Tara Bynum, associate professor in the Department of English, has received a $50,000 fellowship from the John Carter Brown Library to support work on her book, A Revolutionary History of Black Joy.

Bynum’s book examines interconnected Black communities in Rhode Island from 1760 through the 1790s, before, during, and immediately after the Revolutionary War. Drawing on letters, meeting minutes, account books, and other primary sources like these, the project explores how Black women and men navigated everyday life, cared for one another, and experienced joy amid war and political change.

The fellowship will allow Bynum to spend extended time at the John Carter Brown Library in Rhode Island, working with collections including the Brown Family Business Records and the Welcome Arnold ledgers. These collections contain records of the work, purchases, and interactions of people who were enslaved or formerly enslaved, revealing their interconnected stories. Her research at the library will support revisions to a chapter examining relationships among members of Rhode Island’s Black communities.

The $50,000 fellowship from the John Carter Brown Library runs from Aug. 1, 2026, through May 31, 2027.