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I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN. WELCOME TO MATTER OF FACT. TODAY WE START IN THE MIDWEST CITY OF POSTVILLE, IOWA. PEOPLE WERE GONE AFRAID. YEARS AGO. IT WAS THE SITE OF ONE OF THE LARGEST IMMIGRATION RAIDS IN RECENT U.S. HISTORY. MANY BUSINESSES CLOSED, WHETHER THEY’RE RIGHT OR LEFT, SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE. I THINK JUST ABOUT EVERYONE ACKNOWLEDGES HOW TERRIBLE IT WAS FOR OUR COMMUNITY. LESSONS FROM A TOWN AT THE HEART OF A MASS DEPORTATION. PLUS, MEDICAID REQUIREMENTS CAN BE OVERWHELMING. IF YOU’VE SEEN ONE MEDICAID PROGRAM, YOU’VE SEEN ONE MEDICAID PROGRAM. EVERY STATE REALLY IMPLEMENTS THE PROGRAM IN DIFFERENT WAYS. THIS EXPERT EXPLAINS HOW THE PROGRAM IS CHANGING AND WHY THE IMPACT COULD BE FELT BEYOND HEALTH CARE. AND THIS PROFESSOR HAS A WARNING. THEY THINK WE ARE SPIES FOR CHINA. HIS CONCERN ABOUT THE FUTURE OF RESEARCH IN AMERICA AMID INCREASED GOVERNMENT SCRUTINY OF CHINESE AMERICAN SCHOLARS. THOSE STORIES RIGHT NOW ON MATTER OF FACT. AS OF MID JUNE, 56,000 PEOPLE WERE IN ICE DETENTION. IT’S AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 16,000 PEOPLE FROM LAST JANUARY. ICE CONTINUES TO CARRY OUT IMMIGRATION RAIDS IN CITIES AND COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. BUT WHAT HAPPENS IN THE MONTHS AND YEARS AFTER A MASS RAID? 17 YEARS AGO, POSTVILLE, IOWA, A CITY OF ABOUT 2500 PEOPLE, WAS THE SITE OF WHAT WAS THEN THE LARGEST SINGLE RAID IN U.S. HISTORY. OUR CORRESPONDENT, JESS GOMEZ TRAVELED TO POSTVILLE, WHERE SOME IN THE QUIET COMMUNITY SAY THEY ARE STILL FEELING THE AFTERSHOCKS. SUMMERTIME IN POSTVILLE, IOWA, A RURAL COMMUNITY POWERED MOSTLY BY AGRICULTURE AND ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST KOSHER MEAT PROCESSING PLANTS. IT’S A PLACE WHERE YOU’LL SEE A CHURCH, A SYNAGOGUE AND A MOSQUE ALL ON THE SAME STREET. THE DIVERSITY HERE LEADING TO POSTVILLE SLOGAN HOMETOWN TO THE WORLD. YEAH, IT’S READY FOR SOME PIZZA. MOM OF FIVE CASEY JOHNSON AND HER FAMILY’S NEWEST ADDITION, 11 YEAR OLD EDWIN. I DON’T KNOW WHAT LIFE IS LIKE WITHOUT HIM. IS HE LIVING? YES IT IS. CASEY TOOK TEMPORARY CUSTODY OF EDWIN IN MARCH AFTER HIS FATHER FROM HONDURAS, WHO HAD AN IMMIGRATION CASE PENDING, WAS ARRESTED. HE’S SERVING TIME FOR USING FRAUDULENT DOCUMENTS TO WORK AT THE MEAT PROCESSING PLANT. IT WAS MORE OR LESS. HE RAN TO MY ARMS BECAUSE HE RECOGNIZED ME FROM SCHOOL. ME AND MY LITTLE BROTHER. YOU AND YOUR LITTLE BROTHER. EDWIN’S MOTHER AND BROTHER. STILL IN HONDURAS. WHEN I TOOK HIM UPSTAIRS TO HIS ROOM, HE SLEPT WITH THE LIGHT ON. HE WOULD BARRICADED HIMSELF INSIDE SO THE BAD PEOPLE WOULDN’T COME GET HIM. UNEASE SHARED BY MANY IN POSTVILLE WORRIED THAT HISTORY MIGHT REPEAT ITSELF. MY HEART IS REALLY BREAKING. IT WAS THE SCENE OF THE LARGEST WORKPLACE IMMIGRATION RAID IN U.S. HISTORY. IN 2008. NEARLY 400 PEOPLE AT THE MEAT PROCESSING PLANT, THEN UNDER DIFFERENT OWNERSHIP, WERE ARRESTED, AND