First Africans Commemoration on August 17 • Jamestown Settlement • 3 p.m
First Africans Commemoration – August 17 • Jamestown Settlement • 3 p.m.
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.
Museum gallery exhibits & films
Learn about African and African American experiences in 17th-century Virginia through Jamestown Settlement’s expansive gallery exhibits, dramatic films and engaging interactives that share the story of Virginia Indian, English and West Central African cultures.
Using period artifacts and innovative technology, exhibits share historical accounts of the first documented Africans taken from their homeland in Ndongo (Angola) in 1619 to life in the Virginia colony and the evolution of a new African American culture. The “From Africa to Virginia” multimedia presentation chronicles African encounters with Europeans, impact on African culture and the development of the transatlantic slave trade.
The documentary film, “1607: A Nation Takes Root” is shown every 30 minutes. The film traces the evolution of the Virginia Company that sponsored the Jamestown colony, examines the relationship between the English colonists and Powhatan Indians, and chronicles the arrival of the first recorded Africans in 1619 – including the story of Angelo, one of the first African women named in Jamestown’s historical record.
Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design, an ongoing special exhibition on display through December 1, visitors can explore more than 60 of Carter’s original garments for acclaimed films and television such as “Roots,” “Amistad,” “Malcolm X,” “Selma,” “Do the Right Thing” and “Black Panther.”
How to attend the First Africans Commemoration event
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
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