March 5, 2025 • 15 mins
Inside the Margins back! Our first episode of our relaunch Is about a civil rights activist local to the Western NY area but often gets overshadowed by Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. She is a Brockport NY native, one of the founders of the NAACP and was the first black woman to ever graduate from SUNY Brockport. She even has a building named after her. Her name is Fannie Barrier Williams. I sit down with Academic Success Coordinator and the person who oversees the Fannie Barrier Scholarship program, Jianna Howard. She educates us on the significance of Fannie Barrier Williams and how the program named after her has helped students succeed at SUNY Brockport.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Marginalized groups can be the target of negative beliefs, behaviors,
or judgments from others. On this show, we seek out
marginalized voices and perspectives and tackle some of the conflicts
and issues these groups face. Now is the time to
have your voice heard. This is Inside the Margins.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome and thank you for joining me on Inside the Margins.
My name is Matt Wilson and this is the official
relaunch of Inside the Margins. Obviously, times have change since
the last time we've been on the air, but it's
still important. Actually, it is probably even more important to
tell the stories of marginalized communities and those who have
been underserved. Today, we are going to recognize a special
(00:46):
person in black history. Now, black history in Western New
York is kind of special because we usually think about
two historic names, right, Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubbin. Frederick Douglas,
who escapes slavery in Maryland, as best known for his
leadership in the abolitionist movement and as advocacy of civil rights.
(01:06):
He resided here in Rochester, New York for about twenty
five years of his life, and that's longer than anywhere
else of his life. He considered one of the founders
of the civil rights movement, and his statues of his
likeness are all over Rochester and also the airport has
been renamed and his tombstone is actually here in the
Mount Hope Cemetery, So that's why he's so important to
the Rochester area. The other name that people think about
(01:30):
is Harriet Tubman. So Harriet Tubman who was born on
Moreno Ross and nicknamed Moses, and after escaping slavery in Philadelphia,
Tubbett made some thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved people,
including her family and friends, and using the network of
anti slavery activists and safe houses that were known as
the Underground Railroad, and the Underground Railroad ran through western
(01:53):
New York and parts of Canada. Now, both Frederick Douglass
and Harriet Tubman were crucial parts of the civil rights
movement and pushed endslavery and deserve all the accolades they
have received. But there's another person who was also very
influential to the civil rights movement and it's also local
to the Western New York area. She is rarely mentioned
in African American history, and her name is Francis Barrier Williams.
(02:17):
So Francis Barrier Williams was an American educator, civil rights
and women's rights activist, and was the first black woman
to gain membership to the Chicago Women's Club. So Francis
is better known as Fanny, and she's the youngest of
three children born to Anthony and Harriet Barrier, and her
father was born in Pennsylvania, but came to Brockport, New
York as a child. Janna Howard works at Swinging Brockport
(02:39):
as an academic success coordinator and she oversees the Fanny
Barrier Williams Scholarship program. Jianna explains what makes Fanny Barrier
Williams so special.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
In this role. I oversee the scholarship program in her name,
but I've made it my side quest to let as
many people as I can know about who she was.
So quick summary. Fanny Barrier Williams was a black woman
who was born in Brockport, New York in eighteen fifty five.
She went on to be the first black student to
graduate from what is now Sunny Brockport in eighteen seventy.
(03:09):
Fun quick fact, her sister, Ella Barrier was actually the
second black student to graduate from Brockport. At the time,
it was a teaching school, so people came here to
get bachelor's degrees to go become teachers. So Fanny got
her bachelor's in teaching. She went somewhere in the South
to teach, and it was the first time she really
experienced racism, and she was in the Jim Crow South
and she was like, essentially, oh, nah, we gotta do
(03:31):
something about this. So then she dedicated her life to
civil rights and the upliftment of women and definitely black people.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Not only was Fanning Berry Williams the first black woman
to graduate from the Brockport and Normal School now Sunny Brockport,
Williams was also a founding member of the Ruthus sorority
well at the Normal School in eighteen seventy. Ruth's is
still a local sorority in New York State, now known
as Sigma Gamma Phi, and has four active chapters, all
in different Sunny Chemists. After graduation, Barrier went south to
(04:01):
teach at a school for blacks and Hannibal, Missouri, where
she encountered a level of racism she never experienced in Brockport.
