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Henry Helps Make Fredericksburg Historic Preservation Plan More Diverse and Inclusive
Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation Christine Henry
Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation Christine Henry is a member of a Historic Preservation Working Group in the City of Fredericksburg that has put forth a resolution to City Council to amend the historic preservation chapter in the city’s 2015 Comprehensive Plan. According to an article in The Free Lance-Star, “the amendments … outline eight overarching goals that city officials hope will shape their continuing efforts to foster diversity and inclusiveness.” Other group members include Architectural Review Board members Jonathan Gerlach and Helen P. Ross, National Park Service representative John Hennessy, Fredericksburg Main Street member Sophia Constantine, Historic Fredericksburg Foundation representative David James, as well as Jon Van Zandt from the local development community and Mitzi Brown of the city’s Economic Development Authority. Read more.
Williams, Devlin, Henry Work to Bring Freedom Rides Historic Marker to Fredericksburg
Chris Williams, Erin Devlin and Christine Henry with Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Delegate Joshua Cole and Vice Mayor Chuck Frye. Photo by Karen Pearlman.
James Farmer Multicultural Center Assistant Director Chris Williams, Associate Professor of History Erin Devlin and Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation Christine Henry have worked with City of Fredericksburg officials to erect a historic marker at the site of the old bus station on Princess Anne and Wolfe streets, where the Freedom Riders first stopped 60 years ago in their quest to desegregate interstate travel.
This story has been featured by several local, regional and national media outlets.
Fredericksburg set to place marker honoring Freedom Riders’ first stop (The Free Lance-Star)
Freedom Riders marker in Fredericksburg, Va., tells the ‘untold story’ (The Washington Post)
Historical marker to be erected in Fredericksburg on 60th anniversary of Freedom Rides (WJLA)
Trip from DC to Fredericksburg bus station was first leg of Freedom Riders journey (WTOP)
Fredericksburg Remembers the Freedom Rides’ First Stop (WVTF)
Marker Furthers UMW Mission on Freedom Rides’ 60th Anniversary
Today, on the 60th anniversary of the start of the Freedom Rides, a temporary historic marker was unveiled at the site of the former Fredericksburg bus station, where the Freedom Riders first stopped in 1961. The marker is the result of efforts by UMW staff, faculty and students, in partnership with the City of Fredericksburg. Photo by Karen Pearlman.
Sixty years ago today, 13 men and women – seven Black and six white – departed Washington, D.C., on Greyhound and Trailways buses. Led by civil rights icon James L. Farmer Jr., these Freedom Riders embarked on a quest to desegregate interstate travel.
Their first stop? Fredericksburg, Virginia. The riders visited the bus station terminal and lunch counter, once located at the corner of Princess Anne and Wolfe streets, where the fire station stands today.
The bus depot was torn down years ago, but this afternoon, a historical marker was erected in its place, thanks to the tireless work of University of Mary Washington staff, faculty and students, in partnership with the City of Fredericksburg. Their efforts are part of a greater campaign to share the history of the region’s Black residents, as well as UMW’s commitment to keep alive the legacy of the Freedom Riders and Dr. Farmer. Read more.
Fredericksburg set to place marker honoring Freedom Riders’ first stop (The Free Lance-Star)
Mary Talks: “Preservation of an American Theme Park”
Join us ONLINE for the final Mary Talk of the 2020-21 academic year!
Amusement parks have held a special allure for Americans as places to gather, relax, and have fun. During the baby boom, more family-oriented theme parks were developed. But besides Disneyland, few of these fairy-tale playlands survived into the 21st Century.
Dr. Christine Henry, assistant professor of historic preservation, will share the case study of one theme park as she presents “Storybook Ending: Preservation of an American Theme Park.” Using vintage postcards, images, and newspapers, Professor Henry will discuss the evolution of American leisure, focusing on the surprising tale of a baby-boom-era park, The Enchanted Forest in Ellicott City, Maryland. It’s a story worthy of Mother Goose herself.
