Remember with Us: Commemoration for the Enslaved, 2019-ongoing (recordings for each event)

Wake Forest has sponsored a commemoration for the enslaved since 2019. Originally organized by students in Prof. Joseph Soares' Sociology 391: Social Memories: Nazi Holocaust and US Civil War, the university has expanded the commemoration to include remarks from the Slavery, Race, and Memory Project, university officials, and representatives from the Association of Wake Forest University Black Alumni (AWFUBA). The program also includes musical performances, poetry, and an official reading of the names of those who were either sold or rented out to work on behalf of Wake Forest:

"Today we remember the enslaved individuals who were sold by or rented out to work for
Wake Forest College, the institution that became Wake Forest University. We do so
moved by a sense of justice and by a commitment to more equitable commemoration
and through the use of archival records that have been passed down through the
university over the course of its life. We remember and say the names of all the
individuals we know — and we acknowledge those whose names we do not yet know.
The search for their names continues, as does the work to acknowledge and repair our
past. We remember in the hope that doing so is another step forward on our journey
toward reconciliation in our communities. At the end of each section, the reader will say:
We remember and honor you. We would ask that the audience then responds with the
same words."

Names of the Enslaved (as of 2023)

An 1834 Wake Forest College account book shows that four enslaved black people
were rented that year. The names of those who labored, as recorded, were:
● Ellick;
● Harry & Wife; and
● Charlotte

As student numbers grew, more enslaved black people were rented for labor from local
slave owners. We know from other archival records, dating from 1835, the names of
thirteen enslaved people who also labored at Wake Forest. Their names are:
● Johnson;
● Anderson;
● James;
● Lender;
● Mary;
● Sarah;
● Phillis;
● Mary;
● Lucey;
● Venus;
● Patience;
● Mary; and
● George

Other records we have found show that sixteen enslaved black people were rented from
their owners in 1836. Their names are:
● Murphy;
● Ted and Amy Jones, and two children;
● Rose;
● Martha;
● Lexy;
● Mary Sherwood;
● Aggy and her children;
● Maranda;
● Mary Harris;
● David; and
● Anderson

In 1835, four enslaved laborers labored to construct the College building. Two of them
were killed in a fall during the construction. There is no known record of their names.
● We remember those two men whose names we do not yet know. We also
remember an enslaved person who labored as a custodian in the College
Building.
● Numerous enslaved blacks were hired for this role during the remaining
antebellum period.

● We remember Virtn [pronounced vir-ten] and the other college servants
whose names we do not yet know.
● In the 1840s, two enslaved black women, Betty and Inez, were sold, and the
proceeds of their sale were given to the College.
● We remember Betty and Inez.

Before the civil war, Wake Forest received a major request that included land, homes,
and enslaved black people. An auction of the enslaved was held on May 7, 1860, and
the proceeds were used to start the College’s first endowment. We remember:
● Harvey;
● Tom;
● Venus and child;
● Mary;
● Emma;
● Lettice;
● Isaac;
● Jim;
● Lucy;
● Caroline;
● Pompie [pronounced pom-pay];
● Emma;
● Nancy;
● Harriet and her child;
● Joseph, Harry;
● Ann and her two children;
● Thomas; and
● Mary

There are gaps in any archival record, and there remain sources in our own archives
that we have not yet uncovered. Our work to discover and honor enslaved black people
who worked for Wake Forest College continues.

We remember those individuals whose names we do not yet know