Pioneering efforts continue at Sweet Briar College
We are so very fortunate to have you on the front lines pioneering the cause to share the history of our ancestors at these sites, Joe. We wish you continued blessings and health as you strive to make sure our heritage continues to be shared and preserved. We also hope that those who should take part and open doors will soon do so. We appreciate your dedication. The accounts of the following participants will be published separately:
Crystal Rossen
Dave Griffith
Lynn Rainville
Mike Hayslett
Toni Battle
Stay tuned!
Robin Foster
About Our Freedom
Pioneering efforts continue at Sweet Briar College
By Joseph McGill, Jr. | Field Officer | Charleston Field Office
National Trust for Historic Preservation | William Aiken House l 456 King Street, 3rd Floor, Charleston, South Carolina 29403 |
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Despite spending a night in 37 extant former slave dwellings in 12 states in 2 ½ years, bureaucracy has always been a challenge for the Slave Dwelling Project to overcome. Private owners and not for profit organizations get it and are well represented among the 37 stays, however, state and nationally owned entities and institutions of higher learning had never given the project the green light. That would all change with stay number 38, Sweet Briar College.
Sweet Briar
College in Sweet Briar, Virginia was founded in 1901, the legacy
of Indiana Fletcher Williams, who left her entire estate to found an
institution in memory of her only daughter, Daisy, who died at the age of 16 in
1884. At the time of Mrs. Williams' death
in 1900, her estate consisted of more than a million dollars, and over 8,000
acres of land, including the Sweet Briar Plantation.
On Saturday, October 6 I found myself transitioning from
Bacon’s Castle, my first stay in Virginia, to Sweet Briar College which would
be my second. That transition required a
2 ½ hour westward drive at night.
Luckily for me, I was joined by Toni Battle who had traveled all the
way from San Francisco, California to participate in both stays. I knew that Toni had at least one person who
was lynched in her family tree but I found out during the drive that there were
at least two more people who were lynched in her ancestral past. The details were not pleasant but what
accounts of people being lynched are?
The details of the matter helped to keep me focused on the unfamiliar
highway 60 westward drive through the winding foothills of Virginia.
Arriving late into the night, the hospitality began
immediately with the security guard escorting us to our quarters, which was
located between the big house and the slave cabin. Toni immediately speculated that this was
once the quarters of the overseer. The
stay in the slave cabin would occur the following night. The security guard then gave us a ride to the
dining hall. During the late night meal in
the dining hall and upon our return to the quarters, Toni and I had ample time
to recap our stay at Bacon’s Castle the previous night and anticipate the
remaining time that we would spend at Sweet Briar College before we both turned
in for the night.
The next morning while walking to breakfast, Toni and I had
the opportunity to take in the full beauty of the Sweet Briar College
campus. While at breakfast I met my host
Dr. Lynn Rainville. Since I could not
remember how Sweet Briar College became a stop for the Slave Dwelling Project,
I asked Dr. Rainvlle to remind me. She
stated that she heard me on National Public Radio (NPR) when the project was in
its infancy. Being quite knowledgeable
of Sweet Briar’s history she was quite forthcoming about the complete history
of Sweet Briar when it existed as a plantation and started as a college. I learned from her that Elijah Fletcher the
founder of the plantation was a former abolitionist from Vermont. I also learned that the college was founded
in 1901 for the education of White women.
It would later take a court order to break the will to allow the college
to be integrated. After breakfast, Dr.
Rainville accompanied us to see the cabin.
She verified that Toni was correct in assuming that the house that we
stayed in the previous night was historically the house of the overseer.
Like the stay at Bacon’s Castle, I again had the opportunity
to witness Toni experience the cabin for the first time only this time the same
applied to me because this was also my first time in the cabin at Sweet Briar. Inside it had hand hewn logs that were still
virtually round with the only flat side coming in direct contact with the
ceiling. Above the ceiling was an attic
that was converted into living space, like other cabins I’ve seen, access could
be gained to the upper level by some steep stairs. It was less than half the size of the cabin
at Bacon’s Castle but larger than some of the other 37 of which I have
stayed. After the last inhabitant of
the cabin moved out in the 1920s, the cabin had been used for many things to
include a classroom and farm tool museum and had been modernized accordingly as
evidenced by the electrical outlets along the wall. A forge from its existence as a farm tool
museum still occupied a corner.
Dr. Rainville had my remaining time at Sweet Briar College
chalk full of activities. My first
official duty was to give a slave dwelling presentation in the Sweet Briar
College Museum, an event that went exceedingly well. After the presentation, I led the group on a
tour of the slave cabin. During the tour
of the cabin, I met Dr. Jo Ellen Parker, the president of Sweet Briar
College. I took the time to thank her
publicly for allowing the Slave Dwelling Project to come to Sweet Briar
College. Additionally, I requested and
received her permission to leverage the stay at Sweet Briar to help convince
other leaders of institutions of higher learning to follow this fine
example.
