Call for Proposals

Individual papers or panels of 3 or 4 are welcome

Click here a PDF of the Call for Proposals. 

About Us

“The Lemon Project is a multifaceted and dynamic attempt to rectify wrongs perpetrated against African Americans by the College through action or inaction.” An ongoing endeavor, The Lemon Project “will focus on contributing to and encouraging scholarship on the 327-year relationship between African Americans and the College, and building bridges between the College and Williamsburg and Greater Tidewater area.” For more information, see our website or our Report of the First Eight Years.

Call for Proposals

“Only the BLACK WOMAN can say ‘when and where I enter, in the quiet, undisputed dignity of my womanhood, without violence and without suing or special patronage, then and there the whole Negro race enters with me.’” Anna Julia Cooper, A Voice from the South, Xenia, Ohio: The Aldine Printing House, 1892, as quoted in Paula Giddings, When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America, New York: W. Morrow, 1984.

We take inspiration from this Anna Julia Cooper 1892 writing and Paula Giddings’s 1984 book for the theme of the tenth anniversary of the Lemon Project Symposium. During our last symposium, we celebrated four hundred years of black community and culture. We again seek to both remember and look forward—this year we will specifically focus on the often-overlooked history of black women in America. From Angela of the 1619 First Africans to First Lady Michelle Obama, we invite presenters to consider the wide-ranging experiences of black women from 1619 to the present.

We encourage presenters to engage a wide range of methodologies and fields, such as African American History, American Studies, Anthropology, Black Studies, Digital Humanities, Ethnic Studies, Gender Studies, Genealogy, Government, History, Local History, Oral History, and Public Humanities, and STEM. We use the term “women” broadly and invite work that highlights the work of scholars of all genders, as well as trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming individuals.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:

• Enslaved women and/or women of African descent

• Black women and the law; miscegenation; interracial marriage

• African American families

• Black women in the Civil Rights Movement

• Black women and STEM

• #SayHerName movement, Sandra Bland, & police violence & brutality

• Black feminisms: past, present, and future; black feminists in popular culture

• Womanism, feminism, and their intersections

• Black women and social justice movements, including but not limited to equal pay; divestment; youth justice; human rights; economic, housing, and health care inequality

• Black women and the church; Black women in popular culture

Proposal Submission Guidelines

We accept submissions from both individuals and panels of 3-4 people.

Guidelines for Submission from an Individual 

Email a single document (Word or PDF) that includes a cover sheet and proposal in the following format to [[w|lemon]] no later than November 15, 2019.

Coversheets must include:

• Name and Email
• Institutional or Community Affiliation
• Professional Title, if applicable
• Indicate whether you are a/an: Undergraduate Student, Graduate Student, Professional Student, Community Member, Faculty, Staff, and Administrator

200-word double-spaced description of your proposal, including:

• title
• summary (this will be included in the online conference program)
• discussion of how your presentation relates to the symposium’s theme, and/or a question that you will attempt to answer and/or a call to action
•  Brief bio (no more than 150 words)

Guidelines for Submission from an Individual 

Email a single document (Word or PDF) that includes a cover sheet and proposal in the following format to [[w|lemon]] no later than November 15, 2019.

Coversheets must include:

• Names and Emails of panelists
• Institutional or Community Affiliations
• Professional Titles, if applicable
• Indicate whether panelists are: Undergraduate Students, Graduate Students, Professional Students, Community Members, Faculty, Staff, and Administrators

250-word double-spaced description of your panel, which includes the following:

• title of panel
• name of panel chair/moderator
• summary (this will be included in the online conference program)
• discussion of how it relates to the symposium’s theme
• question that your panel will attempt to answer and/or a call to action
• Brief bio (no more than 150 words) of each panel participant

 For questions about The Lemon Project Symposium and/or the Call for Proposals, email [[w|lemon]].

Symposium 2019 Photo Gallery