marker commemorating the tragic lynching of Charlotte Harris. De Fazio, along with colleagues, has also developed nine lesson plans based on this research, which are now integrated into high school curricula. My collaboration with him was a catalyst for pursuing a master’s degree in American History.
Racial Terror: Lynching in Virginia
l Terror projects are highlighted in the Mapping the Black Digital and Public Humanities initiative. The privilege of contributing to such impactful projects alongside such dedicated individuals has rendered my extensive tenure at JMU both meaningful and, I hope, enduring.
On February 23, 2023, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Gonzalez v. Google. The case is, in a narrow sense, about whether certain algorithmic recommendations of a very large online platform can give rise to civil liability. But the Court’s ruling could fundamentally “reshape the internet”, redefining the circumstances in which a wide variety of websites and online services–including libraries–could be liable for the actions of their users. Internet Archive was proud to join the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in a “friend of the Court” brief urging robust Section 230 protections for libraries and others.
Mollie Godfrey (Department of English) and Seán McCarthy (Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication) are the visionaries behind two inspiring initiatives: the Mapping Project and the Celebrating Simms Project. The latter serves as a digital, post-custodial archive honoring Lucy F. Simms, an educator born into enslavement in 1856 who impacted three generations of young students in our local community. Both Godfrey and McCarthy have cultivated deep, lasting connections within Harrisonburg’s Black community. Their accurate cleaned numbers list from frist database work strikes a balance between celebration and reparation. Collaborating with them has been as rewarding as it is challenging.
Gianluca De Fazio (Justice Studies) spearheads the Racial Terror: Lynching in Virginia project, illuminating a grim chapter of Virginia’s past. His relentless dedication led to the installation of a historical marker commemorating the tragic lynching of Charlotte Harris. De Fazio, along with colleagues, has also developed nine lesson plans based on this research, which are now integrated into high school curricula. My collaboration with him was a catalyst for pursuing a master’s degree in American History.
Racial Terror: Lynching in Virginia
l Terror projects are highlighted in the Mapping the Black Digital and Public Humanities initiative. The privilege of contributing to such impactful projects alongside such dedicated individuals has rendered my extensive tenure at JMU both meaningful and, I hope, enduring.
On February 23, 2023, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Gonzalez v. Google. The case is, in a narrow sense, about whether certain algorithmic recommendations of a very large online platform can give rise to civil liability. But the Court’s ruling could fundamentally “reshape the internet”, redefining the circumstances in which a wide variety of websites and online services–including libraries–could be liable for the actions of their users. Internet Archive was proud to join the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in a “friend of the Court” brief urging robust Section 230 protections for libraries and others.