Madeline Gee
Embedded Files
Bruton Heights School Faculty, Madeline Gee - front row, third from left
Photo courtesy: Albert W. Durant Collection, Visual Resources, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library,
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Ms. Madeline Gee provided these reflections as part of the Oral History Community Nights hosted by Colonial Williamsburg during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The clips are excerpts from The Freedom Years, one of several films produced from these oral history nights. The full film can be viewed here.
Film Credit: Media Collections, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Ms. Gee describes her experiences of racism when she worked cleaning homes and altering clothes before becoming a teacher.
Ms. Gee reflects on school integration in Williamsburg and recalls the school superintendent making his opposition to integration clear.
Film Credit: Media Collecti.
Ms. Gee discusses the white teachers that entered the Black elementary and junior high schools during the early years of integration.
Ms. Gee explains how white teachers misunderstood Black children when the schools integrated and imposed strict - and inappropriate - discipline.
Ms. Gee discusses one benefit of school integration: understanding white people better.
Ms. Gee explains the need for teachers to be trained in communication with students.
Ms. Gee describes pushback when Principal D.J. Montague wanted to set up an honors society at Bruton Heights School.
Ms. Gee describes the College overworking young Black students while not letting them use the library.
Ms. Gee explains how people worried they would lose their jobs if they challenged segregation.
Ms. Gee recalls slow progress on racial issues at William & Mary.
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