The 15th Annual Lemon Project Spring Symposium
March 21-22, 2025
Undefeated: Black Resilience through Resistance, Creativity, and Cooperation
This Williamsburg, Virginia, symposium will take place both in person at the William & Mary School of Education (301 Monticello Avenue) and virtually over Zoom.
Event Details
William & Mary, Office of the Provost
The Lemon Project: A Journey of Reconciliation
In-Person and Virtual Symposium
Event is free. All are welcome!
Friday, March 21 |
Symposium Event |
Location |
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
Registration | School of Education, Concourse |
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. |
Breakfast | Concourse |
8:55 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. |
Reading of Land and Labor Acknowledgments Welcome by Dr. Jody Allen, Robert Francis Engs Lemon Project Director Remarks by Dr. Pamela Eddy, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Development, William & Mary Introduction of Keynote Speaker by Dr. Jajuan Johnson, Public Historian for Research & Programs |
School of Education, Matoaka Woods |
9:10 a.m. - 10:40 a.m. |
“What Would The Ancestors Say?” Keynote by Dr. Daniel Black, Followed by Q&A |
Matoaka Woods |
10:40 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. |
Book Signing/Break | Concourse |
|
|
Three Concurrent Panels |
|
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. |
Panel 1: “The Evolving History of Virginia’s Central State Hospital, 1869-2025: Panel discussion” | Matoaka Woods |
|
|
Panel 2: “Exploring the History of Enslavement in North Carolina and Virginia” | Dogwood |
|
|
Panel 3: “Reclaiming Our Story” | Holly |
12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. |
Lunch | Matoaka Woods |
|
|
Three Concurrent Panels |
|
1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. |
Panel 4: “Strength in Sisterhood: The Power of a Council of Women in Navigating Life, Family, and Career” | Matoaka Woods |
|
|
Panel 5: “Exploring Black American Lives through Disability, Relationships, Religion, and Conversation” | Dogwood |
|
|
Panel 6: “Prenatal Through Postpartum: The Renaissance of Black Maternal Health” | Holly |
2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. |
Break | |
|
|
Three Concurrent Panels |
|
2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
Panel 7: “Descendant Power | Mobilizing for Community and Advocacy” | Matoaka Woods |
|
|
Panel 8: “Jackson Ward: The Birthplace of Black Entrepreneurship” | Dogwood |
|
|
Panel 9: “Resilience and Healing Through History and Communities” | Holly |
4:00 p.m. -4:15 p.m. |
Break | |
|
|
Three Concurrent Panels |
|
4:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. |
Panel 10: “Undefeated by Eminent Domain: The Lee Family Rebuilding after Displacement in WWI” | Matoaka Woods |
|
|
Panel 11: “Piney Swamp: A Place of Black Resistance, a Site of Black Landedness, a Subject of Cooperative Research” | Dogwood |
|
|
Panel 12: “'We've Come Full-Circle:' How Two Families Separated by Slavery are Back Together Again” | Holly |
5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. |
“Food, Fun, and Fellowship: A Community Reception” | Matoaka Woods & Concourse |
|
|
Poster and Exhibition Tours | Concourse |
Saturday, March 22 |
||
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
Registration | School of Education, Concourse |
8:00 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. |
Breakfast | Concourse |
|
|
Three Concurrent Panels |
|
9:10 a.m. - 10:25 a.m. |
Panel 13: “Healing Through the Arts: Music, Stories, and Dance” | Matoaka Woods |
|
|
Panel 14: “The Resilience of Black Women” | Dogwood |
|
|
Panel 15: “Partnership Model for Historical Preservation that Empowers Communities: The Cape Charles Rosenwald School Restoration Initiative and the W&M Public Policy Program” | Holly |
10:25 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. |
Break | |
|
|
Three Concurrent Panels |
|
10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
Panel 16: “Writing The Williamsburg Bray School: A Study in Community Resilience and Partnership” | Matoaka Woods |
|
|
Panel 17: “Fostering Community and Collaboration: Building Upon Fifteen Years of Public History with the Lemon Project” | Dogwood |
|
|
Panel 18: “'This Represents Opportunity:' Black Resilience and the Legacy of Mitchelville” | Holly |
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
Lunch | |
|
|
Poster and Exhibition Tours | Concourse |
|
|
Three Concurrent Panels |
|
1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. |
Panel 19: “Aspiring for Change: Community Transformation Through "Coming to the Table” | Matoaka Woods |
|
|
Panel 20: “Initiatives For Memorialization & Institutional Accountability” | Dogwood |
|
|
Panel 21: "Highlighting Undergraduate Research at William & Mary” | Holly |
2:15 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. |
Break | |
|
|
Three Concurrent Panels |
|
2:35 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. |
Panel 22: “Healing Through Truth: Exploring the Intersection of Historical Narratives, Reparations and Mental Health at Virginia Theological Seminary” | Matoaka Woods |
|
|
Panel 23: “Reclaiming the Narrative: Rediscovering the Black History of Smith's Fort” | Dogwood |
|
|
Panel 24: “Resilience Through Cooperation – William & Mary Cultural Heritage Immersion Program (CHiP)” | Holly |
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. |
“A Celebration at Sunset: 15 Years of The Lemon Project” Let us know if you'd like to share a reflection, poem, etc. |
Hearth: Memorial to the Enslaved (Rain location: Lodge 1, Sadler Center) |
Thank you for the support of the Arts & Sciences Dean’s Innovation Fund, the Vision 2026 Signature Fund, the Society of 1918, the Harrison Ruffin Tyler Department of History, and the W&M Libraries Special Collections Research Center.
Questions?
For questions about The Lemon Project Symposium, email Lemon Project Associate Director Sarah Thomas at [[w|lemon]].
Join Our Mailing List
If you aren't on our mailing list but would like to join, we invite you to sign up now.