Calendar
Thursday, April 10
Hours: 7:30AM - 1AM
–ZSR Library, Special Collections & Archives Research Room (Room 625)Tobacco has played a significant role in shaping North Carolina’s cultural, economic, and social identity, even before the state’s official establishment. Early depictions of Native American communities along the coast at the end of the 16th century show cultivation and use of the plant.
During the 19th century, tobacco became a cornerstone of the plantation economy, generating immense wealth for select families. In the 20th century, the rise of mass production and commercialization, along with an expanding labor force dedicated to its cultivation and processing, further embedded tobacco in North Carolina’s way of life. Marketing campaigns and iconic imagery tied to tobacco are deeply woven into the state’s historical narrative.
This exhibit showcases images, artifacts, and records from Special Collections & Archives, spanning from the sixteenth century to the modern era. It also features contributions from North Carolina artists and photographers, including Daisha Bunn and Erin Kye and their families, as well as works by photographer Dan Routh.
ZSR Library, Library Auditorium (Room 404)The Program in African American Studies will be hosting a book talk and public conversation with Dr. Therí A. Pickens. Dr. Pickens is a Professor of English at Bates College, specializing in African American, Arab American and disability literatures and theories.
Dr. Shanna Greene Benjamin, Professor of African American Studies at Wake Forest University, will lead the conversation with Dr. Pickens about her first collection of poetry, What Had Happened Was (Duke University Press 2025). A reception will follow.
Thank you to the Department of English and Creative Writing for co-sponsoring this event.
Read more about Dr. Pickens.