Join James City County Parks & Recreation on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Freedom Park Interpretive Center for two programs featuring our local black history.
Coming
To The Table, a national non-profit organization which works to improve race relations, will be presenting from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Organization member and author Bill Sizemore will lead a discussion on his book, Uncle George and
Me. The book documents research he conducted into his family’s history, the revelation that his Virginia ancestors held slaves and the reconnecting and reconciling with the family’s painful legacy of slavery in the South. The presentation is followed by a book signing.
The presentation Black
Settlement at Freedom Park is featured from 3-4 p.m. Come discover the little-known history of one of the first free black settlements in the United States. Col. Lafayette Jones Jr. (pictured), a descendant of
those who lived on the Free Black Settlement, will give a presentation on the
rich history of this area. Through his research, you’ll get a glimpse of 18th
century life in James City County more than 60 years before the Emancipation
Proclamation. All ages welcome; children must be accompanied by an adult. The
presentation is followed by a book signing.
Freedom
Park is located at 5537 Centerville Road. For more information, call
757-259-4022.
Media Contact:
Veda McMullen, Senior Communications Coordinator
757-259-5415; veda.mcmullen@jamescitycountyva.gov