Wednesday, April 28
7:30-9:00 p.m. (EDT)
Online (via Zoom)
To watch the Talk online, register here. You then will receive a link to the streaming video, which can be watched live or at a later time. You also will have the opportunity to submit questions to be asked of the speaker at the end of the Talk.
We look forward to seeing you online!
UMW Faculty Learning Community Publishes Online
Eleven UMW faculty from a variety of disciplines worked together in 2020 as the Advocacy, Deliberation, and Civic Engagement Learning Community. The group was led by Leslie Martin and Anand Rao, representing the Center for Community Engagement and the Speaking Intensive Program. The goal of the group was for the participants to work together to develop course materials that incorporate advocacy and deliberation activities to support civic learning in their courses. Modeled after a similar initiative at VCU, the UMW faculty learning community met through the Spring 2020 semester to study the ways that advocacy, deliberation, and debate, could be used in class, and the faculty then developed materials, including activities, assignments, and rubrics, for use in college classes. The materials were collected and were recently published online through UMW Eagle Scholar. The publication is titled “Supporting Advocacy, Deliberation, and Civic Learning in the Classroom,” and includes contributions from the following faculty: Leslie Martin (Sociology), Anand Rao (Communication), Adrienne Brovero (Communication, UMW Debate), Gonzalo Campos-Dintrans (Spanish, FSEM), Steve Greenlaw (Economics, FSEM), Pamela Grothe (Environmental Sciences), Jason Hayob-Matzke (Philosophy), Jodie Hayob-Matzke (Environmental Sciences), Christine Henry (Historic Preservation), Joseph Romero (Classics), and Andrea Livi Smith (Historic Preservation).
Henry Discusses History of Roadside Attractions on C-SPAN Podcast
Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation Christine Henry
Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation Christine Henry appeared on C-SPAN’s Lectures in History podcast, discussing the history of roadside attractions and her own experience traveling to a freshwater pond in Ohio called the Blue Hole. Listen here.
UMW, City of Fredericksburg partner in effort to more accurately tell the local Civil Rights story (The Free Lance-Star)
UMW Community Works with City on Freedom Rides Historical Marker
Last fall, UMW students and city residents retraced the route of the Freedom Rides, the historic protest to desegregate interstate travel, organized by James Farmer. Members of the UMW community are working with the City to establish a historic marker on the site of the old bus station in Fredericksburg, the Freedom Riders’ first stop on their 1961 trip. Photo by Lynda Allen.
James Farmer Multicultural Center Assistant Director Chris Williams, Assistant Professor of History Erin Devlin and Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation Christine Henry were interviewed in The Free Lance-Star about their efforts to work with the City of Fredericksburg to establish a Virginia state historical marker at the site of the old bus station where the Freedom Riders stopped first in their quest to desegregate interstate transportation in 1961. The station formerly stood on the corner of Princess Anne and Wolfe streets, near where the fire station is now.
Some of the riders were arrested in North Carolina, South Carolina and Mississippi. In Anniston, Ala., a mob of Ku Klux Klan members slashed the bus’s tires as it attempted to leave the terminal, and later threw a firebomb at it.
UMW students and staff and community members visited the field where the bombing occurred last fall, as part of a trip recreating the journey of the Freedom Riders.
“To our surprise, there was no marker out there. No historical marker saying that right here, the original 13 Freedom Riders were fire-bombed,” said Chris Williams, assistant director of UMW’s James Farmer Multicultural Center, which organized the trip. “I was enraged and so were the students.”
Back home in Fredericksburg, Williams was still thinking about ways the story of the Freedom Riders and James Farmer could be told better—and that led to the idea of placing a highway marker at the site of the old bus station.
Williams, Devlin and Henry, in partnership with the City of Fredericksburg, have started the process of applying for the marker from the state Department of Historical Resources. Read more.