WILLIAMSBURG, Va. —
William & Mary says it will erect a highway marker to commemorate the spot where a school for enslaved and free Black children was likely located.
The university in Williamsburg, Virginia, said in a statement Thursday that the marker could be in place as soon as early fall on the edge of campus.
The Bray School operated there from 1760 to 1774. It was founded by The Associates of Dr. Bray, a London-based charity. Benjamin Franklin was a member of the association and suggested the school’s Williamsburg location.
As many as 400 boys and girls received instruction at the school from a teacher named Anne Wager. She taught the principles of Christianity as well as reading. But there has been much debate over whether she taught them to write.