By Sophie Foster
Opinion Editor
Chestertown, historic, quaint, and beloved for its autumnal atmosphere, perpetually finds a place on travel and tourism listings with praise for its environment, according to websites such as Visit Maryland.
What often goes unaddressed, however, are the disturbing undertones of that history, and the foundations on which that quaintness is built.
Both the town and Washington College are flooded with remnants of small-town America’s tumultuous past — most notably, a past that was tremendously and inescapably racist. As a baseline, it should, of course, be unsurprising that a college founded during the height of the American slave trade under the name of a wealthy enslaver shares a role in that dark past. It is not inconceivable that a historic town would rather be known for its ice cream parlors and bakeries than its violent founding.
However, neither WC students nor Chestertown residents can allow themselves to accept this slanted, idyllic portrayal as certain, especially because it is far from accurate even today.
According to previous Elm coverage, in recent years, Black students at the College have experienced targeted drive-by calls of hate speech at crosswalks. Alleged hate groups have popped up in town dialogues, causing concern both for students and for attendees of summer conferences this past July. Accountability initiatives drifted off the radar of administrators and town leaders.
How, then, does one ethically experience a town so steeped in violence, and so apparently unwilling to acknowledge it?
The reality is that many town favorites are unavoidably tied to the town’s turbulent history. Stam’s Luncheonette, for example, is “[l]ocated on the site of a 19th century pharmacy…continuing to carry the torch for a beloved Chestertown landmark,” according to its website.
At the College, meanwhile, several landmarks pay homage to alarming facets of the not-so-distant past.
According to WC’s Asterisk Initiative, which seeks to indicate the context of these locations, “[t]he [WC] History Project has identified several symbols and spaces that reflect the institution’s historic connections to slaveholders.”
These “symbols and spaces” include commemorations to the College’s namesake, the slaveholding George Washington. They also include several high-traction buildings on campus, including William Smith Hall, Martha Washington Square, the Custom House, and the Hynson-Ringgold House, all of which were either named for or built by known enslavers.
According to the Initiative, “Black students at this historically white college have struggled to overcome racial injustices, to build a supportive community among people of color, and to press College leaders to create a campus culture that is safe and welcoming for all people, regardless of race or nationality.”
This being said, it is not entirely impossible to attend the College and interact with the town without explicitly overlooking this reality.
Students and residents — in particular, white students and residents — owe their advocacy. When called on to attend demonstrations in response to injustices, they need to be in attendance. When endeavors akin to the Asterisk Initiative and other similar projects are going underpromoted, they need to be willing to put pressure on administrators and town leaders to do better. It is well beyond time for active listening and persistent engagement.
Additionally, educational opportunities that are presently so often neglected need to be taken and prioritized above all else. Alongside WC’s Asterisk Initiative, there are several endeavors to preserve and emphasize aspects of the town’s past.
Sumner Hall, located on Queen Street downtown, “speaks of important African American experiences, from the time of the U.S. Civil War to the present day,” according to its website. It exists for the explicit purpose of researching and honoring Black history in Chestertown and the broader Kent County.
The Historical Society of Kent County released an edition of The Key to Old Kent devoted to Black history in 2013, outlining concepts of desegregation, Black-owned businesses, freedom riders, and the Uptown Club. This issue is free online.
The Slavery and Freedom at WC endeavor in the late 2010s is also entirely accessible online, detailing efforts to “simply tell the truth.”
The Chesapeake Heartland Project is also a valuable resource. Created as a collaboration between the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington College, and local organizations including Sumner Hall, Kent Cultural Alliance, and Kent County Public Library, its “mission is to preserve, digitize, interpret, and make accessible materials related to African American history and culture in Kent County, MD and beyond,” according to its website.
This is the bottom line of what needs to be borne in mind. Ask difficult questions, interrogate the origins of your expectations, and criticize often. That is the only way to move forward in a town so married to its historicity.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Photo Caption: The Custom House, home to the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, is one of the many locations that is marred by the town’s violent history.