For the first time, she witnessed segregation, intimidation, physical assault,
and other atrocities suffered by many blacks. She reported that
she was shattered by the discrimination she encountered, and this
new awareness of racism targeted towards women of color ultimately
(04:22):
led her to pursue a lifetime of activism. The racism
that she was experiencing ended up being too much, and
Barrier left the South to study piano at the New
England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Even though the
Conservatory had a widespread reach and influenced strong students from
both the North and the South, southern white students objected
to Barrier's presence and she once again was pressured to leave.
(04:43):
Barrier eventually went to the Washington, d C. Area to teach,
joining the emerging education movement, which focused on freed men
and freed women. Unfortunately, she still did continue to face
significant difficulties due to her race, but the education movement
and the community allowed her to socialize and make a
no actions with other educated blacks. While teaching in Washington,
D C. She met her future husband, Samuel Lang Williams.
(05:06):
He worked in the United States Pension Office while studying
law at Colmia University. Later known as George Washington University
Law School. They were married in Brockport in August eighteen
eighty seven, returned to Washington, and eventually settled in Chicago, Illinois,
where Williams was admitted to the Illinois Bar and began
a successful law practice. Fanny's dedication to education led Sunny
(05:28):
Brockport to create the Fanny Burrier Williams Scholarship Program. Janna
Howard explains how the program works.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
The program started in fall of twenty twenty two, so
background info. Before I was even hired in this role.
The college worked with ESL to get a one point
one million dollar grant. This scholarship program had the idea
of helping the students in the middle. I'm saying in
air quotes, so it's the students that you know, students
with amazing grades and are super involved always get the
(05:56):
scholarships and the attention, and the students that need a
little more help get a ton of attention. So they
wanted to do something to benefit students that were in
the middle and the kind of that gray area. So
the scholarship program students had to be from one of
the six counties that ESL represents. They had to show
some kind of financial need or be a first generation student.
Out of the twenty nine that started, I believe twenty
(06:17):
of them were of color, and then like twenty one
were first generation students, so they all kind of mix together.
But the students, it's a gap scholarship, so the students
still apply for their financial aid, They accept their grants
and loans, and then whatever is left on their bill
the scholarship covers. We also cover their books every semester.
When they were freshmen, they moved in a week early
(06:37):
and did a bridge program that I put together to
help them just orient to college, kind of build that
cohort family feel and make a connection with me. I
was their advisor their first semester and I taught them
their Freshman Forum course, and since then they still have
to come meet with me. They're required to meet with
me twice a semester. We keep an eye on their bills, obviously,
all the books and all of those things, but a
(06:58):
lot of them because I've built close connections with them,
they just pop in say hi. They're telling me a
lot of personal things, good bad. They seek me out
when they need guidance, and I've developed close relationships with
a lot of them, So the idea is to give
them this financial assistance but also provide opportunities so they're
like the student leaders on campus. So since they started,
(07:19):
over two thirds of them have an on campus job
or are involved in some kind of club organization. I
have a few that are senators in our Brockport student government.
I had a couple that were orientation leaders. We have
some that were ras for a few different semesters. So
the program is showing to be really well. Their GPAs
have been on average higher than their class each semester,
(07:41):
so I think it's going well.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
In twenty twenty two, the school renamed their Liberal Arts
building in honor of Williams. It's now called the Fanny
Buria Williams Liberal Arts Building. Jiohn explains the importance of
renaming the building and also talks about how the village
of Brockport has designated October sixth as Fanny Buria Williams Day.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
So the same semester that the Fannies all started, which
was Fall twenty twenty two. I believe it was October sixth,
twenty twenty two. The village of Brockport actually labeled at
Fanny Berry Williams Day, the Liberal Arts Building was renamed
the Fanny Barrier Williams Building. It was actually a very
fun day. That's probably one of my favorite memories since
beginning to work here. We had a big celebration. I
(08:20):
spoke at the ceremony, A couple of the students spoke
at the ceremony. They all got to stand and be recognized.
They were all there. They were all wearing their Fanny
Burrier Williams t shirts. It was a lot of fun.
