Davidson College Honors Black Workers with Bronze Sculpture

The massive hands represent generations of Black laborers who built and maintained the campus for low wages.

Published on Feb. 27, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

Davidson College in North Carolina has unveiled a powerful new sculpture titled 'With These Hands' to honor the century of Black men and women who labored on the campus, building and maintaining the college while being denied the education it offered. The massive bronze hands represent the worn, tired hands of these low-wage workers, some of whom were even enslaved. The sculpture serves as a tribute and recognition for these previously unacknowledged workers, whose fingerprints still mark the bricks of many campus buildings.

Why it matters

For decades, Davidson College benefited from the labor of Black workers who were denied the opportunity to attend the school themselves. This sculpture represents an important step in the college acknowledging and atoning for this painful history of injustice.

The details

The sculpture features massive bronze hands that symbolize the generations of Black men and women whose physical labor shaped the Davidson College campus. Every worn line and detail in the hands represents the low-wage workers, some of whom were not paid at all, who toiled for hours in extreme conditions to build classrooms, dormitories and other facilities for white students. The bricks of many campus buildings still bear the fingerprints of enslaved workers who were forced to construct the very spaces they could not enter.

  • For more than six decades, Bernice Torrence Houston labored at Davidson College as a cook, cleaner and chauffeur.
  • In 2020, Davidson College formally apologized for the injustices faced by its Black workers over the decades.

The players

Bernice Torrence Houston

A 100-year-old woman who worked at Davidson College for over six decades as a cook, cleaner and chauffeur, often for very low wages.

Ruby

The daughter of Bernice Torrence Houston, who worked as a babysitter for campus faculty but could not attend Davidson College because her parents could not afford it.

Dr. Hilary Green

A professor of Africana Studies at Davidson College who says the sculpture serves as recognition for workers who previously went unacknowledged.

Davidson College

A private liberal arts college in North Carolina that is acknowledging and atoning for the painful history of injustice faced by its Black workers over the decades.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“They just make cold chills go through. I never did think I'd see them.”

— Bernice Torrence Houston (WBTV)

“Tears just started rolling down my eyes. I got really emotional of the history that lays with these hands. The work, the hard labor, the injustices. And now there's progress. We're not there, we got a long way to go.”

— Ruby (WBTV)

“It's the best tribute to the men and women who went in the background without any acknowledgement. And it's just such a strong symbol when you see it... these are strong, but you can tell they're tired and withered hands.”

— Dr. Hilary Green, Professor of Africana Studies (WBTV)

“As a result of these hands that built the college, I hope the descendants of these hands get to be a part of this college much better than when I was growing up.”

— Bernice Torrence Houston (WBTV)

What’s next

The Oak Row Museum, located directly across from the statue, features exhibits that pay tribute to the workers, including more than 500 names and information on each worker, including Bernice Torrence Houston.

The takeaway

This sculpture serves as an important acknowledgment of the painful history of injustice faced by generations of Black workers who labored to build and maintain Davidson College, while being denied the education it offered. It is a powerful symbol of progress, but also a reminder that there is still much work to be done to fully reckon with this legacy.