Chara Bohan, professor in Georgia State University’s College of Education and Human Development, has received a $141,073 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to develop a two-week teacher institute for U.S. history teachers.

The institute, entitled “Courting Liberty: Slavery and Equality Under the Constitution, 1770-1870,” was previously funded by the endowment in 2016 and will bring together 25 teachers from across the country to discuss slavery and equality as constitutional issues in early United States history.

Participants will have the opportunity to visit historical sites in Atlanta and Charleston, S.C., examine primary sources related to slavery and equality, and attend seminars led by a panel of expert faculty from across the country. The panel brings expertise in African-American studies, history, education and law, according to Rhonda Webb, Social Studies Department chairperson at Lassiter High School in Marietta, Ga., and a graduate of Georgia State’s Teaching and Learning doctoral degree program, who is working on the project.

“When we conducted the first institute in 2016, the topic was very timely, as we were discussing historical issues of race at the same time as the Black Lives Matter movement was conducting marches. We know that an in-depth, intellectual discussion is necessary to try to heal racial wounds,” said Bohan, who is co-directing the institute with Georgia State historian H. Robert Baker. “We look forward to another group of teachers who are willing to explore these powerful concepts.”

This grant is one of 245 projects that received National Endowment for the Humanities funding this year. The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency that supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy and other humanities subjects by funding select projects from researchers around the country.