NEARLY 300 DEPORTED. OKAY. THANK YOU. BARBARA. HERZMANN, WHO VOLUNTEERS AT THE POSTVILLE FOOD PANTRY, WAS A TEACHER AT THE TIME. FATHER AND MOTHER CAME TO PICK UP THEIR SON, AND I NEVER SAW HIM AGAIN. HE WAS GONE. AND AUTO MECHANIC GIORA ABBAS AND ISRAELI IMMIGRANT WORKED FOR THE PLANT IN TRANSPORTATION. I DIDN’T HAVE ANY WORK, YOU KNOW, I USED TO BE BUSY. WE USED TO BE LIKE FIVE PEOPLE DRIVING AROUND. AND IN ONE DAY, THAT’S IT. ZERO HOMES WERE EMPTIED OVERNIGHT AND BUSINESSES SHUT DOWN, SOME FOR GOOD. THE PLANT WENT BANKRUPT. DINARS USED TO BE YOU COULD GO DOWNTOWN 24 OVER SEVEN AND THERE WAS ACTIVITY ALL OVER. AFTER THE RAID, NOBODY. AND WE WENT TO GUANAJUATO. BOB SCHRADER, A FORMER POSTVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, MET HIS WIFE BLANCA ON A GOODWILL MISSION TO MEXICO. YEARS BEFORE THE 2008 RAID, COMPANIES HERE, THEY ALREADY HAD POSTERS OUT IN MEXICO TELLING THE PEOPLE TO COME HERE FOR WORK. THEY PRETEND THAT WE ARE A REALLY BAD PEOPLE. LAURA CASTILLO WAS ARRESTED IN THE RAID AND THEY PUT SOMETHING HERE IN YOUR DISK, AND YOU HAVE TO WALK LIKE THAT. LAURA RODRIGUEZ, AFTER SIX MONTHS IN JAIL AND YEARS OF WAITING, CASTILLO FINALLY BECAME A U.S. CITIZEN. TODAY, SHE WORKS FOR A NONPROFIT THAT HELPS THOSE IN NEED, INCLUDING POSTVILLE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY. I KNOW IT’S NO IT’S NO GOOD TO WORK WITH THAT DOCUMENTS. IT’S A FELONY. BUT NOT EVERYBODY IS A BAD PEOPLE. JUST ABOUT EVERYONE ACKNOWLEDGES HOW TERRIBLE IT WAS FOR OUR COMMUNITY. KRYSTAL DUFFY IS THE DIRECTOR OF POSTVILLE COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. SHE SAYS IT TOOK YEARS FOR THE SMALL TOWN TO RECOVER FROM THE RAID, AND IT WASN’T AMERICAN BORN WORKER, SHE SAYS, WHO FILLED MOST OF THE JOBS LEFT VACANT. THE REALITY OF THE ECONOMY IN THIS COMMUNITY IS THAT IT’S ACTUALLY THE IMMIGRANTS DRIVING IT, FOR THE MOST PART. YOU’RE WELCOME. DUFFY ALSO RUNS THE LOCAL LIBRARY, WHICH HAS BECOME A HUB FOR THE CITY’S HEART AND SOUL PROGRAM, PART OF A NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO RESIDENTS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES. THE NUMBER ONE RESPONSE WE GOT WHEN WE ASKED WHAT PEOPLE LOVED ABOUT POSTVILLE WAS THE DIVERSITY. HE JUST KIND OF IS ONE OF US. CASEY JOHNSON AND HER FAMILY ARE EMBRACING. BUT WHEN A GAME OF SOCCER WITH A FRIEND. IS INTERRUPTED BY A RARE PHONE CALL WITH BOTH OF EDWARDS PARENTS, IT’S A STARK REMINDER OF AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE. I CAN LOOK AT HIM AND SAY, OH, YOU’RE GOING TO BE JUST FINE, BUT DOES HE KNOW THAT IN HIS HEART, I’M NOT SURE. IN POSTVILLE, IOWA, FOR MATTER OF FACT, I’M JESSICA GOMEZ. NEXT ON MATTER OF FACT, NEW MEDICAID REQUIREMENTS ON THE HORIZON. THESE ARE NOT JUST WORK AND EXEMPTION REQUIREMENTS. THE ADDITIONAL STEPS MANY RECIPIENTS WILL NEED TO START TAKING TO KEEP COVERAGE. AND THESE ARE NOT WHAT WE CONSIDER CLASSIC SPY CASES. WE LOOK BACK AT THE RESULTS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S 