Warren C. Crawley, Sr. Monument

Born into slavery in Virginia in 1842, Warren C. Crawley, Sr., was stolen from his parents on the streets of Virginia and brought to Georgia as a slave. Later as a free man, he migrated to Montgomery County, Georgia, and achieved success as a merchant and landowner. When Mr. Crawley learned that Rev. John Brewton and Mr. Charles Parker did not have enough property to start a proposed new school, which later would be known as Brewton-Parker College, he donated five acres of land to comprise one-third of the original campus in 1904. Mr. Crawley did this knowing that his grandchildren could not attend the school. He did not hold any bitterness for the years he spent as a slave or even for the harsh injustice of strict segregation. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that His followers were to forgive others even as the Heavenly Father forgives us (Matthew 6:12). Mr. Crawley’s actions reflected the teachings and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ and gave us an example to follow.
Brewton-Parker College is grateful for the ongoing legacy of Mr. Warren Crawley, Sr., a true reconciler of his day. Like Abraham, in faith he envisioned that which was unseen but “whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). The racial and ethnic diversity of the current student body of Brewton-Parker College is a fitting testimony of his legacy.

Through Mr. Crawley’s example, we remember that the power of Christian love can overcome the barriers this sinful world erects that separate us. In Ephesians 2:14, Paul states that Christ “broke down the barrier of the dividing wall of hostility.” Mr. Crawley’s gift of land to make Brewton-Parker College possible was an unselfish act that crossed the deep divide of racial separation. In 1905 the Georgia Baptist Convention, whose churches at the time had few African American members, passed a rare personal commendation thanking Mr. Warren C. Crawley, Sr., for his generous act. The world of Mr. Crawley was harshly divided by segregation and prejudice, but through his gracious act, we are reminded that Christ transcends all that separates us, and that in Him, we find unity.