Saturday, Feb. 4, over 250 people filed into the standing-room only Matoaka Woods Room at the School of Education to attend the unveiling of the “Life in the Reservation Community” online exhibit uncovering the lives of Black residents displaced by the U.S. government for the construction of what is now the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.
“I am honored to be here today as we gather to remember the families of the Reservation, those oystermen, fishermen, midwives, entrepreneurs, those folks who build livelihoods, families and vibrant communities along the York River,” Jacqueline Bridgeforth-Williams, founder and executive director of the Village Initiative for Equity in Education, said.
The research is part of the work of the Local Black Histories Project, a collaboration between The Village Initiative and Black descendant communities in partnership with the College of William and Mary. Sociology professors Monika Gosin and Amy Quark led the research for this project. The Institute for the Study of Education, Democracy and Justice and the School of Education sponsored the event.
“William and Mary did a study back in the ‘90s that said there were 600 families [in the Reservation community] and my uncle who was born there said there were 800 families…and right now we probably have about 30 or so families that we have found.”
The Reservation community, located a few miles east of campus, was home to hundreds of families until 1918 when the federal government took control of the land and pushed out residents over the following few years.
“William and Mary did a study back in the ‘90s that said there were 600 families [in the Reservation community] and my uncle who was born there said there were 800 families…and right now we probably have about 30 or so families that we have found,” Mary Lassiter, who has been researching the community for the past year, said.
For Sydni Palmer-Washington, a Newport News resident and descendant of multiple families who lived in the Reservation community, the event is more significant than just the online unveiling.
“It’s so important for us to understand the hidden history of Black people in the community…it’s little known history that is finally coming into light,” Palmer-Washington said.
Names of families who lived in the community were called out as descendants stood up to be recognized. Descendents composed at least a third of the room. Descendants Allen Stephens, Rev. Carlon Lassiter, Johnette Gordon-Weaver and Brandon Lee gave presentations and discussed the lives of individuals and families who had lived in the community before displacement.
“It’s so important for us to understand the hidden history of Black people in the community…it’s little known history that is finally coming into light.”
“Many Black families pieced together a variety of income sources to make a living, the most lucrative of which was oystering and fishing,” Gordon-Weaver said. “In the early 1880s, a correspondent from the New York Times visited oysterers working on the James River and marveled at their skill balancing in rough waters and their narrow canoes as they worked. Visit our online exhibit and learn about these oystermen like Humphrey Payne, who sold the oysters as far as Richmond and forged autonomy as an independent entrepreneur.”
Gordon-Weaver also spoke about Reservation residents operating a range of businesses outside of oystering and fishing.
“Justice Augustus ‘Tack’ Roberts served as the first Black Justice of the Peace in York County when living on the Reservation, a position he held for 33 years,” Gordon-Weaver said. “In the online exhibit, you can listen to the voice of Miss Grace Ratcliffe, recalling how her grandfather, Justice Roberts, did not have access to formal education, but nevertheless taught himself the law.”
For individuals and families living on the Reservation, churches served as a community gathering spot.
“Churches were the primary community center in the Reservation,” Rev. Lassiter said. “The first church was Rising Sun Baptist Church, which was established shortly after the Emancipation Proclamation and before the end of the Civil War on November second, 1864.”
Rising Sun Baptist Church, St. John Baptist Church and Little Zion Baptist Church were all founded by residents of the Reservation and are still active today.
After the presentations, Bridgeforth-Williams discussed how the unveiling of the online exhibit is the first step of many.
“The next segment will explore the U.S. government’s use of eminent domain to displace families, and will highlight the activism of the Reservation community,” Bridgeforth-Williams said. “The third segment explores how families rebuilt after the displacement, and the final segment explores the activism of the families today, who are telling the story.”
She also highlighted some of the researchers who contributed to the project.
