Earlier this month, Agnes Scott College announced it had been awarded a $750,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to fund the “Acknowledging our Past: Acting Now for A Transformed Future” project, an initiative that aims to investigate the physically erased BIPOC individuals involved in the college’s conception.
In their investigation, the college has uncovered several unrecognized people of color involved in the college’s construction.
One “hidden founder” uncovered in the project was Samuel Harper, a craftsman credited with leading the construction of the campus bell tower. Lena Oliver, Harper’s wife, was the daughter of prominent African American Decatur leader Henry Oliver. Commerce Road, which once bore her father’s name, no longer honors his contributions.
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