Summer 2016 Issue

HONORING THE MEMORY

Long Past Time

Brian Whitson

In April the William & Mary Board of Visitors unanimously approved a resolution renaming two prominent residence halls in memory of two key African-American figures in the university’s history. The Board’s action renames the two Jamestown Residences, which border Jamestown Road, Hardy Hall and Lemon Hall. Jamestown North will become Hardy Hall and is named in recognition of the late Carroll Hardy HON ’12, a longtime and beloved administrator in student affairs who made an indelible impact on diversity at the university. Jamestown South will become Lemon Hall and is named in memory of an enslaved man owned by William & Mary in the late 18th century and for whom the university’s Lemon Project is named. President Taylor Reveley announced the proposed renaming of the residence halls in a campus-wide message that outlined immediate actions and next steps related to a recent report by the university’s Task Force on Race and Race Relations. “Building names have meaning. It was long past time for African-Americans to be among those whose names grace major buildings on our campus,” Reveley said in his message. “It will be quite wonderful to have Lemon Hall and Hardy Hall in our midst.”