Fredericksburg Partners With UMW On Telling Civil Rights History

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — The Fredericksburg City Council has allocated $205,000 to an effort to tell the history of the city that goes beyond its role in the Civil War and the Revolutionary War. The effort is expected to include the creation of a civil rights trail that will highlight events that took place in the city and the role played by Black residents in the fight for civil rights.

The city's funding will be used for several projects, including the installation of two historical markers — one at a former commercial wharf at the end of Canal Street owned by John DeBaptiste and the other at the old Greyhound bus depot at Princess Anne and Wolfe Streets, which was the first stop on the historic Freedom Riders journey in 1961 where the participants were determined to be treated equally at city establishments.

Fredericksburg also plans to make improvements to the corner of Williams and Charles street where the slave auction block was previously located to allow for more appropriate interpretation of the auction block’s historical relevance “in a manner that is suitable and respectful,” according to Fredericksburg Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw.

Fredericksburg also is working with the University of Mary Washington to tell the story of the Civil Rights movement in the city, the mayor said Friday in a video statement.

The city and several departments at UMW will work on collecting and telling firsthand oral histories from people who lived in Fredericksburg during segregation and integration. UMW’s James Farmer Multicultural Center and the Simpson Library's Special Collections and University Archives department, along with the departments of American Studies, Historic Preservation and History, will be involved in the effort to bring light to the full history of Fredericksburg.

Christopher Williams, assistant director of UMW’s James Farmer Multicultural Center, praised Fredericksburg for its efforts to recognize the history of African Americans in the city's history.

"I think it’s a great thing as we continue to tell the full story of the city of Fredericksburg," Williams told Patch.

"We, as a commonwealth, have to do a better job," Williams said. "So much attention is paid to Civil War history and the Revolutionary War. That history is important but so is other people’s history, like Indigenous people and African American history. Everyone’s story should be told and should be told accurately."

Last October, UMW embarked on its 2nd annual trip during fall break to trace the route of the 1961 Freedom Rides. This time, as part of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Civil Rights leader and former UMW Professor Dr. James Farmer, the university invited the Fredericksburg community on the trip through North Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi.

"From that trip, we were able to see how Alabama had properly documented its civil rights history," Williams said.

In the wake of that trip, Williams has stayed in constant contact with Victoria Matthews, the tourism sales manager for the city of Fredericksburg.

Matthews had been interested in putting together a civil rights trail for the city for several years after learning about the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, which traces the movement through 100 sites across 15 states.

Matthews was among the Fredericksburg community members who went on the UMW Freedom Ride trip last October. After the trip, Williams said he and Matthews discussed how Fredericksburg needed its own civil rights trail or Black history trail to tell the full story of the African American contribution and experience to the city of Fredericksburg.

Subsequent conversations with UMW Professor Christine Henry and Fredericksburg Councilman Charlie Frye Jr. "really got the ball rolling," Williams said.

About a month ago, in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Matthews told Williams that she thought the time was right to start putting the civil rights trail in motion. Williams and Matthews have identified several possible sites that could be part of the trail.

As part of the effort, Henry, an assistant professor of historic preservation, will get students involved through in her fall semester upper level seminar “Diversity in Historic Preservation.” Her students will use available resources like the university, regional library and newspaper and city archives to identify others possible sites.

Devlin, assistant professor of history and American studies at UMW, also will be involved in the project, Williams said. She will be teaching a spring course in oral histories, with students working on transcribing the interviews with Fredericksburg residents who lived in the city during desegregation and the Civil Rights movement.

Williams said it troubles him that only two Virginia sites are on the national Civil Rights Trail —in Farmville and Richmond. Both sites relate to the 1951 walkout at an all-Black school in Farmville to protest poor conditions at the school.

"I was completely floored when I learned there were only two sites in Virginia on the trail," Williams said. "Many of the court cases that were brought forth to the Supreme Court started because something happened in this commonwealth."

Greenlaw said Fredericksburg was already working on making changes to recognize the contributions of African Americans before the city council allocated $205,000 to tell the complete history of the city.

In 2017, the city dedicated Fall River Avenue bridge over Interstate 95 as the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge. Last month, the Fredericksburg City Council also adopted a resolution urging the Virginia General Assembly, during its current special session in August, to remove the Jefferson Davis Highway name from U.S. Route 1 statewide and replace it with a name that is more inclusive and not connected to the Confederacy.

The funds allocated by the city council also will help pay for the new exhibit at the Fredericksburg Area Museum where the slave auction block will be displayed in a manner representative of its true history and impact.

"I am proud of how we have taken on honest and important conversations to create a more welcoming city," Greenlaw said. "We are truly a better community when we come together, get to know each other and recognize the important contributions of all."