New Site at Colonial Williamsburg Museum Reveals What Happened at Oldest Known Schoolhouse for Enslaved Children

A newly restored building at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, VA, is shedding light on the complicated history of slavery in America. The Williamsburg Bray School is believed to be the oldest known schoolhouse for enslaved children. It became one of several schools set up across the colonies by the Bray Associates, a missionary arm of the Anglican church.

Students were taught to read so they could practice the faith of the Church of England, also known as Anglicanism, Virginia's official religion at the time.

"We know that they had books made and shipped here to the Williamsburg Bray School," Jennifer Wilkoski, director of Architectural Preservation and Research for Colonial Williamsburg, told CBN News. "It was basically a primer, a little spelling and reading, but t