2018 CHINA INITIATIVE. PLUS, THE BIG CHANGE CLEAN UP CREWS ALONG AMERICA’S BEACHES HAVE NOTICED. YOU’RE WATCHING. MATTER OF FACT, AMERICA’S NUMBER ONE NATIONALLY SYNDICATED PUBLIC AFFAIRS NEWS MAGAZINE. MEDICAID IS COMPLEX. IT’S GOT ITS OWN SET OF RULES AND COSTS. IT VARIES BY STATE, AND PLANS CAN GO BY DIFFERENT NAMES, MEANING SOME PEOPLE MIGHT NOT EVEN KNOW THEY’RE ON MEDICAID. STILL, IT’S THE LARGEST SINGLE SOURCE OF HEALTH CARE, PROVIDING COVERAGE TO 1 IN 5 AMERICANS. THAT’S MORE THAN 71 MILLION PEOPLE. SO WHO ARE THOSE PEOPLE? AND WHAT’S CHANGING UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NEW SPENDING BILL? ROBIN RUDOWITZ IS THE VICE PRESIDENT OF KFF, ALSO DIRECTOR FOR ITS PROGRAM ON MEDICAID AND THE UNINSURED. ROBIN, THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. TELL ME HOW WE GOT TO MEDICAID IN THE UNITED STATES. IT WAS CREATED IN 1965 AT THE SAME TIME AS THE MEDICARE PROGRAM, AND MEDICAID WAS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE TO INDIVIDUALS WITH LOW INCOMES AND LIMITED RESOURCES. THERE’S THIS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STATES AND THE FEDS WHEN IT COMES TO HOW MEDICAID IS ACTUALLY FUNDED AND IMPLEMENTED. THE FINANCING IS SHARED, STATES DESIGN THEIR PROGRAMS WITHIN THESE BROAD FEDERAL RULES. SO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT LEVEL OF COVERAGE AND HOW TO PAY PROVIDERS. AND THEN THEY DRAW DOWN WHAT’S CALLED A MATCH FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. SO THAT MATCH RANGES ACROSS STATES BASED ON THE STATES INCOME LEVELS. SO STATES THAT HAVE LOWER PER CAPITA INCOME, LIKE MISSISSIPPI, HAS A HIGHER FEDERAL SHARE THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REIMBURSES THE STATE FOR. WHAT WERE SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES THAT WERE MADE UNDER THIS NEW BILL THAT WAS BROUGHT FORTH BY BOTH PRESIDENT TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS? THE PROVISIONS IN THE BILL WOULD REDUCE FEDERAL MEDICAID SPENDING JUST OVER $1 TRILLION. SO THAT IS A LARGE AMOUNT OF REDUCTION IN FEDERAL DOLLARS IN THE OVERALL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. AND WHAT IS GOING TO STATES. BUT THE BIGGEST CHANGES ARE RELATED TO REQUIRING STATES TO IMPOSE WORK REQUIREMENTS ON THEIR AFFORDABLE CARE ACT EXPANSION POPULATION. SO THEN WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE, FOR THE MOMENT, UNABLE TO WORK? WHEN YOU LOOK AT THOSE WHO ARE NOT WORKING, MOST SAY THEY’RE NOT WORKING BECAUSE THEY HAVE SOME BARRIER TO WORK. EITHER THEY HAVE AN ILLNESS OR DISABILITY, THEY HAVE CARETAKING RESPONSIBILITIES. SO THESE NEW REQUIREMENTS REQUIRE INDIVIDUALS TO BE WORKING 80 HOURS PER MONTH OR HAVE ANOTHER QUALIFYING ACTIVITY. BUT THESE ARE REALLY ALSO REPORTING REQUIREMENTS BECAUSE OFTEN THE STATE MIGHT NOT KNOW THAT AN INDIVIDUAL IS WORKING. AND WE KNOW FROM OTHER EXPERIENCE, IT’S OFTEN DIFFICULT FOR INDIVIDUALS TO PROVIDE THAT THAT DOCUMENTATION OR THAT REPORTING. WHAT’S THE