CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - The University of Virginia's newest dormitory is being named after a couple who were slaves.
The university's Board of Visitors passed a resolution this week to name the dormitory the Gibbons House in memory of William and Isabella Gibbons.
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Once emancipated, Isabella Gibbons became a teacher at the Freedman's School, now the Jefferson School. Her husband became a minister at Charlottesville's oldest black church, First Baptist.
Construction of the five-story Gibbons House is scheduled for completion this summer. It will house more than 200 first-year students this fall.
U.Va
. President Teresa A. Sullivan said the dormitory naming is part of a broader effort to recognize the role of slavery in the university's history.
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