Woodville Rosenwald School Foundation

Dear Friends of the Woodville School,

SAVE THE DATE! Join us on September 1, 2021, (rain date, Sept. 2) at 4:30 PM to unveil the Historical Highway Marker in front of the school. There will be a brief program about the history of this important historic site, the ongoing efforts to restore it, and plans to interpret and document the rich African American history of Gloucester and the surrounding areas.

If you have driven by the school recently, you will have noticed that the archeologists are back! Thanks to the partnership between the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and Data Investigation, LLC, and a team of volunteers, an archeological survey of the property will be completed prior to the parking lot construction. Feel free to stop by if you see the archeologists working. They are happy to tell you about what they have found on the site.

Michael Blakey, NEH Professor at William & Mary and Woodville Rosenwald School Foundation Board member, was one of two chief advisors to the Montpelier Descendants Committee (with anthropologist, Iris Ford, St. Mary's College, Maryland) during its negotiations with the Montpelier Foundation Board to establish a relationship of equality in the telling of the story of African American enslavement at Montpelier. The National Trust for Historic Preservation considers this to be a breakthrough for descendants’ empowerment in telling the truth about slavery. “’This historic decision means that for the first time, the descendants of enslaved persons at a major national historic site will be co-equals in sharing governing power and responsibility for the very site that enslaved their ancestors,’ said Gene Hickok, chair of the board of directors of TMF.”

You can read more about this historic development here. We are fortunate to have Dr. Blakey, who resides in Gloucester, on our Woodville Rosenwald Foundation Board, to help lead its effort to identify and engage Woodville’s descendant community in the interpretation of African American history of Gloucester and the region.

Thanks to Board member LuAnn Nagel, we are offering these beautiful notecards for sale at Angelwing Stationers, located in Office Supply, Edgehill Shopping Center in Gloucester. All proceeds from the sale of these cards will be donated to the Woodville School.

We hope you are enjoying our monthly African American History quiz. To take the August quiz, click here.

Looking forward to seeing you at the Highway Marker Unveiling on Sept. 1.

100% of donations go directly to charitable and educational purposes relating to the African American experience in Gloucester County. All donations are tax-deductible. Click Here for details

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Dear Friends of the Woodville School,

Your donation will be matched thanks to a generous grant from the Cook Foundation.