IMPACT POSSIBLY ON STATE GOVERNMENTS? STATES ARE LIKELY TO RESPOND TO THE CHANGES AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL IN DIFFERENT WAYS. STATES OFTEN NEED TO BALANCE THEIR BUDGETS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. SO STATES MIGHT NEED TO MAKE SOME HARD DECISIONS ABOUT WHO THEY COVER, AND ALSO LOOK AT WHAT KINDS OF COVERAGE IN TERMS OF BENEFITS AND SERVICES ARE COVERED. SO THEY COULD EITHER MAKE CHANGES TO THE MEDICAID PROGRAM OR MAKE CHANGES TO OTHER PIECES OF THEIR BUDGET. OF COURSE, THE LARGEST PIECE OF STATE BUDGETS IS USUALLY ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION, SO THAT IS DIFFICULT TO MAKE CHANGES TO. AND THE OTHER OPTION, OF COURSE, IS TO RAISE REVENUES AT THE STATE LEVEL. BUT THAT IS ALSO QUITE UNPOPULAR TO RAISE TAXES AT THE STATE LEVEL. ROBIN RUDOWITZ, VICE PRESIDENT OF CO. THANKS, ROBIN. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. COMING UP, THE STATE DEPARTMENT’S WARNING TO POTENTIAL SCHOLARS FROM CHINA AND THE IMPACT IT COULD HAVE ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES. PLUS, MY STUDENTS TOLD ME THEY WERE DOING COASTAL CLEANUP. HOW THAT’S LED TO A FASCINATING DISCOVERY ABOUT THE IMPACT OF PLASTIC BAG BANS AND FEES. AHEAD OF THE FALL SEMESTER, FOREIGN STUDENTS FROM CHINA ARE FEELING A CHILL FROM THE UNITED STATES. IN JANUARY, THE CHAIR OF THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE, JIM RISCH, SAID EACH CHINESE STUDENT IN THE U.S. IS AN AGENT OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY, THEN WEST VIRGINIA CONGRESSMAN RILEY MOORE, A REPUBLICAN, INTRODUCED A MEASURE THAT WOULD BAN THE ISSUANCE OF STUDENT VISAS TO SCHOLARS FROM CHINA. IN MAY, SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO ANNOUNCED THE U.S. WOULD MOVE TO, QUOTE, AGGRESSIVELY REVOKE VISAS FOR CHINESE STUDENTS, BUT THIS SUSPICION ISN’T A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR SCHOLARS FROM CHINA. OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT JOEY CHEN BRINGS US A STORY OF A SCIENTIST WHO FOUND HIMSELF THE TARGET OF LAW ENFORCEMENT A DECADE AGO. THERE’S NO SMALL IRONY IN XIAOXING XI’S JOURNEY TO BECOMING A TOP AMERICAN SCIENTIST, WHICH BEGAN IN THE DARKEST DAYS OF CHINA’S CULTURAL REVOLUTION. WHAT DID THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT THINK OF SCHOLARS AND SCIENTISTS? OH, THEY WERE THE ENEMIES. THEY WERE THE BAD ELEMENTS TO BE PUT DOWN. IT WASN’T UNTIL 1989 THAT HE AND HIS WIFE WERE ABLE TO RESETTLE IN AMERICA AS COLLEGE PROFESSORS. SHE, AT PHILADELPHIA’S TEMPLE UNIVERSITY. THIS IS WHERE I WORK AS THE CHAIR OF THE PHYSICS DEPARTMENT. IN 2015. AT THE TIME OF YOUR ARREST, AT THE TIME OF MY ARREST EARLY ONE MORNING IN 2015, SHE SAYS HE WAS AWAKENED BY POUNDING AT HIS FRONT DOOR. I SAW ALL THESE PEOPLE, ARMED AGENTS. ARMED? YES. WEARING WHAT? BULLETPROOF VESTS WITH GUNS. I SAW BY THE DOOR WITH TWO GUYS WITH A BATTERING RAM. XIAOXING. SHE WAS CHARGED WITH ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE. HE