Five new stops on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail were unveiled Tuesday morning in front of Combs Hall on the campus of the University of Mary Washington.
The U.S. Civil Rights Trail is a national collection of landmarks that spans 15 states and includes churches, schools, museums, and other locations that played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement. Fredericksburg was officially added to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail on Feb. 8.
“Based on when we think about where we are as a democracy, I think we could all agree that this up-and-coming generation could use a little hope for the future,” UMW President Troy Paino said. “I have spent a lot of time thinking about how we can bond social capital and bridging social capital. By adding these stops on campus throughout Mary Washington, we are bridging the social capital and bringing people of all backgrounds together.”
With its location halfway point between Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, and Washington, D.C., Fredericksburg became the site of intense fighting as the Union and Confederate armies advanced and retreated on each other.
Fredericksburg’s importance to the U.S. Civil Rights Movement moved into the 20th century. James L. Farmer, Jr., regarded widely as one of the “Big Four” of the movement, became a distinguished professor at UMW after he founded the Freedom Riders, a movement that contributed to the desegregation of interstate bus travel.
A marker devoted to campus activism unveiled Tuesday at the University of Mary Washington. (Photo by Noelle Clark)
Each of the five new stops highlights figures who contributed to the Civil Rights Movement. In total, 16 stops in Fredericksburg are now part of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. The new stops include:
- Combs Hall – “The Big Five”: Honors the group of first African American residential female students and friends who all took classes at Combs Hall: Venus Jones, Christina “Chris” Hall, Anita Whitehead Scott, Orita Whitehead, and Claudith “Dottie” Holmes.
- Combs Hall – “Campus Desegregation”: Honors Gladys White Jordan, who had applied to then-Mary Washington College in 1956 and was denied admission despite her excellent grades. This also honors Jacquelyn Pulliam, the first African American student to enroll in summer classes in 1962, Kaye Estelle Savage, the first African American residential student in the fall of 1962, Gaye Todd Adegbalola, who enrolled for transfer credits in French during the summer session, and Johnny P. Johnson, the first African American faculty member in 1968.
- Ball Circle – Honors a group of UMW students who led a march down Ball Circle after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
- Ball Circle – James Farmer Memorial honoring distinguished professor James Farmer.
- Monroe Hall – Honors one of the “Big Five” members, Claudith “Dottie” Johnson, who led the way of becoming the first president of the college’s Afro-American Association (now the Black Student Association) and advocated for African American male admission to the college, programming to celebrate African American culture, and an African American studies program.
“One of the City Council’s most important priorities is to continue telling a more complete history of our more diverse community including the history and contributions of African Americans,” Fredericksburg Mayor Kerry Devine said. “The city is ecstatic about its collaboration between the University of Mary Washington and the City of Fredericksburg to make this happen and put Fredericksburg in the national spotlight along with the rededication of the Johnny P. Johnson mural this past Saturday.”
Attending the unveiling ceremony were several city council members, UMW faculty, staff, students, and family members of some of the prominent figures featured in the on-campus stops who could not be there themselves.
“We have made sure we handled this with dignity, care, and of the utmost respect to everyone involved through this process,” Fredericksburg Tourism and Sales Manager Victoria Matthews said. “Tomorrow will be four years to the day that we embarked on this journey, and we couldn’t be more pleased with how this turned out.”
