Beryl Warner Williams Hall: Descendant Reclaiming Black History in the Whitest State in America
I am a Descendant Reclaiming Black History in the Whitest State in America
“We want to rename a building at UMaine for your grandmother!” Beryl Warner Williams Hall
It’s been 2 years since I accepted that challenge… And I’m not sure that anyone at the University knew what they were getting into when they brought me on board. But, bring me on board, they did. And we made it through, with most of the key team members still on board. So, next month I will attend the dedication of My Grandma’s Building–Beryl Warner Williams Hall–at UMaine! I’m proud of what I accomplished—I made my voice heard. I dreamed my grandmother’s dream—I imagined a space that would welcome her, those who came before her, and those who came after. A space that makes Black Lives a visible part of the historic fabric of the whitest state in America.
I am a Descendant Reclaiming Black History
I am proud of what I accomplished—I made my voice heard. I dreamed my grandmother’s dream—I imagined a space that would welcome her, those who came before her, and those who came after. A space that makes Black Lives a visible part of the historic fabric of the whitest state in America.
The invitations are going out. The program has been finalized. The mural is being painted. An onsite multimedia history has been created, installed, tweaked, and completed (as far as history compositions go).
I’m only left with the idea that other descendants could learn from my experience, and build on it!
I have to strongly encourage you to put your mark on the spaces that will bear your ancestors’ names! Demand joy! Demand that your story be told.
Paint the past in bright colors so that we may dance free to the awful truth of its beautiful song.
and…
The Vision for Beryl Warner Williams Hall at UMaine
To all the institutions out there that want to do better:
The name is not enough. Do More than stick a plaque on a wall. Do More than an archway. Do More than update a campus map.
If you are trying to break down, atone, or make amends for structural racism. You must change the built reality of your institution. You must center the vision and the voices that are not yours. You must go beyond consultation, to encourage and fully support them to unwind, recreate, and transform the structures that you operate from and within.
Sometimes that means taking something away. Often it means revealing.
It’s not just the name of the buildings, it’s in the fabric of the design.
A four-story building with no elevator does not create an open learning environment.
A common hall with no seating, no tables or outlets, does not create shared space.
A campus with no public art can never be an incubator of innovation.
In other words, if you have standards for signage, throw the standards out—Paint the bricks–even when they’re brown. History doesn’t fit into that rectangle–our ancestors don’t wear the muted colors of the faded spines of the texts on your bookshelf.
If you’re still not willing to break rules to change things, now?
We see you.
You will not succeed in confining us.
My thanks to the University of Maine for doing so much to get this right, and especially to:
Kimberly Whitehead and Joan Ferrini-Mundy for their vision and my invitation.
Gretchen F. Faulkner for managing all aspects of the transformation of C. C. Little Hall to Beryl Warner Williams Hall.
Michael Scott and Kacie Bond for turning my family history research into a rich multimedia experience.
Rachel and Ryan Adams for the creation of the Beryl Warner Williams Hall mural.
Lisa Neuman & Lauren Babb for their grit. For their everything. They are my champions.
Further Reading:
ACLU of Maine. “2021 Legislative Session,” December 9, 2020. https://www.aclumaine.org/en/2021-legislative-session.
Clio. “A History of Black Student Success on Campus.” Accessed May 26, 2021. https://theclio.com/entry/129755.
“Abortion – A Liberal Cause? (Margaret Sanger and Eugenics).” Accessed February 25, 2022. http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/rauch/abortion_eugenics/peterson.html.
“African American Quilting From Slavery to the Present.” Accessed February 26, 2022. http://www.womenfolk.com/quilting_history/afam.htm.
New England Today. “African-American Art in Maine,” December 17, 2009. https://newengland.com/today/travel/maine/bearden/.
“An African-American Settlement in Troy Maine with Chris Marshall | Penobscot Marine Museum.” Accessed February 25, 2022. https://penobscotmarinemuseum.org/an-african-american-settlement-in-troy-maine-with-chris-marshall/.
Andrew, Karina. “Descendants of BYU Building Namesakes, Early Utah Slaves Respond to Un-Name Campus Buildings Movement,” September 4, 2020. https://universe.byu.edu/2020/09/04/whats-in-a-name-descendants-of-byu-building-namesakes-slaves-in-early-utah-respond-to-movement-to-un-name-campus-buildings/.
Down East. “Artists Rachel and Ryan Adams Are All Over Portland,” April 8, 2021. https://downeast.com/arts-culture/rachel-and-ryan-adams/.
The Pittsburgh Courier. “Baltimore Deltas Host Brilliant Eastern Regional Conference 25 Apr 1964 -Pittsburgh Courier.” April 25, 1964. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113734153/baltimore-deltas-host-brilliant-eastern/.
Maine Public. “Bangor Victim Of Racist Graffiti Tells Culprits: ‘Be Better As Human Beings,’” August 25, 2021. https://www.mainepublic.org/news/2021-08-25/bangor-victim-of-racist-graffiti-tells-culprits-be-better-as-human-beings.
Maine Memory Network. “Begin Again: Reckoning with Intolerance in Maine.” Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/3103/page/4904/display?use_mmn=1.
Maine Memory Network. “Black History and the History of Slavery in Maine.” Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.mainememory.net/lessons/black-history-and-the-history-of-slavery-in-maine/t6u3c5s7.