I got to help decorate that day. But yeah, it
was a lot of fun. And they're definitely embodying yeah,
Fanny spirit. So to add some more history about my girl, Fanny,
she was super educated, obviously, she graduated with a bachelor's
(08:42):
degree only a few years after slavery was abolished. She
went on to teach. After she left the South, she
moved to DC, where she met her husband, whose name
was Samuel Lang Williams, who was actually, another fun fact,
one of the first black graduates of what is now
GW Law in DC. They ended up moving to Chicago,
and they were considered black elite, and they were in
a lot of societies and Fanny did a ton of
(09:04):
different things while she was there. I'm blanking and can't
name them all right now, but one of the ones
that's prominent in my mind is she was one of
the people that helped found the NAACP. I just like
saying this stuff because even I graduated from Sunny Brockport
in May of twenty seventeen, and I didn't learn about
who this woman was until after I left here, And
I'm like, she's so amazing, Like how do we not
(09:25):
talk about her, whether it's at the college itself or
just Monroe County, Like she was from Monroe County. You know,
we hear about Frederick Douglass a lot, which amazing man
in his work, but she actually worked with Frederick Douglass,
and she worked with some of these other big figures
and names that we know. She was kind of the
one in the background a little bit, but still had
a huge impact.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
The students who are part of the Fanny Berry Williams
Scholarship Program have become pretty close with one another. Jiohn
explains the bond between her and her Fannies.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
I was big on the Cohort fields, So, like I said,
when they moved in that first week, they did a
program and some of it was informational and getting them
to know the campus as well. But I I really
saw them come together. I forced them, although I think
they loved it. I forced them to do our on
campus ropes course. So it's like a higher ropes course
with different like obstacles they climb, et cetera. But literally
(10:11):
watching them all cheer each other on. And that's when
a lot of them really started like forming friendships and
being excited to see each other. So it makes me
happy too when I look outside my office window and
I see some of them just like walking by, waving
to each other, like getting each other involved in different things.
I one a quick example. I have one of my
students who's a senator right now. They're looking for someone
to elections for next year starting soon. They need somebody
(10:33):
to interview the new candidates, and so the senator student
asked another one of the fannies that's what I call them,
the fannies, asked him like, hey, would you want to
do this? Like I feel like you'd be good at
interviewing people. And he's like, oh, yeah, sounds good, Like
let me know when. So it's cool to see like
the friendship's form and just also the collaboration.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Fanny Barrier Williams, the woman who inspired the scholarship program
at Swingeing Brockport, would have been one hundred and seventy
years old on February twelfth, twenty twenty five. We interviewed
Gianna Howard on that very day, and she and her
Fannies were in the middle of celebrating her birthday. Gianna
explains the importance of recognizing her birthday and the fact
that it happens to be in February, which is recognized
(11:11):
as Black History Month.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
That's been my side quest since I was hired in
this position. It was like, let's get her name out there.
So the past few years we've done things on her birthday.
It's obviously cool that it also falls during Black History Months,
so I can kind of market them together. But the
students are all excited, like this today's event. We actually
threw together pretty quickly. But when I sent the flyer
to the students, I'll be there. I'll be there except
(11:34):
the few that of course have class or they're working
already had prior obligations. I'll be there. I'll have my
T shirt on, like we're good to go. So they're
excited about it too. I think they're excited. Of course,
they're young and they're getting money for college, so that
is exciting for them, and I understand, but I do
think they're also excited to hear about Fanny and learn
more things about her and tell other people about her.
(11:55):
So this past spring semester, they made it halfway through college.
So the Fannies are all now, and I got them
all hoodies to celebrate. So it's just a hoodie with
Fanny's face on it. We got them in green and gold,
and I only had a certain number made, like enough
for the students and a few of our staff members here.
And I just know they've told me like, oh, my
friends keep asking me where I can get the hoodie
(12:16):
and that I'm like, well, it's exclusive. But one of
the things I told I'm like, yo, when your friends
ask you, you got to tell them who this woman is.
