Kent County's African-American history has been coming to light, in part because of the work of students like Elizabeth Clay.
Elizabeth Clay '08 has been awarded the school's Frederick Douglass Fellowship. Now in its third year, the Frederick Douglass Fellowship supports work in African-American studies and related areas. The fellowship, which provides an annual grant of up to $1500 to a sophomore or junior and a $500 honorarium to a faculty mentor paired with the student, is administered through the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.
"The members of the Douglass Fellowship selection committee were very impressed with Elizabeth's proposal to continue her ongoing research into the activities of the federal Freedmen's Bureau in Kent County after the Civil War," said Adam Goodheart, Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the Starr Center.
Clay's initial investigations into the topic resulted in the publication of her piece "Black Patriots on the Eastern Shore" in the anthology Here on the Chester: Washington College Remembers Old Chestertown (Literary House Press, 2006).
"I am very honored to have been chosen for the fellowship," said Clay. "I'm looking forward to doing the research and hopefully being able to contribute something worthwhile about the subject."
As she continues to delve into a hitherto largely overlooked chapter of the region's past, Clay's efforts will be guided by her chosen faculty mentor, Dr. Carol Wilson, associate professor of history. "Kent County's African-American history has been coming to light in recent years, in part because of the work of Washington College students like Elizabeth Clay," said Dr. Wilson.
"I think the Douglass Fellowship is important because it gives students the opportunity to look into subjects in African-American history that otherwise might not be explored," said Clay. "And I am excited to be a part of it!"
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