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Loretta Burwell is a descendant community member and a possible direct descendant of a Bray Student. Loretta is an educator, having taught at several schools and colleges. She taught English literature but focused on black literature and poets. Loretta discusses her joy, pain, and hope on her journey to find her ancestors and her engagement with the William & Mary Bray School Lab. Loretta has done extensive research on her family history and lineage and discusses her journey to the Williamsburg Bray School, and the moment she was contacted by the Bray School Lab 30 years after leaving a card at a library seeking information on her ancestors. Loretta explains her visit to the Williamsburg Bray School and her journey from Atlanta George for Descendants Week, and her visit to Bruton Parish Church to see where her ancestors where baptized in the eighteenth century.

Ann Marie Stock is the Presidential Liaison for Strategic Cultural Partnerships, and a Chancellor Professor in the Modern Languages department at William Mary. She has authored several books and works in Cuban cinema. Ann Marie discusses her journey from the mid-west to Cuba, and her journey to William & Mary. She also discusses the people who shaped her future and her path to Presidential Liaison for Strategic Cultural Partnerships. Ann Marie discusses her thoughts on the move of the Bray School, her special friendship with the donors who made the work possible, and those who have been lost that she carries with her into this project.

This oral history was a follow-up to the oral history interview conducted with Mrs. Liz Montgomery by the Williamsburg Documentary Project on February 22, 2024. Both interviews were conducted by Molly Robinson, with questions developed by Molly Robinson and Michelle Lelièvre. Given the expansive nature of Mrs. Montgomery's first interview, the WDP invited her to conduct a second interview where we could explore in greater depth some of the many fascinating topics she introduced, including her experience as a jazz vocalist touring with Bill Doggett in the 1960's, her work to establish credit unions at Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens, her work as a mother raising children in Williamsburg, and her leadership at the First Baptist Church. Mrs. Montgomery was very generous with her responses and shared details of her life that she had not previously disclosed publicly. She ended her interview by singing (unrehearsed!) a few bars from "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child." The Williamsburg Documentary Project was honored to welcome Mrs. Montgomery and receive the gift of her stories.

Correspondence and other documents relating to the designation of Barracks as a National Historic Landmark in 1966; and the VMI Post as a National Historic Landmark / National Historic District in 1974. The VMI post is on the National Register of Historic Places.