Seeing the places where important events occurred, where courageous people lived, marched, fought and died helps brings history to life, and this country has created a trail so Americans can better understand the civil rights movement. It has more than 100 sites in 14 states including Virginia. At the University of Mary Washington, Chris Williams campaigned to add 21 new stops in Fredericksburg.
“On May 4th, 1961, after the original 13 freedom riders left Washington, D.C. they made their first stop at what was the old bus station in order to desegregate public transportation," he says. “They went inside to test the rules for colored people and white people at that time, and they left without incident.”
Other places of interest – the Shiloh Baptist Churches where local leaders organized and national leaders came to speak, and the modest home of John Washington who – during the Civil War – crossed the Rappahannock River to claim his freedom.
“He, along with 10,000 other enslaved people, seized their freedom once the Union troops came into Fredericksburg," Williams explains. "This really kicks off the trail, because we start in 1862 up to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.”
He adds that it took more than three years to win recognition as part of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, but the Black community in Fredericksburg is excited to at last be acknowledged as an important part of local and national history.
“For so long in the city of Fredericksburg, the Black community has felt not fully embraced by the city and so many of our stories were left on the back burner.”
The trail also runs through the campus of the University of Mary Washington where civil rights leader James Farmer taught. Signs recognize African American students who desegregated the school and were the first to graduate.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