Maine History Online. “Black People in Maine.” Accessed March 30, 2022. https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/793/page/1203/display.
Office of the President. “C.C. Little Hall Task Force – Office of the President – University of Maine,” March 1, 2023. https://umaine.edu/president/naming-task-force/.
Cecelski, David. “Escape through the Dismal Swamp.” David Cecelski (blog), October 14, 2019. https://davidcecelski.com/2019/10/14/escape-through-the-dismal-swamp/.
Company, Johnson Publishing. “Delta Sigma Theta Honors.” Jet, November 6, 1975.
———. “People.” Jet, November 4, 1971.
My Maine Stories. “Dancing through Barriers.” Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/3087/page/4888/display?return=featured.
“DeForest H. Perkins.” In Wikipedia, October 13, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=DeForest_H._Perkins&oldid=1115838582.
DeRoche, Andrew J. “Freedom without Equality: Maine Civil War Soldiers’ Attitudes about Slavery and African Americans.” UCLA Historical Journal, 15. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://escholarship.org/content/qt74b974x8/qt74b974x8_noSplash_07eb834ef5f6bd9327d179408e0a4340.pdf?t=mjzcd6.
Eastman, Tom. “Yes, the Underground Railroad Really Did Make Stops in Maine.” The Conway Daily Sun. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://www.conwaydailysun.com/news/local/yes-the-underground-railroad-really-did-make-stops-in-maine/article_8f7dcc1e-849f-11ec-8937-17194e655b33.html.
“Georgetown Renaming of Buildings Reflects Shared Journey with Slave Descendants,” April 20, 2017. https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2017/04/georgetown-renaming-buildings-reflects-shared-journey-slave-descendants.
Gore, Terrence. “The Quilting Tradition.” BLACK ART IN AMERICATM (blog), November 9, 2018. https://www.blackartinamerica.com/index.php/2018/11/09/the-quilting-tradition/.
Karen Sieber. “Red Summer Racial Violence Comes to Campus.” Historical. Clio, August 6, 2021. https://theclio.com/entry/128856.
Lubin, Ethan. “Little Hall Becomes Williams Hall | UMaine Alumni Association,” August 17, 2021. https://www.umainealumni.com/humanities/little-hall-becomes-williams-hall/.
My Maine Stories. “Maine and the Atlantic World Slave Economy.” Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/3096/page/4897/display?return=featured.
MD 21213, Richard Holden, Baltimore City Public Schools, 1401 East Oliver St , Baltimore. “Williams, Beryl.” DigitalCommons@UMaine. Accessed March 11, 2023. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/univ_photos/2988.
Museum, Penobscot Marine. “Taking a Closer Look in the Collections of the Penobscot Marine Museum.” The Atlantic Black Box Project, August 5, 2020. https://atlanticblackbox.com/2020/08/05/taking-a-closer-look-in-the-collections-of-the-penobscot-marine-museum/.
My Maine Stories. “My Family and Malaga Island.” Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/3098/page/4899/display?return=featured.
Nelson, Sophie. “Malaga Island, Phippsburg.” Maine Coast Heritage Trust (blog), April 26, 2019. https://www.mcht.org/preserve/malaga-island/.
“Rachel Gloria Adams (@rachelgloriaia) • Instagram Photos and Videos.” Accessed September 24, 2022. https://www.instagram.com/rachelgloriaia/.
rdennis@berkeleyind.com, Rickey Ciapha Dennis Jr. “The Story of the Dorchester County Slave Who Escaped to Maine.” Post and Courier, July 18, 2018. https://www.postandcourier.com/journal-scene/news/the-story-of-the-dorchester-county-slave-who-escaped-to-maine/article_5bb45fab-a136-5dbc-99e1-c4089667e27f.html.
“Ryan Adams (@ryanwritesonthings) • Instagram Photos and Videos.” Accessed September 24, 2022. https://www.instagram.com/ryanwritesonthings/.
Swartz, Brian. “Escaping Slave Saw Maine Soldiers Standing by ‘the Gates of Heaven.’” Bangor Daily News, February 12, 2013. http://www.bangordailynews.com/2013/02/12/the-weekly/escaping-slave-saw-maine-soldiers-standing-by-the-gates-of-heaven/.
Clio. “UMaine’s Ugly Ties to the Field of Eugenics and the KKK.” Accessed May 26, 2021. https://theclio.com/entry/129845.
Warner, Beryl E. “A Reorganization in the Continuity of Subject Matter in Mathematics.” The University of Maine, 1940. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/3384.
My Maine Stories. “We Are An Ordinary Family.” Accessed February 25, 2022. https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/3079/page/4880/display?return=featured.
“White Americans.” In Wikipedia, March 11, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_Americans&oldid=1144063005.
Maine Public. “Why Is Maine So White? And What It Means To Ask The Question,” February 19, 2019. https://www.mainepublic.org/maine/2019-02-19/why-is-maine-so-white-and-what-it-means-to-ask-the-question.
Self-Guided Walking Tours. “Williams Hall – Self-Guided Walking Tours – University of Maine.” Accessed March 11, 2023. https://umaine.edu/sights/circle-mall-tour/williams-hall/.
