Walker Lee. Image from The School Ma’am.
The Jim Crow era in the United States lasted close to 100 years. A series of racial segregation laws were instated in the late 19th century, and African Americans found themselves denied basic rights such as voting, holding certain jobs, riding public transportation, and attending schools. Jim Crow laws were named after an antebellum minstrel show character who wore black face and performed dances and songs that degraded African Americans. Jim Crow laws remained in place in many states until the late 1960s. Even when faced with unknown perils of danger, there were so many African Americans who broke down color barriers during the era of Jim Crow and were heroes within their own community. Robert “Walker” Lee was one of them.
James Madison University was established in 1908 as a normal and industrial school for white women, but African Americans were employed here from the beginning. Robert “Walker” Lee, a resident of nearby Bridgewater, Virginia, was employed here from 1909-1929 as part of the janitorial staff. African Americans were legally prohibited from holding many jobs during this period. Railroad porter, domestic worker, and janitor were common jobs, which makes Walker Lee’s job understandable. There are yearbooks and other materials from the 1900s that detail Lee’s interactions with the white students and faculty and describe his work. He was primarily stationed in what was is now called Gabbin Hall* (previously Maury, Maury Science Hall, and Science Hall). Lee seems to have commuted to and from his home on weekends, but lived on campus in a building called the Janitor’s Cottage during the week. Possibly six other African American men lived in the cottage, too. This arrangement was likely done because they were essential staff who had to be available at all hours.
Lee had many different duties. Beyond sweeping hallways and classrooms in Science Hall, the only academic building at that time, he was responsible for maintaining the building, painting walls, polishing woodwork, and repairing fixtures like the modern laboratory and cooking equipment. He regularly moved a partition on the second floor to transform two large classrooms into the auditorium, and rearranged chairs and other furniture for all-campus meetings and events, including minstrel shows performed by students. He may have directed the work of other maintenance workers on the campus, too.
Census records and voter registration documents indicate that he was able to read and write. One could speculate he attended local schools during his childhood. Many African Americans were denied access to education, or were forced to withdraw from school at an early age to help support their families. Though it is unclear in Lee’s case how he became literate, the white students and faculty describe him as being different from other African Americans because of his noticeable literacy. He apparently left “cryptic messages” on chalkboards for them to read in the mornings, when they came in for classes. He also won a local spelling bee.
Lee and his wife, Ida, had strong family ties in this area. Their home, where they raised their seven children, still stands in Bridgewater. The family attended Bridgewater’s historic Ames Church, now known as Bethel AME Church. Lee was also a member of an African American fraternal order that met at a lodge in Harrisonburg.
In 1929, Lee passed away after a year’s illness, and his funeral was attended by the largest crowd ever seen for a Black man during his time. African Americans from the community and white teachers and students from the Normal apparently paid their respects together. Robert “Walker” Lee was a man of dignity, a man who deserves more credit than he is often given. In 2021, his name was attached to Harper Allen-Lee Hall, a dormitory built during the years when he worked on this campus.
*The building’s current name was applied in 2021 in honor of Drs. Joanne and Alexander Gabbin, who are faculty members at JMU who have received acclaim for their groundbreaking and exemplary scholarship and teaching. Joanne Gabbin is a professor of English who founded and directs the Furious Flower Poetry Center at JMU, the nation’s first academic center devoted to Black poetry. Alexander Gabbin is professor and director of the School of Accounting and a founding member of the National Black MBA Association.
Daily News Record, Harrisonburg, V.A.
Original post by G. Gibbs
Select Bibliography:
https://www.facebook.com/JMUCampusHistory/photos/pcb.131278855381649/131274098715458/?type=3&eid=ARC3KcQqbayYibUQE_yvLPcAiQLxvyXMHVnRavtZ_34k5ZAf2LH_NxXh1sao5WWmcr4an6TCp7cAXdMK
http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/jim-crow–version-3-150-verses-american-memory.aspx
https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/jim-crow-laws
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