Wilkins Plaza

Students

Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial to be dedicated

Colleen Rich — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 16:08:11 +0000

Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial to be dedicated Colleen Rich Mon, 03/28/2022 - 12:08

It was the summer of 2017, and five ��AV students and three faculty members were beginning their research into the children enslaved by George Mason IV, the university’s namesake.

Wendi Manuel-Scott, a professor of integrative studies and history, and one of the faculty members on the project, recalled how the students at one point “began to talk about how it would be awesome if years from now they came to campus and there’s a plaque that honors the enslaved people held by George Mason.”

As it turned out, they got much more than a plaque, as what was the Enslaved Children of George Mason project led to the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial, a focal point of how the university is addressing its identity as it relates to a complicated Patriot.

“The purpose of the project was to raise awareness about George Mason IV, the man, the patriot and the slaveholder,” Manuel-Scott said. “Our goal was to focus on expanding our community’s understanding of Mason, and to focus on the people he owned and what they thought about freedom.”

The memorial on the Fairfax Campus (see the video) is the centerpiece of the newly renovated Wilkins Plaza, named for the African American civil rights leader, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and beloved Mason professor.

One panel is dedicated to to Penny, an enslaved girl given by Mason to his daughter. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

It will be dedicated at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, April 4, as part of the university’s 50th anniversary celebration.

“I started that project the summer after my sophomore year, and it sounded cool to have research that maybe would contribute to a memorial on campus," said Mason alum Kye Farrow, BA History ’19, MS Management ’20. "But it was really difficult at the time to see how it would get there. So, yes, still today, I'm absolutely amazed the work we did went to the product that's there today."

Other students on the project were Alexis Bracey, BA Global Affairs ’19; Ayman Fatima, BS Systems Engineering, BA Government and International Politics ’21; Farhaj Murshed, BS Statistics ’20; and Elizabeth Perez-Garcia, BS Criminology, Law, and Society ’19.

It was important each student came from a different academic discipline, Manuel-Scott said.

“Each brought a different way of seeing and thinking, and a different way to analyze and explore records,” she said. “That interdisciplinarity created a richness in terms of the project.”

Mason faculty Gabrielle Tayac and Wendi Manuel-Scott gather water from the Potomac River to use in the fountain on Wilkins Plaza. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

The project was launched by Manuel-Scott; Benedict Carton, a faculty member in History and Art History; and Mason alum George Oberle, Mason’s history librarian and a term faculty member in the Department of History and Art History.

All are leaders in the Center for Mason Legacies, an interdisciplinary and collaborative research center established by the University Library and College of Humanities and Social Sciences that encourages student research to preserve and examine the legacy of George Mason IV and the people he enslaved.

The Enslaved People of George Mason project “shows that Mason is striving to be an exemplar institution in relation to the idea of promoting student inquiry and being open to where that goes and takes us, even if it’s not always a happy story,” Oberle said.

The memorial includes the iconic statue of Mason. A new pedestal includes four quotes which highlight the different aspects of his life, including the penning of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the foundation of the U.S. Bill of Rights. But Mason also enslaved more than 100 people at his Gunston Hall plantation and did not free any upon his death.

Memorial panels are also dedicated to Penny, an enslaved child given by Mason to his daughter, and James, Mason’s personal attendant. A fountain contains stones in a pattern that symbolize an African custom of gathering and prayer.

To acknowledge an altar that was constructed next to the Potomac River by the enslaved at Gunston Hall, and to acknowledge that the land on which the university was built was originally inhabited by indigenous people, water from the Potomac River will be poured into the fountain.

“It’s a way to interconnect the worlds, between the place of enslavement, the place of difficulty, but also a place that’s life-giving,” said Gabrielle Tayac, an associate professor of public history at Mason, and a Piscataway tribal citizen. “To pour the water into the fountain that recalls those connections and all of those hopes and dreams and memories the people had, it’s a way of awakening and blending those intentions.”

Said Carton: “Our project sought to guide students’ sense of moral duty, as they branched out to discover hidden histories. This duty is focused on reconstructing the everyday humanity of enslaved people whose lives had deep meaning, despite the cruelties of enslavement.”