“We would like to recognize Mrs. Rosa Lee, who has done extensive research at the National Archives in D.C. and found full testimonies from Reservation residents advocating for just compensation. Following Rosa Lee’s paper trail, we recently sent two students, Molly Robinson and Breyonna Rock, to find the testimonies that the archivists said didn’t exist, and they returned with more than 3,600 pages of testimony as well as 150 claimant files and over 300 photos and maps,” Bridgeforth-Williams said.
“Living in Williamsburg, going to William and Mary, it’s very nice to see people…knowing that this work is important to the community, and they welcome you in with open arms.”
Molly Robinson, a second-year PhD student in American Studies, Breyonna Rock ’24, Phoebe Linnell ’24, Annaliese Santana ’24 and Lauren Payne ’24 are working on the project as part of the Local Black Histories Project.
“Living in Williamsburg, going to William and Mary, it’s very nice to see people…knowing that this work is important to the community, and they welcome you in with open arms,” Rock said. “So, when I see Jackie or Mary Lassiter, they’ll give me a big hug. It makes me actually feel like the work I’m doing is important. And then, of course, events like this one makes it worthwhile because it’s like, wow, like the stress. Like me and Molly being tired, getting ready to go to the archives the next day was more than worth it. Like, both of us would do it again, you know, again, until it’s found.”
After the presentation concluded, attendees explored two breakout rooms of exhibits related to the Reservation community as part of a catered reception. Jamestown High School students also presented their research on Reservation families, alongside the Virginia Institute of Marine Science’s exhibit showcase on oystering. The Fairfield Foundation provided an exhibit on the role of archaeology in uncovering history alongside informational posters about members of the community.
Some of the Reservation community families presented posters tracing their genealogical history. One such poster spoke about Emily Byrd, a woman who lived on the Reservation prior to relocation, and her first husband, Samuel Minkins.
“Emily Byrd had one son, Alexander Minkins, when she married James Monroe Lee. Her first husband was Samuel Minkins. It is said Samuel was a big, strong man with a high temperament and beat his task master. Because of this action, he was traded for a grinding organ and it is believed his new owner took him further south. He was never heard from again,” the poster read.
Freddie and Linda Minkins, descendants of the Minkins family, noted the successes of their grandchildren in the classroom and sports and celebrated their relationship.
“Freddie and Linda Minkins have turned quiet determination into active determination.They have been instrumental in their grandchildren’s success in the classroom and in sports. They have been married 42 years with an anniversary coming in March. Freddie’s ancestors, Emily and Samuel Minkins, were not allowed the freedom to be together to love one another and raise their child, Alexander Minkins,” the poster said.
Photos of football and basketball recruitments line both sides of the poster.
“Today, and the journey that is to come, is for everyone. We are all tied to this, to the Reservation, each and every one of us. This is African American history, and the truth be told, this is American history,” Bridgeforth-Williams said at the end of the presentation.
Matthew Nwaneri ‘23 believes that the event is a step in the right direction for William and Mary.
“The event was really good. You know, seeing people from the community come to the campus, I feel like that’s…something that’s been like, lacking in the past, like community engagement and bridging that divide between the community and the campus, especially the local Black community, I feel like it’s kind of ostracized from the rest of Williamsburg, so it was good to see the school hosting an event for the Black community,” Nwaneri said.
Rev. Lassiter shared a hopeful message in his presentation.
“If I may co-opt something I heard Martin Luther King said…He said the arc of the world is long, but I would say, it bends towards the prayer of our ancestors,” Rev. Lassiter said.
CORRECTION (2/7/23): Article was updated to change ‘local organization’ in the title to ’The Village Initiative’ to highlight the name of the organization. The article was also updated to capitalize ‘Reservation’ throughout the article as it is the proper name of a community. Additionally, the link to the online exhibit in the article was not functional originally. Now, it has been corrected to be functional. Here it is again for reference: https://sites.google.com/email.wm.edu/localblackhistories/exhibits/life-in-the-reservation-community
