In November 2021, the Institute for Education Innovation (IEI) held its Tumble Superintendent Summit at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.V.–one of the most spectacular resorts in the U.S.
But as with a lot of of the nation’s legendary landmarks, from The White Dwelling to Harvard University, the legacy of The Greenbrier is straight tied to the finest stain on our nation’s legacy: the enslavement of Black people today. Through the Summit, we invited Toni Ogden and Janice Cooley of the Greenbrier County Historical Society to deliver a historical context of our surroundings.
The authentic resort was developed in 1858 mostly by enslaved people, and as late as 1910, when the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway obtained the house, the firm ongoing to exploit Black staff. African American employees users ended up anticipated to cater to the whims of white visitors in the design of the old plantations right before returning property to too much to handle poverty.
Although The Greenbrier goes out of its way to welcome all website visitors right now, that historical past however silently lingers during the grounds, impacting some more than other individuals based on their identification and lived experiences. An instance of the hotel’s legacy could be spotted in the sports activities bar in which quite a few portraits of star athletes lined the walls—all of whom were being white. It is almost certainly the only athletics bar outdoors of Boston that has a photograph of Larry Bird, but no photograph of Magic.
Quite a few conference attendees of color, myself provided, expressed an unease whenever we ventured outside the house our tightknit group. White attendees, like Doug, my co-facilitator and co-writer, could not have been on the receiving close of the cautious gazes of other vacation resort patrons, but they noticed the phenomenon, which became a issue of discussion among the IEI community—both in terms of the weekend and in our each day life as educators.