The tour of the slave
cabin was followed by a tour of the big house appropriately, where the college
president now presides. Dr. Rainville
took charge and did not sugarcoat any of the history. It reminded me of a similar tour I took at
Hopsewee Plantation in Georgetown County, SC that I also loved. The senior White tour guide at Hopsewee was
quite knowledgeable of the history of the plantation and was quite professional
in telling the whole story.
Dr. Rainville had arranged for 8 other people to share the
sleepover in the slave cabin with me. It
was an interesting mix of people which included Crystal Rosson whose ancestor
was the last to inhabit the cabin.
Knowing this made the night even more special for all involved. The night was made even more special by Toni
Battle’s smudging or blessing the space and the pouring of libation. We created a powerful circle where ancestors
were called, confessions were made and tears were shed. After some storytelling and a sweet song
which was sung by Barbara Payne, we all drifted off to sleep.
When we all woke up the next morning in denial of snoring, Lynn then made an attempt to leave the cabin and at that moment we found ourselves mysteriously
locked in. Apparently, David Griffith
got up early and left the cabin mistakenly engaging the outside latch. Lynn informed us that David would be back and
a professional photographer was on the way but I took the opportunity to
speculate out loud about how we came to be locked inside the cabin. David indeed got back before our thoughts got
too outrageous, however he did deny locking the door. The group’s time at the cabin was concluded
by photographic documentation before most of us proceeded to the dining hall
for breakfast. It was at the breakfast
table that I had the opportunity to talk candidly with Crystal whose ancestor
was the last to stay in the cabin about her experience. She mentioned that without the Slave Dwelling
Project, she would never have interacted with that space in any similar
manner. I informed her that I wanted her
to speak about her experience at a presentation that was planned during lunch. Not only did I want her to speak but I wanted
her to be the closer, she hesitatingly accepted. I also asked Michael Hayslett to give an
account of his slave cabin experience during the presentation.
After breakfast, Toni, Dr. Rainville and I had some down
time which was used to go to the overseer’s cottage to shower, change clothes
and check out. After checking out, we
drove to the slave cemetery which was located on a hill on the campus. In her spare time, Dr. Rainville documents
the often forgotten and neglected graves of African Americans. She did a beautiful job of ensuring that the
African American grave site on the Sweet Briar campus is properly marked and
recognized. Toni in her reassuring and
special way ensured that we paid proper respect to the ancestors who were laid
to rest in this sacred space. In all
fairness, we visited the grave site of the plantation and college founders
which is located on a hill overlooking the college.
I adjusted the lunch
time presentation to address dwellings in all 12 states that I have stayed in
to date. Toni Battle, Michael Hayslett
and Crystal Rosson all participated in the presentation as I requested of
them. As promised, Dr. Jo Ella Parker,
President of Sweet Briar, attended the lecture.
During the question and answer period, I was made aware by some
community members of other slave dwellings in the area that need immediate attention. One couple that resides in Historic St.
Mary’s City, Maryland made me aware of slave dwellings there. It was then established that with the work
that Dr. Rainville is doing to reinterpret the slave cabin at Sweet Briar
College along with the support that she is getting from Dr. Parker, the network
is now in place to start the process of saving the endangered properties
mentioned in the question and answer period and other like properties in the
area of Sweet Briar College.
The plan was then to address Dr. Rainville’s class after the
lunch time presentation. A local TV
station changed that plan. They
interviewed me but appropriately they were more interested in the Crystal
Rosson story, so much so, that they wanted to interview her inside the
cabin. Toni and I said our goodbyes to
Dr. Rainville and proceeded to the cabin with the TV camera crew and
Crystal. And that’s how it ended, with
Crystal being the closer.
Afterthoughts:
Patience is certainly necessary when trying to establish the
legitimacy of oneself or a project.
Spending a night in 38 slave dwellings in 12 states over the past 2 ½
years are major steps in the direction of establishing legitimacy for the Slave
Dwelling Project. To that end, stay
number 38, Sweet Briar College, has thrown out the gauntlet. Before Sweet Briar, other institutions of
higher learning, government and state owned entities that are stewards of
extant slave dwellings have been approached to participate in this project, to
no avail.
One major reason that slavery prospered was because it was
an institution. In an ironic twist,
generally, institutions have not yet embraced this project. I want the bureaucrats to know that I come in
peace, not ghost hunting, not seeking reparations, and not looking for
artifacts but to simply acknowledge you for doing the right thing by owning and
restoring an element of the African American built environment. Furthermore, I want to use your example to
encourage others to do likewise.
Before I paint all bureaucrats with one brush, let me
announce that the College of Charleston will be added to the 2013 schedule for
the Slave Dwelling Project. Additionally,
I am in communications with the Superintendent of Kingsley Plantation about
spending a night in a slave cabin at that location, in fact, I got the email
requesting a phone call or face-to-face visit while I was at Sweet Briar
College.
Thank you, Sweet Briar College, for taking a chance on the
Slave Dwelling Project.
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