On Monday, May 6, 2024, William Jewell College dedicated a Freedom Walk, one of several ways Jewell’s Racial Reconciliation Commission is telling a fuller and more accurate history of the College founded in 1849. The college’s Office for Access and Engagement, led by Vice President, Dr. Rodney Smith, is an institutional member of the Greater Kansas City Black History Study Group. Dr. Smith and Dr. Cecelia Robinson, Professor Emerita at William Jewell College and the Vice President for Membership of the GKCBHSG were both members of the Racial Reconciliation Commission.
To commemorate this unknown history, a series of four bronze plaques have been installed on the campus quad, and each focuses on distinct periods in the College’s 175-year history to address the contributions of enslaved persons in the founding and growth of the College and the integration of African Americans in the student body.
The themes of each plaque include the following:
- Honor the enslaved Africans from 1848-1865 whose unpaid labor created wealth for individuals who contributed financially to the establishment and maintenance of William Jewell College, and whose unpaid labor constructed Jewell Hall and the building materials. Early leaders named the College after a physician, Dr. William Jewell, who gave a significant financial gift for the school’s founding and who owned five enslaved Africans. A significant number of the College’s early leaders enslaved Africans.
- Remember 25 African Americans, by name, who worked at William Jewell College from 1868-1962, a period when they and their families were not allowed to enroll as students.
- Commend, by name, the first 75 African American graduates of William Jewell College. The College began admitting African American students in 1962, about 113 years after its founding.
- Support current and future students who are making the journey toward inclusion and freedom.
Jewell’s Racial Reconciliation Commission was formed in 2021 to find and express both a historical and moral truth about the racial history of the institution, and in 2020, the Slavery, Memory and Justice Project was started by a group of students and faculty, inspired by pioneering work done by Brown University and other institutions associated with the Universities Studying Slavery consortium, of which Jewell is a member.
This research will be preserved and made available to the public at the Black Archives of Mid-America Kansas City, ensuring ongoing opportunities for public education and dialogue.
