The Center for Mason Legacies (CML) is an interdisciplinary and collaborative research center established by the University Libraries and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Our mission is to preserve and examine the legacy of George Mason IV (1725-1792), his ancestors and heirs, and the people he enslaved.
To accomplish this, we engage student researchers in studying the past and present influences of our university's namesake though a combination of scholarly research, public history, teaching innovation, and community outreach.
“In addressing our namesake’s own complicated history, we have acted with careful intention, by joining a group of universities called “Universities Studying Slavery,” wherein we research the relationship our institutions to slavery, and how we reckon with that past. We have opted to build, learn, and teach in our public spaces, by dedicating an educational memorial to the enslaved men, women and children whom George Mason kept in lifelong, generational bondage even as he fought passionately to establish the Bill of Rights.” Gregory Washington-President of George Mason University
Office of the President, George Mason University, Gregory Washington to All Currently Enrolled students, faculty, staff, and con, 1 July 2020.