Darius Johnson
The Washington College Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, a nationally recognized center for research and education on American history and culture, recently received a prestigious $339,000 Major Collaborative Archival Initiatives grant to further the work of its Chesapeake Heartland project, a digital humanities initiative that uses innovative technologies to explore the history of African American life on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Chesapeake Heartland collects, preserves, and shares primary sources, such as oral histories, photographs, and archival documents, to tell the stories of African American individuals, families, and communities in the Chesapeake region.
Awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the grant will support the ongoing development of the project, enabling it to expand its digital archive, develop new educational programs, and strengthen community engagement.
“The Chesapeake watershed is a heartland, if not the heartland, of African American history in this country,” Hodson Trust-Griswold Director for the Starr Center Adam Goodheart recently told Shore Magazine. “From the first Africans who arrived at the mouth of the Chesapeake through the Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter movements of today, Kent County is a microcosm of that history. This is the history that people carry in their hearts.”
Now in its 25th year, the Starr Center recently announced the appointment of Darius Johnson as project director for Chesapeake Heartland. In this new role, Johnson will steer the project’s strategic planning, funding, and impact and is charged with engaging a diverse group of students and faculty in the project’s mission and supporting substantive learning opportunities that contribute to its success. Johnson has been involved with Chesapeake Heartland since its inception in 2019 and his work and knowledge have been lauded and recognized by many within the College and the larger Chesapeake region.
“I want Chesapeake Heartland to be seen, and leveraged, as a key platform for experiential learning,” said Johnson. “With our strong community emphasis, we’re able to help students develop a stronger sense of place while developing their careers, allowing them to be impactful, civically engaged citizens in their college community as well as the communities they live in after they graduate.”
Johnson, is thrilled to continue telling the stories of African American heritage and hopes the work will allow people to understand the truths of their experience and contributions.
“This is especially important for our youth, whose sense of pride would benefit from knowing the roots they come from,” stressed Johnson. “I struggled with this when I was a young boy growing up here in Kent County and even as a student at Washington College. Now, thanks to Chesapeake Heartland, I have a deeper appreciation of who I am and where I come from.”
Washington College and the Starr Center invite the community to learn more about the Chesapeake Heartland’s work and to peruse its featured collections in the Project’s Digital Archive.
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