School for Black Children

In 1760 the Associates of Dr. Bray, a London-based charity, founded a school in Williamsburg for enslaved and free black children at the suggestion of Benjamin Franklin, a member of the Associates, and with support from the College of William & Mary. Anne Wager taught as many as 400 boys and girls during her 14 years as teacher. In a culture hostile to educating African Americans, she taught principles of Christianity, deportment, reading, and possibly writing. The curriculum reinforced proslavery ideology but also spread literacy within the black community. The school moved from this site by 1765 and closed in 1774.

Williamsburg, Virginia · United States