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First Africans Commemoration
August 17 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Jamestown Settlement honors the legacy of the first recorded Africans brought to Virginia in 1619 with reflections of history and modern perspectives through an African American lens.
The 90-minute commemoration – moderated by Barbara Hamm Lee, executive producer and host of WHRO/WHRV radio show “Another View” – will explore the historical connection to the arrival of the first Africans to Virginia and the African American culture’s lasting legacy today.
Valarie Gray Holmes will present a first-person interpretation of Angelo, one of the first African women documented in the historical record.
Also joining the program is Keem Hughley, a 15-year hospitality visionary. His Washington D.C. restaurant, Bronze, melds fantasy and gastronomy with the culture of the African Diaspora. It offers a world-class culinary experience from the perspective of Afrofuturism.
The conversation will explore the history of the first recorded Africans who brought their culture, knowledge and traditions to create a new African American culture and how that legacy, after more than 400 years, is being transformed and reimagined across artistic and creative disciplines, including in the Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design special exhibition on display at Jamestown Settlement.
The First Africans Commemoration special event is included with museum admission.
BUT residents of James City County, York County and the City of Williamsburg, including William & Mary students, receive free admission with proof of residency! More Info
