Over a year after Colonial Williamsburg moved the Williamsburg Bray School from its Brown Hall site to the corner of Nassau and Francis Street, students, faculty and community members gathered to witness the school’s dedication ceremony.
Established in 1760 by the Associates of Dr. Bray philanthropic group, the Bray School is the oldest surviving school for free and enslaved Black children in the United States.
At the start of the ceremony, the audience participated in a roll call activity, where organizers and the Bray School Descendant Community Children’s Choir sang “Sit Down.” Attendees were asked to stand up for the duration of the song, then sit down when a word that describes them, like “mother” or “child,” comes up.
Following the song, President and CEO of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Cliff Fleet ’91, M.A. ’93, J.D. ’95, M.B.A. ’95, Virginia State Senator Mamie Locke, Delegate Cliff Hayes, College of William and Mary President Katherine Rowe and Chair of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Carly Fiorina delivered remarks.
Following this, former Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs at the National Museum of African American History and Culture Rex Ellis delivered an address.
“I had a sanctified moment this morning,” Ellis said. “It wasn’t because Robert Carter Nicholas came to me. It wasn’t because Benjamin Franklin, who was a supporter, came to me. It wasn’t because of Ann Wager, who spent all of her life teaching our ancestors. It was because of the knowledge that came about from who was there. I believe it was the parents, I believe it was the mothers, I believe it was the fathers, I believe it was the brothers, I believe it was the sisters, who wanted to say, ‘Here are my legacies. Here is why I existed.’”
Ellis then led the crowd in a libation, uttering “ashe” or “Àṣẹ” after pouring water onto the plant each time. The Yoruba word designates “power,” “authority,” “command,” “energy” and “life.”
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie G. Bunch III L.H.P. ’24 recognized the event’s historical significance and celebrated the resilience of all those affected by slavery.
“Today, this is a day of history,” Bunch said. “It’s a day to remember scholars, a day to remember the challenge of slavery and a day to remember the resiliency of people. And it’s a day to remember that we have to embrace our history, no matter how complex or how contradictory.”
Bunch, who served as the event’s keynote speaker, was the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture from 2005 until 2019. He then became the first African American secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
“At a time of extreme partisanship, we need not fear our history, but embrace the past and realize how much better we are made by that knowledge,” Bunch said. “And the fact that what the past tells us is that America is a work in progress and that there is a possibility to live up to the ideals of our founding fathers and mothers.”
In an email to The Flat Hat, Director of the William and Mary Bray School Lab Maureen Elgersman Lee shared her reflections on the event.
“As director of the William & Mary Bray School Lab, I could not have been more pleased with the turnout across all the events that made up the day,” Elgersman Lee wrote. “Friday represents the meeting of an important milestone, but it equally marks the start of a new chapter of research and public engagement, including through genealogy and oral history, that will continue to build on the hard work we’ve put in thus far. There is still so much work to do on the intersections of race, religion, and education in the late 18th century —and we are excited for what lies ahead.”
Presidential Liaison for Strategic Cultural Partnerships and Professor of Hispanic Studies Ann Marie Stock echoed Elgersman Lee’s sentiments.
“It was so gratifying to see our community come together for this momentous occasion,” Stock wrote in an email to The Flat Hat. “We’ve accomplished a great deal through partnership and collaboration and are well poised to tackle the next phase of this important work.”
Anthropology major Neya Alper ’27 participated in the Colonial Williamsburg Field School in the summer, working at the Bray School at its Brown Hall location. She was given the opportunity to tour the building prior to renovation and greatly appreciated the momentous occasion.
“It was really great, I really enjoyed the keynote address, I thought it was really well written, it was just really moving,” Alper said.
Member of the Descendant Community and Williamsburg resident Jacquelyn Gardner was especially moved by the legacy of the schoolchildren that was honored at the ceremony.
“I was so inspired by this program today because to think that those children had an opportunity, the Black children who were enslaved and those who were free, to go through school, to learn skills, to be independent of their parents for a little while, to be in school.” Gardner said.
Gardner and her husband are both members of the prominent First Baptist Church in Williamsburg. Gardner’s husband, Dennis, grew up on Nicholson Street and would walk to the church as a child, which was demolished in the 1950s.
She hopes that people will come to view the school’s history differently after the ceremony.
“But I am hoping that more people will come to see this history in a new light, not just remember the negative things about slavery, but to remember that it was part of the history that we are all involved in,” Gardner said.
Buffalo, New York native John Henshaw and his family frequently vacation in Williamsburg with their eight-year-old son. He expressed that attending the event allowed them to appreciate this rare piece of history together.
“It was incredible,” Henshaw said “We didn’t know this was happening today until we arrived and saw the schedule, so we definitely put it on our agenda, and it’s the last day we are going to be here this year, so it was an incredibly special event to get to be a part of.”
The building is currently closed to finish the remaining interior renovations, with plans to fully open in spring 2025.
Bunch added that the ceremony serves as a potent reminder to remember those who came before us and live up to their legacy and bravery.
“History may be replete with stories of tragedy and difficulty and pain and exploitation,” Bunch said. “But it’s equally a story of resilience and redemption and belief.” “It’s a story of high ideals. History implores us to recognize that we are standing on amazing shoulders and we can’t let them down.”
CORRECTION (11/11/2024): Article was updated to accurately reflect Jacquelyn Gardner’s pronouns.