“The moral duty,” he said, “is in the learning.”

Topics

Center for Mason Legacies

Masonat50

Campus Improvements (Construction)

diversity

DEI

New meditation garden and labyrinth offer Patriots a place for reflection

Colleen Rich — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 17:16:27 +0000

New meditation garden and labyrinth offer Patriots a place for reflection Colleen Rich Wed, 03/23/2022 - 13:16

The garden and labyrinth are meant to provide the Mason community a peaceful place for contemplation and relaxation in the heart of the Core Campus Project. Photo courtesy of Cathy Pinskey/Mason Facilities

Just in time for spring, ��AV’s new meditation garden and labyrinth are now open to the community. The garden and the labyrinth are visual artifacts signaling Mason’s commitment to the well-being of its community. They can be found between Horizon Hall and the renovated Harris Theatre, adjacent to the new mini amphitheater that sits on the former site of Robinson Hall.

The garden and labyrinth are meant to provide the Mason community a peaceful place for contemplation and relaxation in the heart of the Core Campus Project. According to Nance Lucas, executive director and chief well-being officer of the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being, the garden connects to the university-wide goal of Mason evolving as a model well-being university.

“We want well-being to be in the DNA of this institution, and this garden is symbolic of it," Lucas said. "It also supports the research on being in nature and meditation.”

The garden—which is filled with purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan, creeping phlox, and purple aster flowers—allows individuals to experience a calming atmosphere while studying, walking, or relaxing.

Those who choose to walk through the labyrinth will notice a slight rise in the path. Stephanie Wolfgang, the project’s senior landscape architect from Perkins & Will, said that’s intentional, so people feel as though they are “building toward a destination.” The center of the labyrinth is marked with a sandstone boulder surrounded by a ring of linden trees. Similar to the garden, the space is configured for sitting and contemplation.

Lauren Long, executive director of Student Involvement, encouraged the community to visit the new space. “[It is] a place of deep contemplation and a place to reflect and renew after such a long time being isolated from others,” Long said.

“Individuals can sit on the steps, take a stroll through the garden, and enjoy being outside, relaxing and spending time alone or with others,” she added.

Damian Cristodero contributed to this story.

Topics

Center for the Advancement of Well-Being

Core Campus Project

Spirit Fall 22

Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial highlights Wilkins Plaza

Colleen Rich — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 16:52:21 +0000

Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial highlights Wilkins Plaza Colleen Rich Wed, 11/03/2021 - 12:52

When Wendi Manuel-Scott walks through the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial, she sees more than an acknowledgement that the namesake of ��AV was both an American patriot and a slaveowner.

She sees the result of Mason students asserting their voices.

“We want students to feel empowered,” said Manuel-Scott, a professor of history in the School of Integrative Studies and associate director of the Center for Mason Legacies. “We want students to carve out spaces to make our communities more inclusive and sustainable for all.”

That is exactly what happened in 2016 when students, mentored by faculty, delved into the little-known legacy of George Mason IV. The result was the Enslaved Children of George Mason Project, which revealed the lives of the enslaved people who lived and worked at Gunston Hall, Mason’s home in Northern Virginia.

That project led to the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial, which recently opened as the centerpiece of the redesigned Wilkins Plaza on the Fairfax Campus, and is the focal point of how the university is addressing its identity as it relates to a complicated Patriot.

See the video to learn more.

“Courage, debate and truth define this reexamination,” said Benedict Carton, an associate professor of history and an associate director of the Center for Mason Legacies. “Our submerged histories can be recovered. Our unknown histories can speak. Our multi-perspective histories are alive with different understandings of evidence and inquiry.”

The memorial includes panels describing the lives of two of the enslaved at Gunston Hall: Penny, who was gifted by Mason to his daughter, and James, Mason’s personal attendant.

A fountain lined with a pattern of stones symbolizes an African custom practiced at Gunston Hall. Enslaved people used the Gunston Hall site to pray and look to their origins across the sea, Carton said.

