Celebrating Black History and Culture at Georgetown
We celebrate the many contributions of our Black students, alumni, faculty and staff to our community and society, and recognize the broad range of teaching, scholarship and advocacy at Georgetown aimed at advancing Black heritage and history.
Black History Month
The first organized national celebration of Black history was conceived by historian Carter G. Woodson in 1925. During the month of February, Georgetown joins the nation in commemorating Black History Month.
Celebrate Black History
African American Studies
The Department of African American Studies delivers scholarship and courses that deeply and substantively examine Black culture, history and experience throughout the Americas; study African culture, history, people and politics as pretext and context to Africans in the Americas experience; and explore the Black Atlantic diaspora.
‘I Guess I’ll Have To Be the First’
The first tenured Black woman at Georgetown, Professor Gwendolyn Mikell spent 47 years with the university, recently retiring in August 2021. Mikell led a remarkable career, chairing the Department of Sociology and Anthropology from 1992-2007 and directing the African Studies Program from 1996-2007.
Golden Arches in Black America
In her Pulitzer Prize-winning book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, history and African American Studies professor Marcia Chatelain meticulously researches the ways in which fast-food franchises like McDonald’s became one of the greatest generators of Black wealth in America through first-hand accounts and government documents.





The Quest for Racial Justice
Through teaching, research, artistic expression, advocacy and activism, the university calls attention to disparities in health, income, housing and more, while exploring the systematic racism, diasporas, migrations and social structures that continue to impact the lives of people of color.
Geographic Segregation in America
Georgetown Law Professor Sheryll Cashin calls for the abolition of the entrenched system of geographic segregation that she says has been driving racial inequality for more than a century.
A Testimonial

“Marginalized communities have a long history of resisting oppression, exercising agency and pursuing educational opportunities both inside and outside of schools. Unfortunately, Black youth in Waterloo historically have been marginalized and underserved. My goal was to center their rich cultural histories and assets in high-quality literacy instruction.”
Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation
Georgetown is engaged in a long-term and ongoing process to more deeply understand and respond to the university’s role in the injustice of slavery and the legacies of enslavement and segregation in our nation. Through engagement with the members of the Descendant community, collaborative projects and new initiatives and learning and research, the university pursues a path of memorialization and reconciliation in our present day.
Quick Links
Health Disparities in DC
Christopher J. King, chair of the Department of Health Systems Administration at the School of Nursing & Health Studies, led a report that illuminates entrenched health and socioeconomic disparities among residents in Washington, DC.