2017 Symposium

Thank you to all who attended and participated! We think the symposium was a huge success, especially in bringing together universities, scholars, community members, descendants, historic sites, preservationists, and public historians for a free-ranging conversation about researching the enslaved past, disseminating findings to a broader public, and breaking down disciplinary boundaries as we collectively work to tell a fuller story about our own pasts.

Videos of the four plenary sessions are now available online at the University of Virginia Office of Diversity and Equity’s YouTube Channel.

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, October 18, 2017                                                                                                           

5:00pm:                       Opening reception (Newcomb Hall)

Speaker: Daina Ramey Berry (Associate Professor of History and African and African Diaspora Studies and the Oliver H. Radkey Fellow in American History, University of Texas at Austin), “Ghost Values and the Remains of Slavery”

7:30pm:                       Slave Dwelling Project Experience (The Lawn)

Thursday, October 19, 2017                                                                                                               

8:00-8:30am:               Registration (Newcomb Hall)

8:30-9:00am:               Welcome (Newcomb Hall)

Marcus Martin (Vice President and Chief Officer for Diversity and Equity, Co-Chair of the President’s Commission of Slavery and the University, University of Virginia) Kirt von Daacke (Assistant Dean and Associate Professor of History, Co-Chair of the President’s Commission of Slavery and the University, University of Virginia), Robert (Bobby) W. Battle (Bicentennial Commission Co-Chair), Teresa Sullivan (President, University of Virginia)

9:00-10:20am:             Opening Panel: “Slavery and Its Legacies at UVA“ (Newcomb Hall)

Speakers: Patrice Grimes (Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Education, University of Virginia), Ervin Jordan (Associate Professor and Research Archivist, University of Virginia), Louis Nelson (Professor of Architectural History and Associate Dean in the School of Architecture, Associate Provost for Outreach, University of Virginia), Kirt von Daacke (Assistant Dean and Associate Professor of History, University of Virginia), Wes Gobar (Black Student Alliance President, University of Virginia)

Moderator: Elizabeth Varon (Langbourne M. Williams Professor of American History and Associate Director at the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History, University of Virginia)

10:30am-12:00pm:      Breakout Panels – Session 1 (Newcomb Hall)

• “Plantation Remix: Site-Performance as Intervention, Dynamic Memorialization, and Empathy-Building Transformation”
  • Moderator: Tanya Shields (University of North Carolina)
  • Jonathan Clark (Carpetbag Theatre)
  • Cristal Chanelle Truscott (Progress Theatre)
  • Greta Gabriel (Plantation Remix)
  • Ashley Sparks (Good Old Boys)
• “College Bound—Interracial and Racist Student Culture at Lane Seminar, Andover Theological Seminary, The University of Mississippi, and Columbian College (DC)”
  • Chair: Alfred Brophy (University of Alabama Law School)
  • Commenter: Jennifer Oast (Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania)
  • Mike Jirik (University of Massachusetts-Amherst)
  • Chet Bush (University of Mississippi)
  • Philip Troutman (George Washington University)
• “Preservation & Restoration: Finding & Saving Historic Structures”
  • Moderator: Prinny Anderson
  • Jobie Hill
  • Craig Jacobs (Salvagewrights Ltd.)
  • Noah Read (Ghostmark Restoration)
  • Michael Bedenbaugh (Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation)
  • Jennifer Glass (Montpelier)
  • Betsy Sweeney (Montpelier)
• “For Friendship, For Freedom, For Union: The JUEL Project and UVA Students”
  • Moderator: Justene Hill (University of Virginia)
  • Joshua Morrison (University of Virginia)
  • Stephanie Lawton (University of Virginia)
  • Brian Neumann (University of Virginia)
• “Remembering Slavery at the University of South Carolina”
  • Moderator: Robert R. Weyeneth (University of South Carolina)
  • Elizabeth Cassidy West (University of South Carolina)
  • Alyssia J. Constad (General Federation of Women’s Clubs)
  • John H. Dozier (University of South Carolina)
  • Bobby J. Donaldson (University of South Carolina)
• “Cemeteries, Slavery, and History”
  • Chair: Lynn Rainville (Sweet Briar College)
  • Lisa Goff (University of Virginia)
  • Matthew Reeves (Montpelier)
  • Teresa Vega
  • Taj’ullah Sky Lark and Laxmi Lark
• “Retain or Remove? Memorialization of Slaveholders, Supremacists, and Segregationists at Clemson University”
  • A.D. Carson (University of Virginia)
  • Chenjerai Kumanyika (Rutgers University)
  • Rhondda Thomas (Clemson University)
  • Ian Anderson (Clemson University)
  • Killian McDonald
  • Khayla Williams (Clemson University)
  • Hanah Connelly (Clemson University)
• “Identification & Interpretation Challenges in Researching the Enslaved”
  • Chair: Patrice Grimes (University of Virginia)
  • Shelley Viola Murphy
  • Maddy McCoy
  • Kent Randell (St. Mary’s College)
• “Workshop: Contacts, Collaboration, Classrooms, Courage! Making a Successful Slave Dwelling Project Visit”
  • Workshop Director: Jon Williams (Walkertown High School)

