T he L og Tabor Academy’s Student Newspaper
thelog@taboracademy.org
Volume 95, Number 2
December 2020
Marion Memorializes a Town Hero
Statue of Elizabeth Taber Greets the Town by Hailey Cohen
In 1791, between Main and South Streets in Marion Village, Taber was born. She grew up with one sister and five brothers, and from the beginning, she had an interest in women’s education, which was severely lacking at the time. Later on, Taber became a teacher to follow her passion. She married a clockmaker and had three children, all of whom passed away before the age of six. Her husband passed away as well, soon after the Civil War. Then a widow, Taber moved from her impressive home in New Bedford back to her childhood town of Marion. By then, her adept management of her husband’s investments had yielded quite the fortune.
Photo by Gary Lawrence
Elizabeth Taber was a remarkable woman who helped shape present-day Marion. To commemorate all that she has done for the town, Marion has erected a statue of her in the park across from the Town Hall. This statue is a reminder of her generous contributions and good works.
Nicknamed the “Fairy Godmother of Marion,” Taber used her wealth to help transform the town. Some of her contributions include funding for the First Congregational Church, the Elizabeth Taber Library, the Marion Music Hall, the Marion Natural History Museum, and Tabor Academy (named for Mount Tabor in Palestine). These generous donations were formative to the development of the town and greatly influenced art, music, culture, and education in Marion. The newly installed statue of Elizabeth Taber was created by Erik Durant, a notable sculptor from New Bedford. The statue is included in New Bedford’s Lighting the Way Project that features the significant accomplishments of 60 women from Southern Massachusetts. Major donors of the statue include the Sippican Historical Society, with a contribution of $50,000, and Tabor Academy, with a contribution of $10,000.
The statue itself depicts Taber sitting on a bench with her legs crossed at the ankles, holding a pipe, dressed in everyday clothes for that time period. Controversy arose over the depiction of Taber among townsfolk. There was opposition to a pipe being included in the statue because some were concerned that a pipe would encourage children who saw the statue to smoke. However, Taber was known for smoking a pipe around Marion, and the addition of a pipe in her statue helped to humanize her. Elizabeth Taber will now be immortalized in Marion as a great contributor to the town. This statue commemorates her dedicated work and devotion to make Marion the town it is today.
Getting to Know BSUxSHADES by Piper McKerrow After the killings of Amhaud Abery, Breanna Taylor, and George Floyd, protests in response to the racial injustices in the United States emerged all over the country. A group of students including Jada Trench ’22, Jordyn Smith ’22, Kai Watts ’21, Liv Justice ’22, Marissa Wong ’22, Sara Gonzalez ’21, and Jahmeir Warfield ’21 decided that they needed to take action here at Tabor and formed the Black Student Union x SHADES. Jada says, “It started last year with the beginning of SHADES, and after everything that happened over the summer and Tabor had a lack of response, we all started talking and decided that something needed to be done.”
This group aims to provide a safe and empowering space for students of color and opportunities for cultural enrichment at Tabor. In their mission statement they outline the group’s purpose: “...to develop a platform that affirms and empowers the Black community while promoting solidarity and the idea of allyship beyond our small percentage.”
BSUxSHADES has been frustrated by the lack of response from the Tabor administration. Jordyn says, “Several individual faculty members have reached out, but on an administrative level, no one has acknowledged us or come to the Debriefs.”
In response, Julie Salit, Interim Head of School adds, “I’m being seen as the Head of School, and therefore I am curious, am I causing a different kind of conversation to take place? Does it make sense for me to go to all of [the Debriefs], so people start to get more comfortable, or does it make more sense to have individual conversations, and someone can bring my perspective?”
Jada continues, “We haven’t applied pressure, but at the same time should we have to, for change to be made?” The Tabor Administration had not directly addressed BSUxSHADES, which was frustrating and saddening to its members as they want and deserve the support from their school. Julie Salit adds, “I have met with the BSUxSHADES group twice now with another meeting scheduled for next week.” To spark conversation among all members of the community, BSUxSHADES holds Debriefs every Thursday, covering a variety of topics ranging from what it means to be an ally vs. what it means to be anti-racist to the election. Kai explains, “Debriefs are seen as a person of color thing or as an activist thing, so a lot of people separate themselves from it.”
She sees the Debriefs as a way to educate others and have a discussion, which is why it is necessary for people to participate. Debriefs have covered why content continued on p. 3