Nellie Ashford: Reckoning with Familial Ties to Slavery at Davidson College

207 Faculty Drive,Davidson NC 28036

27 April, 2022

Description

The story of two families. One is a descendant of the Davidson family. The other is a descendant of someone enslaved by the Davidson family. In the Fall of 2018, Ebony Hill, a student of Johnson C. Smith University in the class of 2017, and Grace Woodward, a student of Davidson College in the class of 2018, embarked on a research project to explore the genealogy of their families. They uncovered a remarkable truth. Grace Woodward is a direct descendant of a primary benefactor of Davidson College: Major John Davidson. Ebony Hill is a direct descendant of “Robert,” one of three brothers owned and enslaved by the Davidson family. They detailed the story in a research paper published in Dr. Ewoodzie’s Sociology 440 course. The Nellie Ashford Project: Reckoning with Familial Ties to Slavery at Davidson College will resurface the story through the visual lens of Charlotte artist Nellie Ashford, Ebony Hill’s mother, and reckon with the contemporary implications of the institution of slavery: for the families, for Davidson College, for all.