12:15-2:00pm:  Luncheon & Panel: “Institutions Confronting the Legacy of Slavery“         (The Lawn)

Speakers: John W. Franklin (Cultural Historian and Senior Manager in the Office of External Affairs at the National Museum of African American History and Culture), Kat Imhoff (President and Chief Executive Officer, The Montpelier Foundation), Taylor Reveley (President, William & Mary), Gary Sandling (Vice President of Visitor Programs and Visitor Services, Thomas Jefferson Foundation), Teresa Sullivan (President, University of Virginia)

Moderator: Deborah McDowell (Alice Griffin Professor of English and Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, University of Virginia)

2:30-4:00pm:               Breakout Panels – Session 2 (Newcomb Hall)

• “Contextualizing UVA’s Landscape of Slavery”
  • Brendan Wolfe (editor, Encyclopedia Virginia)
  • Peter Hedlund (Director, Encyclopedia Virginia)
  • Elgin Cleckley (University of Virginia)
• “Voices of Descendants: A Conversation”
  • Moderators: Prinny Anderson and Gayle Jessup White (Monticello)
• “New Interpretations at Historic Sites”
  • Chair: Sara Bon-Harper (Highland)
  • Carin Bloom (Middleton Place Foundation)
  • Christian Cotz (Montpelier)
  • Donnamarie Barnes (Sylvester Manor)
  • Jillian E. Galle (Thomas Jefferson Foundation)
• “Excavating Memories, Elevating Morality: Digging for Slaves at St. Mary’s College”
  • Moderator: Bill Roberts (St. Mary’s College)
  • Julia King and Lauren McMillan (University of Mary Washington)
  • Garrey Dennie (St. Mary’s College)
  • Christine Wooley (St. Mary’s College)
  • Iris Ford
• “Southern Schools, Slavery, and the Built Environment”
  • Chair: Louis Nelson (University of Virginia)
  • Patricia Ann West (Savannah State University)
  • Rachel Stephens (University of Alabama) and Nadia Delmedico (University of Alabama)
  • Victoria Hensley (Middle Tennessee State University)
• “Slavery, Freedpeople, and the Landscape”
  • Chair: Kirt von Daacke (University of Virginia)
  • Lindsey Bestebreurtje
  • Mark Michael Ludlow (Archaeological Society of Virginia)
  • Emily Gee (Historic England)
• “Contemporary Responses to Slavery at Universities”
  • Chair: Preston Reynolds (University of Virginia)
  • Alissa Diamond (University of Virginia)
  • Charlotte Fryar (University of North Carolina)
  • Lindsey K. Walters (Cambridge University)
• “‘Living with the Dead’: Mounds and Monuments among Monacan Indian and Enslaved Communities in Central Virginia”
  • John MacFarlane (University of Virginia Board of Visitors)
  • Lynn Rainville (Sweet Briar College)
  • Karenne Wood (Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
  • Jeffrey Hantman (University of Virginia)

7:30-9:00pm:               African American Cemetery Commemoration

Speakers and Performers: Alvin Edwards (Pastor, Mt. Zion First African Baptist Church), Delores McQuinn (Virginia House of Delegates), Almeta Miller (Richmond, VA), Brenda Marie Osbey (Poet, New Orleans, LA), Lynn Rainville (Research Professor in the Humanities, Sweet Briar College), Union Run Baptist Church Choir

Friday, October 20, 2017                                                                                                                    

 8:00-8:30am:               Registration (Newcomb Hall)

8:40-10:15am:             Panel Discussion: “Connecting with Community and Descendants“ (Newcomb Hall)

Moderator: Shannon LaNier (descendant, Thomas Jefferson, author, TV personality)

Panelists: Scot French (University of Central Florida), Lenora McQueen, Elizabeth Chew (Montpelier), Leontyne Peck

10:30am-12:00pm:      Breakout Panels – Session 3 (Newcomb Hall)

