Accessing a char array from another class

Question

I'm working on a crossword puzzle game. In order to set the letters in my tiles, I have a script attached to text components that accessing a char array that stores my letters. It looks like this:

First class:

  public class GenerateBoard : MonoBehaviour
  {
    public static char[,]gameBoard = new char[15,15];
    void Start()
    {
        gameBoard[0, 0] = 'W';
    }

Second class:

public class SetLetter : MonoBehaviour
{
    Text letter;
    public int x;
    public int y;
    // Start is called before the first frame update
    void Start()
    {
        letter = GetComponent<Text>();
        letter.text = GenerateBoard.gameBoard[x,y] + "";
    }

    // Update is called once per frame
    void Update()
    {
        Debug.Log("glitch: " + GenerateBoard.gameBoard[0, 0]);
    }
}

I would expect Debug.Log to print 'W' but it appears to be empty. Why isn't it accessing the letter 'W' from the first class? When I use Debug.Log in my first class it properly prints 'W'.