Jamestown Settlement Honors First Recorded Africans in Virginia

News Summary

Jamestown Settlement is commemorating the legacy of the first recorded Africans brought to Virginia in 1619 with workshops and guest speakers. The event offers an opportunity for attendees to learn about their heritage and engage with the history of Africans in America. Highlights include interactive workshops, presentations by notable speakers, and gallery exhibits showcasing the experiences of Africans during the 17th century. This initiative aims to foster community engagement and historical understanding.

Jamestown, Virginia – Jamestown Settlement is commemorating the legacy of the first recorded Africans brought to Virginia in 1619 through a series of workshops and guest speaker events designed to reflect on the past and share modern perspectives. This special commemoration will take place on [insert date], offering a unique opportunity for attendees of all ages to learn about their heritage while engaging with the history of Africans in America.

The program will feature interactive workshops scheduled at 10 am and 11:30 am. These sessions aim to assist participants in discovering and sharing their own family stories, utilizing illustrations, thought-provoking questions, and storytelling techniques. Attendees will be taught strategies to preserve their family narratives, collect personal accounts from older relatives, and ensure those stories are shared with future generations.

At 2 pm, the renowned guest speaker Wanda Tucker will take to the stage in the Robins Foundation Theater. Tucker, who is a descendant of the first Africans to arrive at Old Point Comfort, including her ancestor William Tucker, the first recorded African child born and baptized in Virginia, will discuss her journey to discover her roots. She will also share insights from her recent visit to Angola, the ancestral homeland of many early Africans in Virginia.

Following Tucker’s presentation, actor and producer Antonio Charity will speak at 3 pm, also in the Robins Foundation Theater. Charity will present his feature-length documentary, “Where Charity Began,” which delves into the history of the Charity family, another lineage that descends from the early Africans who came to Virginia in 1619. This discussion will allow participants to gain a deeper understanding of the African American experience and heritage that extends from those early arrivals.

In addition to these presentations, visitors to Jamestown Settlement can explore expansive gallery exhibits that highlight the experiences of Africans and African Americans during the 17th century in Virginia. The exhibits feature period artifacts and utilize innovative technology to vividly portray the historical narratives of the first documented Africans taken from the Ndongo region of Angola in 1619. These displays help contextualize the cultural impacts and historical significance of the transatlantic slave trade in the shaping of American society.

One of the key multimedia presentations, “From Africa to Virginia,” investigates the encounters between Africans and Europeans, the resulting impacts on African cultures, and the broader implications of the transatlantic slave trade. Additionally, the feature film “1607: A Nation Takes Root” runs every 30 minutes and explores the establishment of the Jamestown colony while discussing the critical relationships formed with Indigenous peoples.

This special commemoration event is included with the standard museum admission. Notably, residents of James City County, York County, and the City of Williamsburg, along with students from William & Mary, can gain free admission upon providing proof of residency.

This initiative at Jamestown Settlement serves not only to honor the historical contributions of the first Africans in Virginia but also fosters community engagement, historical understanding, and multicultural awareness among participants by linking past narratives to present experiences.

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Additional Resources

• Williamsburg Families: First Africans Commemoration
• History: First Legislative Assembly in America
• Time: August 1619 and Jamestown’s History
• History: First African Slave Ship Arrives in Jamestown
• Virginia Mercury: Misconceptions About Virginia’s 1619 First Africans