Juneteenth

INTO Mason students learn about the significance of Juneteenth, the Civil War and local history

Colleen Rich — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 17:10:28 +0000

INTO Mason students learn about the significance of Juneteenth, the Civil War and local history Colleen Rich Wed, 06/22/2022 - 13:10

INTO Mason students went on a guided tour of the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Students participating in INTO ��AV’s summer English program learned about the significance of Juneteenth and went on a guided tour Tuesday of the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial and the Civil War redoubt located on the university’s Fairfax Campus.

Steven A. Harris-Scott, INTO Mason’s interim associate academic director for faculty affairs and strategic initiatives, led a crowd of about 60 students on the tour, discussing George Mason IV, his history as both a founder and slave owner, the Civil War and the ways that racism still exists in the United States.

INTO Mason students, who come from all over the world to learn English and American academic customs, often arrive in the U.S. with little understanding of how race has affected this country, said Harris-Scott.

“International students aren’t necessarily aware of the history of racism in this country, yet they experience aspects of racism when they get here,” said Harris-Scott. “It’s part of our mission to engage our international students in American culture, and that includes our history of racism. I thought Juneteenth and our historical landmarks provided us with a way to broach a conversation about American history and racism.”

Han Pham, an INTO Mason student from Vietnam, said she appreciated the tour and the explanation about the country’s history of slavery.

“I like that I had the chance to learn more about the history of the U.S.” Pham said.

INTO Mason students also learned about the U.S. Civil War when visiting the redoubt preserved on the Fairfax Campus. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

About 60 INTO Mason students attend the intensive 10-week English language program offered in the summer. The students come to learn English, often with the intention to pursue further higher education in the United States. INTO Mason is a partnership between INTO University Partnerships and Mason. The program supports international students from application to graduation, and offers a variety of ways to help foreign students achieve success in the United States.

The tour and discussion, said Harris-Scott, was a way to get the students “out of the building to experience something physical and tangible” and also teach them about Juneteenth.

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, or Jubilee Day, commemorates June 19, 1865, the day that news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached Galveston, Texas, more than two years late. Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth has long been a day of remembrance and an opportunity for Black people in the United States to honor their history and emphasize their citizenship.

Tomaya Itami, an INTO Mason student from Japan, said that learning about the U.S.’s past, including its history of slavery and racism, was “necessary” for him to know.

“I had no idea that George Mason used to have slaves, and I learned about how they were treated,” Itami said. “It’s important to know.”

Harris-Scott first took the students to the Civil War redoubt located in the woods behind the western edge of Parking Lot K. The redoubt is a circular earthen fortification constructed and used during the Civil War. A number of different Union and Confederate military forces occupied the fort during the war, including a brigade led by Stonewall Jackson.

Harris-Scott then took the students to both the George Mason statue and the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial, the centerpiece of Wilkins Plaza, spanning roughly 300 feet, to remember the history of the people enslaved by George Mason at Gunston Hall.

Wendi Manuel-Scott, a professor within the School of Integrative Studies, the Department of History and Art History, and one of the faculty members on the project, has said its goal is to “focus on expanding our community’s understanding of Mason, and to focus on the people he owned and what they thought about freedom.”

Munib Abdullah, an INTO Mason student from Saudi Arabia, said he was glad to have gone on the tour and to have learned about Juneteenth, but also that he was surprised that Mason owned slaves.

“It’s good to know about the good and the bad things about the past in order to help us with the present and the future,” Abdullah said.

Topics

INTO Mason

Juneteenth

Wilkins Plaza

Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial

Students

Podcast - EP28: Spencer Crew: At the intersection of museums and social justice

Damian Cristodero — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 14:27:06 +0000

Podcast - EP28: Spencer Crew: At the intersection of museums and social justice Damian Cristodero Wed, 07/14/2021 - 10:27

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Spencer Crew

Spencer Crew, a Robinson Professor of U.S. history at ��AV, and the first African American to head a major Smithsonian museum when he led the National Museum of American History, tells Mason President Gregory Washington about the evolving role museums play in society, and how the Black community and those who work with it are trying to be the conscience of the nation.

Topics

Access to Excellence podcast

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Juneteenth

Gregory Washington

A Juneteenth Message

Emily Schneider — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 14:45:57 +0000

A Juneteenth Message Emily Schneider Thu, 06/17/2021 - 10:45

In This Story

Rick Davis

This weekend we celebrate Juneteenth, commemorating June 19^th, 1865, when word of Emancipation finally reached the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas, marking a symbolic end to slavery in the United States. The Commonwealth of Virginia established Juneteenth as a state holiday last year, and the Senate (unanimously) and House (overwhelmingly) just voted to make it a national holiday going forward. President Biden is expected to sign it soon.

In the spirit of celebration and contemplation, I want to share a piece of good radio that I recently heard on NPR’s Morning Edition.

This is part of the “Rising Sun Music Project” series with pianist Lara Downes, on the contributions of Black musicians in the classical music space. This 5 minute piece features two treatments of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (1905) by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson. “Lift Every Voice,” known as the Black National Anthem, is often heard at Juneteenth celebrations across the country as well as in church and other settings. The NPR piece also looks at (and listens to) two versions of Sam Cooke’s great Civil Rights song “A Change is Gonna Come” (1964).

https://www.npr.org/2021/06/16/1007047511/rising-sun-music-project-reveals-the-legacy-of-americas-black-concert-music

I am very glad that this important day in American history is finally getting broader, and more official, recognition. Freedom, equally available to all, is indeed something to celebrate – and to keep working toward. Let’s take time to both celebrate and contemplate this moment and this work on the occasion of Juneteenth.

Rick Davis
Dean, CVPA

Topics

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Juneteenth

Juneteenth: Why is it a significant holiday and what are some ways to celebrate it?

Colleen Rich — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 13:46:07 +0000

Juneteenth: Why is it a significant holiday and what are some ways to celebrate it? Colleen Rich Thu, 06/18/2020 - 09:46

Topics

Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial

Wendi Manuel-Scott

Department of History and Art History

Juneteenth

Campus News

June 16: A message from Lester Arnold regarding the Juneteenth holiday

Melanie Balog — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 01:30:17 +0000

June 16: A message from Lester Arnold regarding the Juneteenth holiday Melanie Balog Tue, 06/16/2020 - 21:30

Topics

Juneteenth

Faculty and Staff News