The Austin McCoy papers (1 linear feet, 8.76 GB) focus on McCoy's activism and leadership as a doctoral student at the University of Michigan. The collection features three series:
The Biographical Information series contains five sound recordings including a four-part oral history interview McCoy completed in 2015. The series also features McCoy's Student of the Year interview with The Michigan Daily in 2015. The sound recordings discuss McCoy's background, scholarship, inspirations and organizing career.
The Correspondence series contains digital copies of email correspondence from McCoy's University of Michigan and personal email accounts. The series also includes data from McCoy's twitter account and photographs downloaded from his Facebook account.
The Activism series contains notes, meeting minutes, flyers, photographs, topical files, news articles, and other writings. Specific organizing events featured in the collection include the Being Black at the University of Michigan (#BBUM) social media campaign, the Ann Arbor to Ferguson protests, and protests against racism on the University of Michigan campus.
Austin McCoy is a University of Michigan alumnus who was an activist and leader against racism and social injustice during his time at the university. In 2009, McCoy enrolled at the University of Michigan as a PhD student in the Department of History, studying African American history and the political and economic history of the American Midwest. Although he was not initially active in campus organizing, McCoy was inspired by the death of Trayvon Martin in 2013. Later that year, he helped organize the #BBUM (Being Black at the University of Michigan) social media campaign and formed the United Coalition for Racial Justice (UCRJ) group on campus. As a leader in UCRJ, McCoy organized an overnight teach-in and a speak-out for racial justice. McCoy led protests against the Town of Ann Arbor following the 2014 death of Aura Rosser, an African American woman who was fatally shot by the police, and worked to combat acts of racial intimidation during and after the 2016 presidential election. He was also a member of the University of Michigan Graduate Employees' Organization (GEO) and organized for fairer treatment and higher wages for graduate student employees.
McCoy earned his PhD in History from the University of Michigan in 2016. His dissertation, "No Radical Hangover: Black Power, New Left and Progressive Politics in the Midwest, 1967-1989" won acclaim in the Department of History and across the University. McCoy previously earned a B.A. in History and a M.A. in African American Studies from The Ohio State University and a M.A. in History from Kent State University. He is currently an assistant professor of history at Auburn University with a specialization in African American history.
