Monday, April 26, the College’s Student Assembly hosted a Memorial to the Enslaved with The Lemon Project. Held in the Wren Courtyard, the event consisted of many student performances and concluded with a viewing of paintings.
To open the event, assistant professor of history and Director of the Lemon Project Dr. Jody Lynn Allen spoke about the College’s history of enslavement. Revenue from institution-owned plantations, worked by enslaved individuals, funded the school and even provided scholarship money for lower-class white male students. Approximately 200 enslaved individuals were owned by the institution or a student, of which only 81 names are known.
“Regardless of how little or how much we know, what’s most important is we acknowledge their presence,” Allen said. “In short, they made the lives of the students, faculty, and staff livable. And yet, they were left out of the narrative from the end of slavery until around 2007. It was as if they had never been here, but not anymore.”
“Regardless of how little or how much we know, what’s most important is we acknowledge their presence,” Allen said. “In short, they made the lives of the students, faculty, and staff livable. And yet, they were left out of the narrative from the end of slavery until around 2007. It was as if they had never been here, but not anymore.”
With Allen’s words echoing in the attendee’s minds, the host of the event, Kyle Vasquez ’21, shared the idea behind this celebration to honor the humanity and life of those remembered.
“This last summer, we saw the height of the Black Lives Matter Movement,” Vasquez wrote in an email. “It was a time where a lot of jobs started wanting to do more diversity and inclusion initiatives and carve out spaces for black and brown employees.”
With this in mind and a coworker’s suggestion, Vasquez decided to watch the documentary “13th” on Netflix, which compares the prison system to an extension of slavery and how the effects of slavery are still apparent today.
“In the documentary they show how they wrote the name of everyone who had been murdered by police brutality on tape and tapped them on the wall,” Vasquez wrote. “Throughout all of this, I had noticed that William and Mary students were starting to wonder on the progress of the Memorial to Honor the Enslaved — which will be breaking grounds May 26, 2021— So, I thought that we should find a way to complement the memorial that is going to get done but have something that will come faster!”
With the help of Loni Wright ’21 and Anthony Joseph ’21, the idea for paintings was born. In early October, all the paintings were submitted and the first unveiling at the Board of Visitors meeting showcased the students’ talents.
“That was very metaphorical for us because, at the time, we were still trying to pitch our ideas on renaming,” Vasquez wrote. “With the Board’s most recent decision, I think it’s very telling the role the paintings have on campus, and what I wish for them to do for people in the future. It’s really easy to know a name and a number and just move on or look away, but it’s so much more difficult to run away from a person because you are forced to remember their humanity.”
Vasquez and his peers hoped that the paintings would make students of color feel honored and more at home through these works. Additionally, Vasquez wants students to see the paintings and start an honest conversation of the College’s history. Nineteen of these paintings are physically being displayed in the Sadler Center and are virtually displayed on the Muscarelle and Lemon Project websites.
“All in all, I think everyone can enjoy the beautiful pieces and see those who had to build and maintained this institution for more years than not, we owe everything to them, and I think we are forever indebted to them,” Vasquez said.
An artist of one of the paintings displayed, Marley Fishburn ’24, explained the inspiration behind her piece.
“My piece is titled Halo and I wanted to paint a portrait that showcased strength and fortitude as well as vulnerability,” Fishburn wrote in an email. “I wanted to show her ethereality in the gold halo behind her while also portraying her as the human being she was in order to honor her life.”
Along with the paintings, other showcases of student talent were shone in the Wren Courtyard that night. Ebony Expressions, a student choir and other singers and poets expressed their emotions during this changing time.
“I wrote ‘Brighter Day’ during quarantine because so many people were going through a rough time — including myself — and as a songwriter, I wanted to write a song that would give people hope for a better tomorrow,” Aria A’Shani Austin ’21 wrote in an email. “I performed it at the event because a lot of work has been put in by members of the William and Mary community for positive change, but there is still a lot to be done. It will take all of us to be a part of that change and if we work together, there certainly are brighter days ahead!”
Another singer, Celeste Chalkley ’21, also felt that music as an art form expressed her thoughts well. She felt the song “I’m Here” from “The Color Purple” encompassed an emotional and personal journey.
“There is power in the authenticity that it brings forth,” Chalkley wrote in an email. “I felt that this song was an appropriate fit for the Memorial to the Enslaved because there’s this commonality and build between the two. They are both vulnerable and developing at the beginning stages, but by the end they profess ‘I’m here.’”
Chalkley further explained that the legacy of Black Americans lives in the United States and the College.
“Taking these strides as an institution are imperative to reconcile with our past and to move on and be better,” Chalkley wrote. “Their memory and legacy lives on. They can’t vocalize that they are here, so this song had the ability to serve as a voice and a reminder.”
“Taking these strides as an institution are imperative to reconcile with our past and to move on and be better,” Chalkley wrote. “Their memory and legacy lives on. They can’t vocalize that they are here, so this song had the ability to serve as a voice and a reminder.”
Another performer, Ephraim Takyi ’23 wanted to specifically highlight the issue of police brutality towards the African American community in his piece — specifically, 15-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant and the murder of a 13-year-old boy in Chicago.
“I wanted to get the message across that the fight is not over,” Takyi wrote in an email. “Even though Derek Chauvin was finally convicted for murder in the case of George Floyd, we can’t get tired. It’s something that was supposed to happen. We need to keep fighting, so the norm isn’t even rightful conviction, but the end of discrimination, racism, and specifically police brutality. That’s why I sang ‘Glory’ by John Legend ft. Common because I wanted others to understand that it’s not over and we haven’t yet cried ‘GLORY!’”
The powerful student voices and works created a successful Memorial to the Enslaved and left attendees with a lasting impression. Attendee Chris Eliades ’23 noted how inspirational student action, creativity and accountability are.
“Seeing the pieces of art projected onto the side of the Wren building while getting to hear the ethereal vocal talents and resonating stanzas from our student body is an experience I’ll never forget,” Eliades wrote in an email. “By getting to listen to their words and their passion, we all got to learn and leave with the knowledge of how to ensure that we never forget our school’s history, how to hold it and ourselves accountable, and how to learn from its mistakes to make our world a better place.”