FACED UP TO 80 YEARS IN PRISON AND A $1 MILLION FINE. HE DENIED THE ALLEGATIONS, SAYING INVESTIGATORS JUST MISUNDERSTOOD HIS RESEARCH. FOUR MONTHS LATER, WITHOUT REVEALING WHO ACCUSED HIM OR WHY, THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT DROPPED ALL CHARGES AGAINST HIM. THEY JUST LOOK AT PEOPLE OF CHINESE ETHNICITY OR THAT’S WHERE THEY COME FROM. BUT ONCE THEY HAVE A MICROSCOPE ON YOU, YOU KNOW THE LIKELIHOOD THAT THEY FOUND SOMETHING WRONG. YOU DID IS NOT ZERO. XI KEPT HIS JOB, BUT LOST HIS ROLE AS INTERIM CHAIR OF TEMPLE’S PHYSICS DEPARTMENT. HE SAYS THE ARREST CHILLED HIS PROSPECTS FOR MORE RESEARCH FUNDING AND LEFT HIM WITH THE STIGMA OF BEING CALLED A SUSPECTED SPY FOR CHINA. IT GOES BACK TO THIS NOTION OF PERPETUAL FORM. CIVIL RIGHTS LAWYER JOHN YANG SAYS ASIAN AMERICAN SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN WARY EVER SINCE 1999, WHEN NUCLEAR SCIENTIST WEN HO LEE WAS FALSELY ACCUSED OF STEALING SECRETS. THEIR FEARS REIGNITED BY THE FIRST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CHINA INITIATIVE. THE NOTION BEHIND IT WAS THAT THERE WERE CHINESE SCIENTISTS THAT WERE ACTING AS SPIES FOR THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT. BUT CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS SAY THE DATA SHOWS THE PROGRAM CASTS TOO WIDE A NET. ONE STUDY FOUND FEWER THAN A THIRD OF THOSE CHARGED IN THE CHINA INITIATIVE WERE CONVICTED OF ANY WRONGDOING. THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ENDED IT IN 2022, BUT HOUSE REPUBLICANS PASSED A NEW VERSION LAST YEAR. THE FEAR NOW IS THAT BOTH A THE CHINA INITIATIVE WOULD BE RE-INITIATED, AND B IS THAT THIS CONTINUING DRUMBEAT OF XENOPHOBIA SINOPHOBIA WILL CAUSE EVEN MORE EXCESSES. FEW WOULD DENY THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAS TRIED TO GATHER INTELLIGENCE ON AMERICAN CAMPUSES, BUT THERE SHOULD BE CATCHING THE REAL SPIES INSTEAD OF SPENDING ALL THE RESOURCES ON INNOCENT CHINESE AMERICAN PROFESSORS RAISED IN A COUNTRY WHERE SCIENCE WAS SILENCED. XIAOXING XI IS DETERMINED TO STAND UP FOR THE PRINCIPLES OF HIS ADOPTED HOME. ONE THING THAT YOU GET IN THIS COUNTRY IS THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK UP. I’M TALKING ABOUT THIS AND HOPING TO MAKE THE UNITED STATES BETTER AND LIVE UP TO ITS PROMISE TO BE A NATION COMMITTED TO JUSTICE FOR ALL. IN WASHINGTON. I’M JULIE CHEN, FOR MATTER OF FACT, WE REACHED OUT TO THE FBI. IT HAD NO COMMENT. SHE AND HIS FAMILY SUED THE GOVERNMENT FOR MALICIOUS PROSECUTION STEMMING FROM HIS ARREST. THAT CASE IS STILL ONGOING AHEAD ON MATTER OF FACT, WE EXPLORE NEW DATA ON WHAT PLASTIC BAG FEES AND BANS HAVE MEANT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. PLUS, THIS BUILDING SAT FOR DECADES ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS UNTIL ITS FASCINATING HISTORY WAS UNLOCKED. ITS STORY AND HOW YOU CAN VISIT IT TODAY TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH MATTER OF