• Sites
• Bray School Lab
• Research

Research

The W&M Bray School lab applies an interdisciplinary approach centered in the Humanities. It considers the evolving roles and social perceptions of religion, slavery, democracy, higher education, philanthropy, and economics. The Bray School Lab will engage research teams, including undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and community members, to incubate and scale innovative social justice scholarship in collaboration with descendants of Bray School students and other partners.

• One Page Fact Sheet (pdf)
• Compilation of all extant student lists affiliated with the Williamsburg Bray School (pdf)
• A Reasonable Progress Research Blog
• Swem Library Research Portal
• Bray School Lab Bibliography (our thanks to Cecilia Weaver '24 for leading this project)

Story Maps

• Standing in the Gap Timeline
  • On August 20, 1774, the Williamsburg Bray School's white teacher, Ann Wager, passed away. After her death, the institution ceased operations entirely. Despite the school's closure, its legacy and impact within Williamsburg's communities survived beyond 1774. The W&M Bray School Lab invites you to consider the legacies of the Williamsburg Bray School and the students who studied there beyond the operation of the school. 
• (Re)Making the Past: Sewing at the Williamsburg Bray School
  • Black Girls, Sewing, and Education at the Williamsburg Bray School
    What does it mean to be a Black craftsperson in 18th-century Williamsburg? How does the education at the Williamsburg Bray School play a role in this story? The W&M Bray School Lab invites you to explore the complicated relationship between Black girls, enslavement, and sewing in 18th-century Williamsburg.
• Adam & Fanny’s World
  • There are three known lists of Williamsburg Bray School students, referred to as scholars in the written record. All three lists name each student and their status as free or enslaved. On the 1769 list, two students are identified as being owned by William & 玛丽: a boy, Adam, and a girl, Fanny. The W&M Bray School Lab invites you to explore Williamsburg through the eyes of Adam and Fanny.

Areas of Inquiry

A single-column table of collapsible items lists areas of inquiry for the Bray School.

Bray School Legacy Uncover, document, and disseminate the hidden stories of the Bray School students, teacher and surrounding communities.

History of African American Education Study African Americans’ access to education and the legacies thereof.

African American Culture Explore the various facets of African American culture and the impact of African American legacy on economic development, higher education, policy implications, and other elements of Williamsburg and William & 玛丽 community life.