The Slave Dwelling Project recently held its largest ever event at the University of Virginia to commemorate the hundreds of enslaved men, women and children who built and ran the school in the 19th century. Nearly three dozen panels saw more than 100 speakers over the three days. But at the center was an outdoor sleepover in near freezing temperatures, where the enslaved would have slept.
Sleeping As Slave Ancestors Did, in the Cold
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More than 50 people spent the night behind UVA's Pavilion IX during the Slave Dwelling Project's largest ever sleepover.
Jordy Yager
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UVA President Teresa Sullivan formed the commission on slavery in 2013 to focus more attention on the role the enslaved African Americans played in creating the school.
Jordy Yager
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April Burns' family was enslaved by 3 generations of Jeffersons, including Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. In 1827, a family member was bought by a UVA anatomy professor. Burns slept outside in near freezing temperatures with the Slave Dwelling Project.
Jordy Yager
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UVA archivist and associate professor Ervin Jordan (third from left) sits on a panel with the President's Commission on Slavery and the University co-chair Kirt von Daacke. Jordan suggested UVA should consider legacy admissions as a form of reparations.
Jordy Yager