FACT, SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER AT MATTEROFFACTTV. IT’S BEEN ABOUT TEN YEARS SINCE THE FIRST STATEWIDE BAN ON SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS. THAT STATE WAS CALIFORNIA. AND SINCE THEN, 11 MORE STATES HAVE IMPLEMENTED A BAN OR FEES ON PLASTIC BAGS. MORE THAN 500 CITIES AND TOWNS ACROSS 28 STATES ALSO HAVE RESTRICTIONS. A NEW STUDY SHOWS THE BANS ARE WORKING. RESEARCHERS COLLECTED DATA FOR MORE THAN 45,000 SHORELINE CLEANUPS BETWEEN 2016 AND 2023. THEY FOUND THAT PLACES WITH POLICIES HAD A 25 TO 47% DECREASE IN PLASTIC BAG LITTER. KIMBERLY OREMUS IS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT THE SCHOOL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND POLICY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, AND COAUTHORED THE STUDY. WHEN WE THINK ABOUT WHAT POLICIES ARE NEEDED, WE NEED TO THINK A LITTLE BIT BEYOND JUST A SPECIFIC PLASTIC ITEM. WE THINK THAT SOME REGULATIONS ON THE SUPPLY SIDE MIGHT NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED. THE RESEARCH ALSO FOUND THAT DESPITE THE DROP IN PLASTIC BAG LITTER IN AREAS WITH RESTRICTIONS, ALL AREAS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE SEEING AN INCREASE IN PLASTIC POLLUTION IN GENERAL. STILL AHEAD. ON A MATTER OF FACT, WHY ONE WOMAN ONCE TAUGHT HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN IN THIS UNASSUMING BUILDING. AND FINALLY, A STORY OF REDISCOVERY, RESTORATION AND NOW RECONNECTING THE NATION’S OLDEST SCHOOLHOUSE FOR BLACK CHILDREN IS OFFICIALLY OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. FOR NEARLY A CENTURY, THE WILLIAMSBURG BRAY SCHOOL SAT FORGOTTEN ON THE CAMPUS OF WILLIAM AND MARY IN VIRGINIA ABOUT TWO DECADES AGO. THE SCHOOL’S CHANCELLOR, PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH EMERITUS TERRY L MYERS, DECIDED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BUILDING. MYERS AND HIS TEAM EVENTUALLY DISCOVERED A LONDON BASED CHARITY OPENED THE WILLIAMSBURG BRAY SCHOOL IN 1760 AT THE RECOMMENDATION OF BEN FRANKLIN. BOTH FREE AND ENSLAVED BLACK CHILDREN BETWEEN THE AGES OF THREE AND TEN ATTENDED USING A CHRISTIAN BASED CURRICULUM, AND WAGER, A WHITE WOMAN TAUGHT THE CHILDREN TO READ AND WRITE, AND SO AS PART OF THIS RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, STUDENTS WERE ALSO TAUGHT TO BE FAITHFUL AND OBEDIENT. WAGER SERVED AS THE SCHOOL’S ONLY TEACHER, AND REPORTEDLY TAUGHT AT LEAST 400 CHILDREN OVER 14 YEARS. THE SCHOOL CLOSED WHEN SHE DIED IN EARLY 2023. THE SCHOOLHOUSE WAS CAREFULLY MOVED TO COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG AND RESTORED. HISTORIANS AND GENEALOGISTS HAVE IDENTIFIED AT LEAST 80 STUDENTS WHO ATTENDED THE SCHOOL, AND THEY PLAN TO KEEP CONNECTING THE DOTS TO A POWERFUL PAST. THAT’S IT FOR THIS EDITION OF MATTER OF FACT, I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN AND I’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE NEXT WEEK TO WATCH MORE STORIES LIKE THIS ANYTIME, HEAD TO MATTEROFFACTTV.