And they're like, we will.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Joanna was asked what are some takeaways that the listeners
should have after this episode airs.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
She is a very prominent black historical figure as well,
and there are so many others and I'm sure I
don't even know about that have done all these amazing
things that we don't know about. And so I hope
that people in the Rochester area and like I said,
Monroe County take the time to learn a little more
about her. She has a Wikipedia page, there's a book
that was written about her, actually a few books. If
(12:52):
you search her on YouTube, there's tons of information. But
she's a very interesting person to learn about. In addition
to all of these like organization she was part of
and all these changes she made, she also studied portraiture
and she used to paint portraits, and she knew like
three languages, which is amazing even today in twenty twenty five.
If somebody had all of those skills, that'd be amazing.
But this was a black woman who was doing it
(13:14):
in the eighteen hundreds, So just think about that. She
was amazing and all of that shows that she was.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
On March fourth, nineteen forty four, Fanny Barry Williams died
after a long illness. She was buried at the Brockport
Cemetery on March fourteenth, nineteen forty four, at two pm.
She was survived by her sister, Ella D. Barrier, who
died a year later. Just like Fanny's magnificent life. The
scholarship program will also eventually come to an end. Gianna
(13:42):
talks about what she hopes the future of the program
will be.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
We didn't get a second cohort just yet. I know
Sarah Kelly, who's one of the vps of our college,
has been working to do so, applying to different grants
and programs in hopes that we can bring in some
more Fannies. I do hope the program continues to grow,
whether I'm here or not. I already have ideas of
how the program could be better, how to get them
more engaged in more developmental opportunities. So that'd be amazing
(14:09):
if we got second cohort and could employ some of
those things.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Fanny Barrier Williams distinguished herself as an artist, a scholar,
and an activist. Associating with both Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington.
She represented the viewpoint of Black Americans in the Illinois
Women's Alliance and lectured frequently on the need of all women,
but especially black women, to have the vote. Her women's
rights was recognized when she was the only Black American
(14:34):
selected to eulogize Susan B. Anthony at the nineteen oh
seven National American Women's Suffrage Association Convention. Barriel Williams helped
found the National League of Colored Women in eighteen ninety
three and a successor, the National Association of Colored Women,
the NACW, in eighteen ninety six. She was also among
(14:55):
the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, also known as the NAACP, and work with
Mary Church Terrell to create the National Federation of Afro
American Women in eighteen ninety five. So next year, during
the Black History Month, of course, we should celebrate the
legacies of Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman, but be sure
(15:15):
to recognize what Fanny Burry Williams did to advance Black
Americans and women's rights. I'm at Wilson for Inside the
Margins
Marginalized groups can be the target of negative beliefs, behaviors,
or judgments from others. On this show, we seek out
marginalized voices and perspectives and tackle some of the conflicts
and issues these groups face. Now is the time to
have your voice heard. This is Inside the Margins.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome and thank you for joining me on Inside the Margins.
My name is Matt Wilson and this is the official
relaunch of Inside the Margins. Obviously, times have change since
the last time we've been on the air, but it's
still important. Actually, it is probably even more important to
tell the stories of marginalized communities and those who have
been underserved. Today, we are going to recognize a special
(00:46):
person in black history. Now, black history in Western New
York is kind of special because we usually think about
two historic names, right, Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubbin. Frederick Douglas,
who escapes slavery in Maryland, as best known for his
leadership in the abolitionist movement and as advocacy of civil rights.
(01:06):
He resided here in Rochester, New York for about twenty
five years of his life, and that's longer than anywhere
else of his life. He considered one of the founders
of the civil rights movement, and his statues of his
likeness are all over Rochester and also the airport has
been renamed and his tombstone is actually here in the
Mount Hope Cemetery, So that's why he's so important to
the Rochester area. The other name that people think about
(01:30):
is Harriet Tubman. So Harriet Tubman who was born on
Moreno Ross and nicknamed Moses, and after escaping slavery in Philadelphia,
Tubbett made some thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved people,
including her family and friends, and using the network of
anti slavery activists and safe houses that were known as
the Underground Railroad, and the Underground Railroad ran through western
(01:53):
New York and parts of Canada. Now, both Frederick Douglass
and Harriet Tubman were crucial parts of the civil rights
movement and pushed endslavery and deserve all the accolades they
have received. But there's another person who was also very
influential to the civil rights movement and it's also local
to the Western New York area. She is rarely mentioned
in African American history, and her name is Francis Barrier Williams.