The fountain includes a quote from Roger Wilkins, the late African American civil rights leader, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and Mason Robinson Professor for whom the plaza is named.

The four quotes added to the base of the George Mason IV statue, which is also part of the memorial, “exemplify four Masons in one,” said Mason historian George Oberle, director of the Center for Mason Legacies.

The quotes highlight the brilliant legal scholar, who penned the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which was the basis of our nation’s Bill of Rights; the defender of freedoms for a limited few; the enslaver of Black men, women and children; and the father of nine who provided for his family.

“The memorial is an opportunity to face the fullness of who Mason IV was and who we are as an institution, in the past and present,” Manuel-Scott said. “The memorial gives us an incredible opportunity to reckon with the past and care for those erased by structures of inequality and domination.”

“It is a weighty responsibility,” she said. “An opportunity not to be taken lightly.”

Topics

President's Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence

New Outdoor Space by Wilkins Plaza Includes Amphitheater and Pedestrian Pathways

Lauren Reuscher — Sat, 23 Oct 2021 14:20:34 +0000

New Outdoor Space by Wilkins Plaza Includes Amphitheater and Pedestrian Pathways Lauren Reuscher Sat, 10/23/2021 - 10:20

A new outdoor space will open between Horizon Hall and Harris Theatre during the week of Oct. 25. This area includes an amphitheater, plaza with seating, and pedestrian pathways. Construction fencing will be removed along Wilkins Plaza, connecting this new space to the center of the Fairfax Campus.

Pedestrians may use pathways through the area to travel from Wilkins Plaza to SUB I, Aquia Creek Lane, and the north side of campus. Construction fencing will still be in place in parts of this area, as renovations continue at Harris Theatre and on the meditation garden and bike shelter for the outdoor space.

Also during the week of Oct. 25, contractors will replace pavers near the Horizon Hall entrance on Wilkins Plaza. Sections of the sidewalk between Horizon Hall and Fenwick Library will be closed, but the pathway will remain accessible. Please follow signage through the area.

Topics

Campus Improvements (Construction)

Construction

Redesigned Wilkins Plaza on Fairfax Campus is open

Colleen Rich — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 20:18:06 +0000

Redesigned Wilkins Plaza on Fairfax Campus is open Colleen Rich Mon, 08/16/2021 - 16:18

The reimagined Wilkins Plaza is open after two-plus years of construction.

It includes a boulevard-like east-west walkway that extends from the Mason Pond Parking Deck to Southside.

The plaza, named for the late Roger Wilkins, the famed civil rights leader, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former Robinson Professor of History and American Culture at Mason, is part of the Core Campus Project that has remade the central Fairfax Campus.

It is anchored by the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial, which includes the intertwined narratives of two of George Mason IV’s slaves, the iconic George Mason statue, and the new Wilkins Fountain.

At the base of the Mason statue are four of Mason’s quotes that help explain his important and complex role in American history as the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and a slaveholder.

“Considered together, the entire plaza creates an axis of dialogue, with the Mason statue representing the traditional voice, the memorial panels representing the hidden voices, and the painted walls represent the voices of student organizations,” said Cathy Pinskey, program director at Mason Facilities. “To me that’s the most exciting part of it. It was always going to be a great plaza, but the addition of the memorial and the fountain make it uniquely Mason.”

The plaza was designed by landscape architects Perkins&Will in association with a diverse team of Mason faculty, staff and students. Perkins&Will also designed the new Horizon Hall. Whiting-Turner is handling the Core Campus Project construction.

There is still more work to be done on the Core Campus Project, with the green space adjacent to Horizon Hall and the plaza scheduled to open in late fall, and the redesigned Harris Theatre scheduled to open for the Spring 2022 semester, Pinskey said.

But the plaza is something special, said Stephanie Wolfgang, a senior landscape architect at Perkins&Will and the lead designer for the plaza project.

“Shedding light on the stories of those who have been underrepresented throughout history is a goal of Perkins&Will,” Wolfgang said. “When a narrative of equity and inclusion is so integral to our design and supported by our client’s values, it’s professionally rewarding.”

Topics

Core Campus Project