Juneteenth at Williamsburg: Reclaiming the Story of the Bray School with Jack Gary

On this special-release episode of PreserveCast, we're sitting down with Jack Gary from Colonial Williamsburg’s Department of Archaeology to discuss the opening of a "new" site at Colonial Williamsburg.

Today, on Juneteenth, Colonial Williamsburg is opening a powerful chapter of American history,  the Williamsburg Bray School, the nation’s oldest-known schoolhouse used to educate enslaved and free Black children. The site dramatically expands the narrative of Colonial Williamsburg, deepening how the museum tells the story of our country’s origins through the lens of race, education, faith, and community. The project also centers descendant voices, who are helping to shape how these stories are shared with the public.

About Our Guest

Jack leads all aspects of archaeological research within Colonial Williamsburg’s Department of Archaeology. He oversees a department of 30 professional archaeologists engaged in historical research, field excavation, laboratory analyses, and documentation of Colonial Williamsburg’s archaeological resources. He is an expert in the field of environmental and garden archaeology, community engaged approaches to archaeology, and material culture studies. The Foundation’s archaeological collection of over 60 million artifacts falls under Jack’s responsibility.

More on the William Bray School: https://www.preservecast.org/2023/05/15/the-williamsburg-bray-school-with-dr-maureen-elgersman-lee/