SALEM, Va. – Roanoke College is taking a significant step towards acknowledging its past with the upcoming installation of a new memorial dedicated to the enslaved laborers whose contributions were crucial in shaping the college’s legacy and buildings.
Designed by artist Sandy Williams IV, this new sculpture aims to permanently recognize the often-overlooked efforts of these individuals.
Sandy Williams IV explains the purpose of the memorial: “To honor these people who are so important to our history but have been so forgotten or left out of these records.”
The memorial, titled “Authors and Architects,” will be prominently placed in front of Bittle Hall, the college’s original library. Williams describes the design, noting that the memorial will feature an approximately 8-foot square concrete base standing 18 inches high, with the central piece being a 6 by 6 by 6-foot bronze cube.
The history of Roanoke College is deeply intertwined with the contributions of enslaved laborers.
Students, along with college historian Jesse Bucher, have dedicated years to researching this complex history and uncovering crucial details that were previously missing from the institution’s narrative. “We know that enslaved people were here as experts, from artisanal laborers who built campus structures to those who were architects and designers,” says Bucher. “We know these enslaved people produced excess wealth that was invested in the college, and they would have been here at the same time as many of our students. Over the last five years, our goal has been to close those gaps.”
The design of the memorial draws inspiration from Roanoke College’s original library and historical record books. “Actual Roanoke college books, many of them that might have been in the library that we are talking about, Bittle Hall, were built by enslaved laborers but the laborers couldn’t enter,” Williams said.
The research into the history of enslaved laborers at Roanoke College continues. Students have developed an open-access database Welcome · CSSR Genealogy of Slavery · CSSR (roanoke.edu) to share their findings and provide more detailed information about the enslaved laborers and their descendants in the area.