WASHINGTON, DC — In commemorating 400 years since the arrival of Africans in the first permanent English Colony in North America, we honor African American perseverance, in this land of the Indigenous people, from 1619 to the present. ASALH’s 400th Commemoration Committee and the ASALH Hampton Roads, Virginia Branch seek to educate America and the global community about the arrival of Africans in the Virginia Colony and tell the story of the resilience of the African American family, their contributions to America, and most of all, African American perseverance over four centuries. To that end, a panel of ASALH scholars will shed light on the past, present and future of our people—those who perished, those who survived, today’s fortunate ones who are thriving and those struggling in poverty, for whom we stand. The event will be held Friday, August 23, 2019 from 6 pm – 8 pm at the Hampton University Memorial Chapel, Hampton, Virginia.
The event will feature Panelists discussing various topics including DR. DERRICK P. ALRIDGE, Historian, Professor of Education, University of Virginia, Director of Teachers in the Movement Project and Director of the Center for Race and Public Education in the South. TOPIC: “The Narratives of Black Teachers: Pedagogies of Freedom, Democracy, and Equality”. PROF. GLORIA J. BROWNE-MARSHALL, Author, Playwright and Professor of Constitutional Law, John Jay College (CUNY). Chair, ASALH Executive Council 400th Commemoration Committee. TOPIC: “Race, Law and American Society: The Changing Legal Status of Africans in the Virginia Colony and Continued Mis-use of Criminal Law for Racial Oppression and African-American Use of Law for Liberation”. DR. COLITA NICHOLS FAIRFAX, Professor, Social Scientist, Historiographer, Honors College Senior Faculty Fellow, Norfolk State University, Co-Chair, City of Hampton 2019 Commemorative Commission, and the African Arrival Committee of the State 2019 Evolution Commemoration Commission. TOPIC: “The African-American Family and Post-Traumatic Slave Disorder”. DR. SHEILA FLEMMING-HUNTER, Founder and President, Black Rose Foundation for Children, Adjunct Professor and Associate Editor, Phylon: The Clark Atlanta University Review of Race and Culture and ASALH Executive Council 400th Commemoration Committee Member. TOPIC: “From Slavery to Freedom: The State of Black Children in America and Our Responsibility to Our Young People” DR. CASSANDRA NEWBY-ALEXANDER, Professor of History and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Norfolk State University; ASALH Executive Council 400th Commemoration Committee and 2019 American Evolution. TOPIC: “The 1619 African Arrival and the African Presence in Colonial Virginia” PROF. ROBERT WATSON, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and History, Hampton University will moderate.
On Social Media please use our official hashtag #ASALH1619 to follow all the events.