(02:17):
So Francis Barrier Williams was an American educator, civil rights
and women's rights activist, and was the first black woman
to gain membership to the Chicago Women's Club. So Francis
is better known as Fanny, and she's the youngest of
three children born to Anthony and Harriet Barrier, and her
father was born in Pennsylvania, but came to Brockport, New
York as a child. Janna Howard works at Swinging Brockport
(02:39):
as an academic success coordinator and she oversees the Fanny
Barrier Williams Scholarship program. Jianna explains what makes Fanny Barrier
Williams so special.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
In this role. I oversee the scholarship program in her name,
but I've made it my side quest to let as
many people as I can know about who she was.
So quick summary. Fanny Barrier Williams was a black woman
who was born in Brockport, New York in eighteen fifty five.
She went on to be the first black student to
graduate from what is now Sunny Brockport in eighteen seventy.
(03:09):
Fun quick fact, her sister, Ella Barrier was actually the
second black student to graduate from Brockport. At the time,
it was a teaching school, so people came here to
get bachelor's degrees to go become teachers. So Fanny got
her bachelor's in teaching. She went somewhere in the South
to teach, and it was the first time she really
experienced racism, and she was in the Jim Crow South
and she was like, essentially, oh, nah, we gotta do
(03:31):
something about this. So then she dedicated her life to
civil rights and the upliftment of women and definitely black people.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Not only was Fanning Berry Williams the first black woman
to graduate from the Brockport and Normal School now Sunny Brockport,
Williams was also a founding member of the Ruthus sorority
well at the Normal School in eighteen seventy. Ruth's is
still a local sorority in New York State, now known
as Sigma Gamma Phi, and has four active chapters, all
in different Sunny Chemists. After graduation, Barrier went south to
(04:01):
teach at a school for blacks and Hannibal, Missouri, where
she encountered a level of racism she never experienced in Brockport.
For the first time, she witnessed segregation, intimidation, physical assault,
and other atrocities suffered by many blacks. She reported that
she was shattered by the discrimination she encountered, and this
new awareness of racism targeted towards women of color ultimately
(04:22):
led her to pursue a lifetime of activism. The racism
that she was experiencing ended up being too much, and
Barrier left the South to study piano at the New
England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Even though the
Conservatory had a widespread reach and influenced strong students from
both the North and the South, southern white students objected
to Barrier's presence and she once again was pressured to leave.
(04:43):
Barrier eventually went to the Washington, d C. Area to teach,
joining the emerging education movement, which focused on freed men
and freed women. Unfortunately, she still did continue to face
significant difficulties due to her race, but the education movement
and the community allowed her to socialize and make a
no actions with other educated blacks. While teaching in Washington,
D C. She met her future husband, Samuel Lang Williams.
(05:06):
He worked in the United States Pension Office while studying
law at Colmia University. Later known as George Washington University
Law School. They were married in Brockport in August eighteen
eighty seven, returned to Washington, and eventually settled in Chicago, Illinois,
where Williams was admitted to the Illinois Bar and began
a successful law practice. Fanny's dedication to education led Sunny
(05:28):
Brockport to create the Fanny Burrier Williams Scholarship Program. Janna
Howard explains how the program works.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
The program started in fall of twenty twenty two, so
background info. Before I was even hired in this role.
The college worked with ESL to get a one point
one million dollar grant. This scholarship program had the idea
of helping the students in the middle. I'm saying in
air quotes, so it's the students that you know, students
with amazing grades and are super involved always get the
(05:56):
scholarships and the attention, and the students that need a
little more help get a ton of attention. So they
wanted to do something to benefit students that were in
the middle and the kind of that gray area. So
the scholarship program students had to be from one of
the six counties that ESL represents. They had to show
some kind of financial need or be a first generation student.
Out of the twenty nine that started, I believe twenty
(06:17):
of them were of color, and then like twenty one
were first generation students, so they all kind of mix together.
But the students, it's a gap scholarship, so the students
still apply for their financial aid, They accept their grants
and loans, and then whatever is left on their bill
the scholarship covers. We also cover their books every semester.
