n LOUDOUN
4 | n EDUCATION
12 | n PUBLIC SAFETY
16 | n PUBLIC NOTICES
Community-Supported News. Free to all.
VOL. 9, NO. 27
MAY 16, 2024
246 Years Project Database Goes Live
Morven Park Works to Tell Stories of the Enslaved BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.com
Their names and stories deserve to be known. That is the foundation of the 246 Years Project started by Morven Park seven years ago. On Monday, the organizers debuted the fruits of that work—an online database that sheds light on the lives of enslaved people whose records of existence were largely limited to property legers from the beginning of African slavery in America in 1619 to emancipation through the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The announcement was made from the stately, columned portico of the Davis mansion at Morven Park, a building that dates back to the early 1800s when the estate operated with slave labor as a Virginia plantation. At least 81 enslaved people worked on the property, according to records that helped launch the database. “It’s that part of our history here. That is really the reason, and it was the inspiration for establishing the 246 Years Project,” Morven Park Executive Director and CEO Stacey Metcalfe said. “The 246 Years Project is dedicated to documenting and honoring the millions of enslaved men, women, and children whose names and life stories deserve to be known.” The project started with Morven Park’s records but expanded to include work conducted by the historical records staff at in the Loudoun County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office. And organizers are working for a far broader reach. “We’re hoping that the 246 Years Project will bring to light thousands of
28
State Training Requirements May Spur Class Delays BY ALEXIS GUSTIN
agustin@loudounnow.org
Hailey Yentz/Loudoun Now
Morven Park Executive Director and CEO Stacey Metcalfe speaks during unveiling of the 246 Years Project online database.
untold stories of strength, resilience, and persistence. It’s intended to create an opportunity for truth-telling, memorialization, and reconciliation,” Metcalfe said. Through the support of donors, she noted, the information will be available free of charge. Clerk of the Circuit Court Gary Clemens said the project offers an important opportunity to share the stories documented by his staff, which spent years combing through and digitizing the court’s historic records, with a wider audience. “When [Stacey] shared this vision with me, I got really excited because you know my passion for Loudoun history,” Clemens said. “You know by now what we’ve done to try to promote the Black history
of Loudoun County, particularly the stories of those who were enslaved or the former enslaved. These are powerful stories, manifested through our court records at the courthouse in downtown Leesburg. Many people knew nothing about these stories and these narratives, but we’ve tried to share these narratives, these stories, by digitizing records, providing more information about these records.” The project is led by Jana Shafagoj, Morven Park’s director of preservation and education. “Together we have created a tool that will ensure that many of the voices that
To accommodate the more than 36 hours of state required teacher training, Loudoun County school administrators Tuesday recommended changing the school calendar to include 16 days operating on a two-hour delay. The unprecedented amount of additional training to meet new requirements from the Virginia Literacy Act calls for 27 hours of training for teachers in Kindergarten through eighth grade in addition to required training for new K-2 teachers and third grade teachers for the implementation of the Virginia Language & Literacy Screening System, and new training for the adoption of K-5 core resources according to the briefing provided to the School Board. On top of that training, the VDOE approved new math and English standards of learning in August 2023 with the expectation that they will be implemented during the 2024-2025 school year. Students will be assessed on the new math standards during the upcoming school
246 PROJECT continues on page 37
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CLASS DELAYS continues on page 37
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