Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial

The Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial is dedicated in ‘a landmark day for the university’

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 21:59:30 +0000

The Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial is dedicated in ‘a landmark day for the university’ Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/04/2022 - 17:59

Wendi Manuel Scott addresses the crowd gathered for the dedication of the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial on Monday, April 4. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Kye Farrow had previously walked through the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial, and felt proud.

Farrow, BA History ’19, MS Management ’20, was one of the five Mason students whose research into the enslaved children of George Mason IV led to the construction of the memorial, which is the cornerstone of the reimagined Wilkins Plaza on George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus.

But on Monday, as several hundred people assembled on the plaza for the monument’s dedication, Farrow, who would later speak at the event, said he was “just happy overall.”

“Studying history is what makes history not repeat,” Farrow said. “Being aware of history is what makes people have informed decisions and do things from a thoughtful perspective. So to have the opportunity to learn about the namesake of our university and for what it means to the student body, that’s the biggest thing for me.”

The event on Wilkins Plaza, named for Roger Wilkins, the late Black former civil rights leader, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and beloved Mason professor, was uplifting and reflective, and kicked off Mason's 50th anniversary celebration.

Mason President Gregory Washington called it “a landmark day for the university,” and praised the students who were involved in the original research — Farrow; Alexis Bracey, BA Global Affairs ’19; Ayman Fatima, BS Systems Engineering, BA Government and International Politics ’21; Farhaj Murshed, BS Statistics ’20; and Elizabeth Perez-Garcia, BS Criminology, Law, and Society ’19.

Those students joined a project launched in the summer of 2017 by Wendi Manuel-Scott, a professor of integrated studies and history; Benedict Carton, a faculty member in History and Art History; and Mason alum George Oberle, Mason’s history librarian and a term faculty member in the Department of History and Art History.

All are leaders in the Center for Mason Legacies, an interdisciplinary and collaborative research center established by the University Library and College of Humanities and Social Sciences that encourages student research to preserve and examine the legacy of George Mason IV. The university’s namesake penned the Virginia Declaration of Rights but also enslaved more than 100 people at his home, Gunston Hall.

Associate Professor of Public History Gabrielle Tayac and Mason students from the University’s Native American and Indigenous Alliance Domi Hannon, Sara Jefferson, and Kayleigh Seng participate in a traditional Native American Water Ceremony during the Dedication of the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

“The Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial represents so much about who we are as a university,” Washington said. “Inquisitive students who seek truth, undergraduate research programs that support these academic pursuits, faculty who collaborate, nurture and challenge our students, and a university community fueled by the shared thrill of discovery and the determination to turn their efforts into positive and sustainable change. … We grow wiser from examining our full truths, no matter how complicated or messy or discomforting they might be.”

Added Trishana Bowden, vice president of Mason’s office of Advancement and Alumni Relations, and president of the George Mason University Foundation: “This project has allowed our students to educate us, to enlighten us and to teach us how to keep moving forward, and how to remember our past.”

That included a water ceremony in which water from the Potomac River was poured into the Wilkins Plaza fountain, which contains stones in a pattern that symbolize an African custom of gathering and prayer. The ceremony, led by Gabrielle Tayac, an associate professor of public history and a Piscataway tribal citizen, also acknowledged that the land on which the university was built was originally inhabited by indigenous people.

"The memorial for all of us was about replacing erased history through silenced voices of the enslaved people in relation to and in dialogue with the traditional voices,” Manuel-Scott said. “We hope that folk who visit the memorial, that it forces them to think about the relationship between the past and the present."

Rev. Jeffrey O. Johnson Sr., pastor at nearby Mount Calvary Baptist Church, said he hopes the memorial will push other universities and institutions to move forward and “that we will not bring the founding fathers down, but in pride and dignity, we will lift their servants up.”