When they were freshmen, they moved in a week early
(06:37):
and did a bridge program that I put together to
help them just orient to college, kind of build that
cohort family feel and make a connection with me. I
was their advisor their first semester and I taught them
their Freshman Forum course, and since then they still have
to come meet with me. They're required to meet with
me twice a semester. We keep an eye on their bills, obviously,
all the books and all of those things, but a
(06:58):
lot of them because I've built close connections with them,
they just pop in say hi. They're telling me a
lot of personal things, good bad. They seek me out
when they need guidance, and I've developed close relationships with
a lot of them, So the idea is to give
them this financial assistance but also provide opportunities so they're
like the student leaders on campus. So since they started,
(07:19):
over two thirds of them have an on campus job
or are involved in some kind of club organization. I
have a few that are senators in our Brockport student government.
I had a couple that were orientation leaders. We have
some that were ras for a few different semesters. So
the program is showing to be really well. Their GPAs
have been on average higher than their class each semester,
(07:41):
so I think it's going well.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
In twenty twenty two, the school renamed their Liberal Arts
building in honor of Williams. It's now called the Fanny
Buria Williams Liberal Arts Building. Jiohn explains the importance of
renaming the building and also talks about how the village
of Brockport has designated October sixth as Fanny Buria Williams Day.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
So the same semester that the Fannies all started, which
was Fall twenty twenty two. I believe it was October sixth,
twenty twenty two. The village of Brockport actually labeled at
Fanny Berry Williams Day, the Liberal Arts Building was renamed
the Fanny Barrier Williams Building. It was actually a very
fun day. That's probably one of my favorite memories since
beginning to work here. We had a big celebration. I
(08:20):
spoke at the ceremony, A couple of the students spoke
at the ceremony. They all got to stand and be recognized.
They were all there. They were all wearing their Fanny
Burrier Williams t shirts. It was a lot of fun.
I got to help decorate that day. But yeah, it
was a lot of fun. And they're definitely embodying yeah,
Fanny spirit. So to add some more history about my girl, Fanny,
she was super educated, obviously, she graduated with a bachelor's
(08:42):
degree only a few years after slavery was abolished. She
went on to teach. After she left the South, she
moved to DC, where she met her husband, whose name
was Samuel Lang Williams, who was actually, another fun fact,
one of the first black graduates of what is now
GW Law in DC. They ended up moving to Chicago,
and they were considered black elite, and they were in
a lot of societies and Fanny did a ton of
(09:04):
different things while she was there. I'm blanking and can't
name them all right now, but one of the ones
that's prominent in my mind is she was one of
the people that helped found the NAACP. I just like
saying this stuff because even I graduated from Sunny Brockport
in May of twenty seventeen, and I didn't learn about
who this woman was until after I left here, And
I'm like, she's so amazing, Like how do we not
(09:25):
talk about her, whether it's at the college itself or
just Monroe County, Like she was from Monroe County. You know,
we hear about Frederick Douglass a lot, which amazing man
in his work, but she actually worked with Frederick Douglass,
and she worked with some of these other big figures
and names that we know. She was kind of the
one in the background a little bit, but still had
a huge impact.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
The students who are part of the Fanny Berry Williams
Scholarship Program have become pretty close with one another. Jiohn
explains the bond between her and her Fannies.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
I was big on the Cohort fields, So, like I said,
when they moved in that first week, they did a
program and some of it was informational and getting them
to know the campus as well. But I I really
saw them come together. I forced them, although I think
they loved it. I forced them to do our on
campus ropes course. So it's like a higher ropes course
with different like obstacles they climb, et cetera. But literally
(10:11):
watching them all cheer each other on. And that's when
a lot of them really started like forming friendships and
being excited to see each other. So it makes me
happy too when I look outside my office window and
I see some of them just like walking by, waving
to each other, like getting each other involved in different things.
