Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Aug 08, 2025

The people once enslaved by George Mason are now being honored on the university's campus

The Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial recognizes that the school's founder enslaved more than 100 people.

A statue at George Mason University that students are known to rub for good luck and take graduation photos with is now surrounded by a new memorial that honors the people the school's namesake enslaved.

George Mason University unveiled the memorial this week as part of the institution's attempt to reckon with the complicated legacy of George Mason IV.

Mason, a prominent figure in Virginia's history, is well known for crafting the state's Declaration of Rights, which later influenced the U.S. Bill of Rights. He also enslaved more than 100 people, many of whom were children, at Gunston Hall Plantation.

But the fact was not widely known by many students until 2017, when a group of undergraduates and faculty members began researching the everyday lives of enslaved people who lived and worked at his home, said George D. Oberle III, director of the Center for Mason Legacies.

While some historians had believed Mason was against slavery because he advocated against the trans-Atlantic slave trade, documents like Mason's will show he did not free any of the people he enslaved upon his death.


ENSLAVED LABOR BUILT THESE UNIVERSITIES:Now they are starting to repay the debt

After completing the project, students wanted to memorialize the people they'd studied, so they worked with architects to design a memorial over the course of two years. On Monday, it was dedicated during a celebration of the schools' 50th anniversary.

At nearly 300 feet, the memorial has two panels: one features Penny, an enslaved girl Mason gave to his daughter, and 81 names of other people who were enslaved by Mason. The other panel depicts James, described as Mason's "personal assistant."

The memorial is built around a decades-old statue of Mason that is part of many campus traditions, said Wendi Manuel-Scott, a professor of integrative studies and history.

She said one of the first things the group told administrators is that they did not want to remove the Mason statute but rather add context to it.

They added four quotes to the base of a statue of Mason to highlight four aspects of his life: a legal scholar, a father, author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and an enslaver.

Manuel-Scott said they also added a bronze replica of a brick found at Gunston Hall, which archaeologists believe contain an imprint from the hands of an enslaved person.

"That was incredibly symbolic, a way of honoring and critically caring for and making known the labor and the contribution of enslaved people to the wealth of George Mason," she said. "And perhaps even calling us to consider the contribution of enslaved people to the foundations of America."

Oberle said he was "blown away" when the memorial was unveiled this week.

"I was overwhelmed," he said. "It's still hard for me to believe that it's there and that we have tried to reclaim the voice of these long forgotten people."

The memorial is the centerpiece of the recently renovated Wilkins Plaza, which is named after Dr. Roger Wilkins, a Black civil rights leader, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Mason professor. The site includes a fountain featuring a quote from Wilkins lined with stones in a circular pattern that Manuel-Scott said symbolizes a collection of shells and stones found at Gunston Hall that is believed to have cultural and spiritual meaning.


RACIAL RECKONING ON CAMPUS:Predominantly white colleges tackle racism, diversity, equity and inclusion

In recent years, many schools including The University of Virginia, Harvard and others have started to acknowledge and atone for relying on the labor of enslaved Black people and accepting donations from plantation owners.

George Mason President Gregory Washington said in a statement to USA TODAY the memorial "conveys the values and actions of George Mason University in the 21st century. We grow wiser from examining our full truths, no matter how complicate, messy or discomforting they might be.”

Manuel-Scott echoed that sentiment, saying she hopes each time people visit the memorial they see something new and develop a deeper understanding of the history behind it.

"My hope is that Penny and James and the ancestors more broadly, that they wherever they are, are smiling down on us, knowing that we have done our best to honor them," she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
×