Ayman Fatima (left) and Kye Farrow, both part of the original team of five students researching the enslaved people at Gunston Hall, greet each other at the Enslaved People of George Mason dedication ceremony. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

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Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial to be dedicated

Colleen Rich — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 16:08:11 +0000

Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial to be dedicated Colleen Rich Mon, 03/28/2022 - 12:08

It was the summer of 2017, and five George Mason University students and three faculty members were beginning their research into the children enslaved by George Mason IV, the university’s namesake.

Wendi Manuel-Scott, a professor of integrative studies and history, and one of the faculty members on the project, recalled how the students at one point “began to talk about how it would be awesome if years from now they came to campus and there’s a plaque that honors the enslaved people held by George Mason.”

As it turned out, they got much more than a plaque, as what was the Enslaved Children of George Mason project led to the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial, a focal point of how the university is addressing its identity as it relates to a complicated Patriot.

“The purpose of the project was to raise awareness about George Mason IV, the man, the patriot and the slaveholder,” Manuel-Scott said. “Our goal was to focus on expanding our community’s understanding of Mason, and to focus on the people he owned and what they thought about freedom.”

The memorial on the Fairfax Campus (see the video) is the centerpiece of the newly renovated Wilkins Plaza, named for the African American civil rights leader, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and beloved Mason professor.

One panel is dedicated to to Penny, an enslaved girl given by Mason to his daughter. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

It will be dedicated at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, April 4, as part of the university’s 50th anniversary celebration.

“I started that project the summer after my sophomore year, and it sounded cool to have research that maybe would contribute to a memorial on campus," said Mason alum Kye Farrow, BA History ’19, MS Management ’20. "But it was really difficult at the time to see how it would get there. So, yes, still today, I'm absolutely amazed the work we did went to the product that's there today."

Other students on the project were Alexis Bracey, BA Global Affairs ’19; Ayman Fatima, BS Systems Engineering, BA Government and International Politics ’21; Farhaj Murshed, BS Statistics ’20; and Elizabeth Perez-Garcia, BS Criminology, Law, and Society ’19.

It was important each student came from a different academic discipline, Manuel-Scott said.

“Each brought a different way of seeing and thinking, and a different way to analyze and explore records,” she said. “That interdisciplinarity created a richness in terms of the project.”

Mason faculty Gabrielle Tayac and Wendi Manuel-Scott gather water from the Potomac River to use in the fountain on Wilkins Plaza. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

The project was launched by Manuel-Scott; Benedict Carton, a faculty member in History and Art History; and Mason alum George Oberle, Mason’s history librarian and a term faculty member in the Department of History and Art History.

The Enslaved People of George Mason project “shows that Mason is striving to be an exemplar institution in relation to the idea of promoting student inquiry and being open to where that goes and takes us, even if it’s not always a happy story,” Oberle said.

The memorial includes the iconic statue of Mason. A new pedestal includes four quotes which highlight the different aspects of his life, including the penning of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the foundation of the U.S. Bill of Rights. But Mason also enslaved more than 100 people at his Gunston Hall plantation and did not free any upon his death.

Memorial panels are also dedicated to Penny, an enslaved child given by Mason to his daughter, and James, Mason’s personal attendant. A fountain contains stones in a pattern that symbolize an African custom of gathering and prayer.

To acknowledge an altar that was constructed next to the Potomac River by the enslaved at Gunston Hall, and to acknowledge that the land on which the university was built was originally inhabited by indigenous people, water from the Potomac River will be poured into the fountain.

“It’s a way to interconnect the worlds, between the place of enslavement, the place of difficulty, but also a place that’s life-giving,” said Gabrielle Tayac, an associate professor of public history at Mason, and a Piscataway tribal citizen. “To pour the water into the fountain that recalls those connections and all of those hopes and dreams and memories the people had, it’s a way of awakening and blending those intentions.”

Said Carton: “Our project sought to guide students’ sense of moral duty, as they branched out to discover hidden histories. This duty is focused on reconstructing the everyday humanity of enslaved people whose lives had deep meaning, despite the cruelties of enslavement.”

“The moral duty,” he said, “is in the learning.”

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