I one a quick example. I have one of my
students who's a senator right now. They're looking for someone
to elections for next year starting soon. They need somebody
(10:33):
to interview the new candidates, and so the senator student
asked another one of the fannies that's what I call them,
the fannies, asked him like, hey, would you want to
do this? Like I feel like you'd be good at
interviewing people. And he's like, oh, yeah, sounds good, Like
let me know when. So it's cool to see like
the friendship's form and just also the collaboration.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Fanny Barrier Williams, the woman who inspired the scholarship program
at Swingeing Brockport, would have been one hundred and seventy
years old on February twelfth, twenty twenty five. We interviewed
Gianna Howard on that very day, and she and her
Fannies were in the middle of celebrating her birthday. Gianna
explains the importance of recognizing her birthday and the fact
that it happens to be in February, which is recognized
(11:11):
as Black History Month.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
That's been my side quest since I was hired in
this position. It was like, let's get her name out there.
So the past few years we've done things on her birthday.
It's obviously cool that it also falls during Black History Months,
so I can kind of market them together. But the
students are all excited, like this today's event. We actually
threw together pretty quickly. But when I sent the flyer
to the students, I'll be there. I'll be there except
(11:34):
the few that of course have class or they're working
already had prior obligations. I'll be there. I'll have my
T shirt on, like we're good to go. So they're
excited about it too. I think they're excited. Of course,
they're young and they're getting money for college, so that
is exciting for them, and I understand, but I do
think they're also excited to hear about Fanny and learn
more things about her and tell other people about her.
(11:55):
So this past spring semester, they made it halfway through college.
So the Fannies are all now, and I got them
all hoodies to celebrate. So it's just a hoodie with
Fanny's face on it. We got them in green and gold,
and I only had a certain number made, like enough
for the students and a few of our staff members here.
And I just know they've told me like, oh, my
friends keep asking me where I can get the hoodie
(12:16):
and that I'm like, well, it's exclusive. But one of
the things I told I'm like, yo, when your friends
ask you, you got to tell them who this woman is.
And they're like, we will.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Joanna was asked what are some takeaways that the listeners
should have after this episode airs.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
She is a very prominent black historical figure as well,
and there are so many others and I'm sure I
don't even know about that have done all these amazing
things that we don't know about. And so I hope
that people in the Rochester area and like I said,
Monroe County take the time to learn a little more
about her. She has a Wikipedia page, there's a book
that was written about her, actually a few books. If
(12:52):
you search her on YouTube, there's tons of information. But
she's a very interesting person to learn about. In addition
to all of these like organization she was part of
and all these changes she made, she also studied portraiture
and she used to paint portraits, and she knew like
three languages, which is amazing even today in twenty twenty five.
If somebody had all of those skills, that'd be amazing.
But this was a black woman who was doing it
(13:14):
in the eighteen hundreds, So just think about that. She
was amazing and all of that shows that she was.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
On March fourth, nineteen forty four, Fanny Barry Williams died
after a long illness. She was buried at the Brockport
Cemetery on March fourteenth, nineteen forty four, at two pm.
She was survived by her sister, Ella D. Barrier, who
died a year later. Just like Fanny's magnificent life. The
scholarship program will also eventually come to an end. Gianna
(13:42):
talks about what she hopes the future of the program
will be.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
We didn't get a second cohort just yet. I know
Sarah Kelly, who's one of the vps of our college,
has been working to do so, applying to different grants
and programs in hopes that we can bring in some
more Fannies. I do hope the program continues to grow,
whether I'm here or not. I already have ideas of
how the program could be better, how to get them
more engaged in more developmental opportunities. So that'd be amazing
(14:09):
if we got second cohort and could employ some of
those things.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Fanny Barrier Williams distinguished herself as an artist, a scholar,
and an activist. Associating with both Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington.
She represented the viewpoint of Black Americans in the Illinois
Women's Alliance and lectured frequently on the need of all women,
but especially black women, to have the vote. Her women's
rights was recognized when she was the only Black American
(14:34):
selected to eulogize Susan B. Anthony at the nineteen oh
seven National American Women's Suffrage Association Convention. Barriel Williams helped
found the National League of Colored Women in eighteen ninety
three and a successor, the National Association of Colored Women,
the NACW, in eighteen ninety six. She was also among
(14:55):
the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, also known as the NAACP, and work with
Mary Church Terrell to create the National Federation of Afro
American Women in eighteen ninety five. So next year, during
the Black History Month, of course, we should celebrate the
legacies of Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman, but be sure
(15:15):
to recognize what Fanny Burry Williams did to advance Black
Americans and women's rights. I'm at Wilson for Inside the
Margins
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