• “The Land, the Screen, the Page: Locations of Enslavement and Creative Arts”
  • Andi Cumbo-Floyd
  • Lorenzo Dickerson
  • Margaret Wrinkle
• “Engaging the Community: Slavery and Breaking the Town/Gown Barrier”
  • Moderator: Tierney Fairchild (University of Virginia)
  • Reverend Alvin Edwards
  • Carolyn Dillard
  • Meryem Karad
  • Matthew Reeves (Montpelier)
  • Frank Dukes (University of Virginia)
• “Using Belle Grove Plantation to Educate Adults, University Students, and Elementary Students on the History of Slavery in the Shenandoah Valley”
  • Shannon Moeck
  • Brian Johnson
  • Kristen Laise
• “Roots & Remembrance at Sweet Briar: A Discussion with Descendants”
  • Lynn Rainville (Sweet Briar College)
  • Annette Anderson (Johns Hopkins University)
  • Bethany Pace (Towson University)
  • Crystal Rosson
• “Slavery and Race at Northern Universities”
  • Chair: Mike Caires (University of Virginia)
  • Carole Emberton (University at Buffalo)
  • Cody Nager (City University of New York)
  • Jason Petrulis (Cal Poly Pomona)
  • Laura Macaluso
• “Slaves in the Classroom: Science, Medicine, Race, and Learning in 19th Century America”
  • Chair: Dr. Marcus Martin (University of Virginia)
  • Jill Found (University of South Carolina)
  • Christopher Willoughby (Emory University)
  • Kirt von Daacke (University of Virginia)
• “Documents and Databases on Slavery in the Digital Era”
  • Chair: Scot French (University of Central Florida)
  • Mary Freeman (Columbia University)
  • Jobie Hill
  • William B. Kurtz (University of Virginia)
  • Franklin Vagnone (Old Salem Heritage Site)
• “Confronting Slavery at Furman University”
  • Brandon Inabinet (Furman University) and Teresa Cosby (Furman University)
  • Steve O’Neill (Furman University)
  • Lloyd Benson (Furman University)
  • Claire Whitlinger (Furman University)
• “University of Virginia Student Voices—a 21^st Century Perspective”
  • Moderator: Elizabeth Jones
  • Wes Gobar (University of Virginia)
  • Malcolm Stewart (University of Virginia)
  • Brandon Nigro (University of Virginia)
  • Raiya al-Nsour (University of Virginia)

12:15-2:00pm:             Luncheon and Panel: “Universities and Reparations“ (The Lawn)

Speakers: Ana Lucia Araujo (Professor of History, Howard University), Sandy Darity (Samuel DuBois Cook Professor of Public Policy, African and African American Studies, and Economics, and director of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, Duke University), John Rosenthall (Director, Tougaloo College Research and Development Foundation)

Moderator: Craig Wilder (Professor of American History, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

2:30-4:00pm:               Breakout Panels – Session 4 (Newcomb Hall)

• “Archaeology and History in Understanding the Landscape of Slavery at Virginia Universities”
  • Don Gaylord (Washington and Lee University)
  • Ben Ford (Rivanna Archaeological Services)
  • Nick Bon-Harper (Rivanna Archaeological Services)
  • Steve Thompson (Rivanna Archaeological Services)
• “College Bound II: Making a Pro-Slavery Student Body at the University of Mississippi”
  • Chair: Phillip Troutman (George Washington University)
  • Commenter: Joshua Rothman (University of Alabama)
  • Andrew Marion (University of Mississippi)
  • Anne Twitty (University of Mississippi)
  • Jeffrey T. Jackson (University of Mississippi)
• “Challenges & Obstacles to Preserving Sites Associated with Slavery”
  • Moderator: Joseph McGill/Prinny Anderson
  • Sonja Ingram (Preservation Virginia)
  • Michael Bedenbaugh (Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation)
  • Elizabeth Merritt (National Trust for Historic Preservation)
• “Reimagining Space and Place at the College of William & Mary”
  • Chair: Phyllis Slade Martin
  • Jody L. Allen (College of William and Mary)
  • Susan Kern (College of William and Mary)
• “Valley of Dry Bones: Unearthing the Past at the University of Georgia”
  • Chair: Scott Nesbit (University of Georgia)
  • Valerie Babb (University of Georgia)
  • Laurie Reitsema (University of Georgia)
  • Alfred Brophy (University of Alabama Law School)
• “Virginia Slave Housing: Spreading the Word”
  • Dennis J. Pogue (University of Maryland)
  • Douglas W. Sanford (University of Mary Washington)
  • Matthew Gibson (Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) & Peter Hedlund (Encyclopedia Virginia)
• “Slavery, the Civil War, and Memory in the South”
  • Chair: Lisa Woolfork (University of Virginia)
  • Donna Baker (Middle Tennessee State University)
  • Rachel A. Finch
  • Tifanny Momon (Middle Tennessee State University)
  • Carroll Van West (Middle Tennessee State University)
• Generations of Slavery: Tracing the Enslaved Across Time
  • Chair: William B. Kurtz (University of Virginia)
  • Elizabeth Ladner (Montpelier)
  • Michael Turner Webb
  • Frederick Murphy

Saturday, October 21, 2017                                                                                                                

 8:30am-9:00pm:          (Optional) Field Trip to Montpelier, Monticello, and Highland

                                    Schedule:

                                    8:30am –         Load Bus

9:00 am –        Depart from UVA

11:30 am –      Depart for Highland

12:30 pm –      Tour Highland

2:00 pm –        Depart for Montpelier

3:00 pm –        Tour Montpelier

6:00 pm –        Dinner at Montpelier

7:00 pm –        Depart for UVA

SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE

Symposium Schedule (PDF)