Upcoming Events
" 1619-2019: Medicine, Arts, and Social Justice: From Jamestown to Flint" Symposium
WILLIAMSBURG – The Africana Studies Program Middle Passage Project of the College of William & Mary has coordinated with Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), The Lemon Project, and The Governor’s School for the Arts to present the first Medicine, Arts and Social Justice symposium, “1619-2019: From Jamestown to Flint.”
The symposium will take place on Saturday, April 23 in the Tidewater room at William & Mary’s Sadler Center, located next to Zable Stadium off Richmond Road. The symposium, sponsored by the W&M Africana Studies Program Middle Passage Project, runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public. The one day symposium has been organized entirely by Professor Joanne Braxton’s “Medicine, Arts and Social Justice” students as a practical aspect of their coursework this semester. Michaela Rossi and Gavin Oplinger are co-coordinators of the event.
Dr. Teresa Babineau, Associate Dean of Students at EVMS, who is a member of the William & Mary-EVMS Narrative Medicine for Excellence team, will give the keynote address at 1 p.m., her subject entitled “Everyone Has a Story: Narrative Medicine as Social Activism.” Other participants include Professor Jody Allen of the Lemon Project and Professor Artisia Green, of the Africana Studies Program. Professor Green is also a member of the William & Mary-EVMS Narrative Medicine for Excellence team.
The symposium will feature morning presentations by W&M students on issues ranging from cross-cultural medicine and the international refugee crisis to the impact of trauma and the importance of trauma management, especially for those in the helping and healing professions. The presentations, grouped thematically, are aimed at shedding light on the vast range of health care and social justice issues present across multiple disciplines.
This is an excellent opportunity for the community to come together to listen to and discuss public health and the relationship of health care and social justice issues in our society today.
Following the keynote address, actors from The Governor’s School for the Arts will Theatre Department will perform “Reframe the Shame.” The goal of this work is to spread awareness about the stigma surrounding mental illness as it reflects the thoughts of youth who struggled with depression, especially after being bullied. The outline for the performance, built collaboratively by Mr. Steve Earle of the Governor’s School with colleagues from Norfolk State University, comes from anonymous transcripts from real people who consider themselves to be depressed and have contemplated suicide.
Dancers from the Leah Glenn Dance Theatre will also perform a piece, “Hush,” about the communication and relationship between a parent and her autistic child. Hush will be performed again at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on May 28.
Recent Events
Brian Dias Public Lecture
Traumatic and stressful events undoubtedly impact the physiology and neurobiology of the exposed population and often times catalyze the development of neuropsychiatric disorders like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and phobias. More recently, studies involving descendants of Holocaust survivors, famine-exposed populations, and mothers subjected to abuse, provide evidence that the effects of such trauma and stress extend beyond the ancestral generation. This lecture will address our current understanding of the mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders in ancestral and descendant populations, and also discuss therapeutic interventions that range from molecular neuroscience to contemplative traditions like meditation.
Location: Washington Hall 201
Date and Time: Thursday, October 1, 2015; 5:00 pm - 6:00pm
A Talk by W&M Biology Professor Shanta Hinton
The Narrative Medicine for Excellence Project presents Professor Shanta Hinton discussing the "Forgotten Father of Epigenetics:" E. Ernest Just, 1883-1941. Following Professor Hinton's talk, there will be a response by Brian Dias, a distinguished visiting professor.
Location: 221 James Blair Hall
Date and Time: Thursday, October 1, 2015; 12:30 pm -1:30 pm
Past Events
The Black Heritage Banquet
Have a craving for unique and delicious dishes from Africa, the Caribbean, and even right here in the U.S. South? Bring your bibs and buddies to The Black Heritage Banquet where we will celebrate Black Heritage in the U.S. and around the world. Dr. Harvey Bakari of the African American Research Depaartment in Colonial Williamsburg will give a special presentation "Princes without a Palace" detailing the journey of African princes that had captured and enslaved and remarkably made it back to Africa. Presented in collaboration with the W&M Black Caucus.
Location: Tidewater B (Sadler Center)
Date and Time: Sunday, February 23; 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
African Diaspora Disconnections
Join the Black Caucus for a panel discussing African, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latino immigration to the United States and their connection and or disconnection with the African American community. Speakers to be announced. Presented in collaboration with the W&M Black Caucus.
Location: McGlothlin-Street Hall Room 20
Date and Time: Tuesday, February 25; 4:45 pm - 7:00 pm
Booker's Place
"Booker's Place": The Story of Black Mississippi Waiter Who Lost Life by Speaking Out
(democracynow.org). In 1965, Booker Wright, an African-American waiter in Greenwood, Mississippi, dared to be interviewed by NBC about racism in America, a decision that forever changed his and his family's lives. Organized by Imani Price and co-sponsored with Africana House. Professor Braxton will lead a Q&A after the screening.
Location: Africana House (Pleasants Hall)
Date and Time: February 25; 6:30 pm onwards
Getting into "Hot Water"
Join Dr. Braxton as she explores the importance of the Hot Water Tract; site of today's Freedom Park. In this informal talk, Braxton will explore the relationship of the Middle Passage, which brought Africans to the Americas for involuntary servitude, and the independent community established and maintained by formerly enslaved persons and their descendants after many were freed by the will of William Ludwell Lee in 1803. "Hot Water" later became a part of the still vibrant community of Centerville. Presented in collaboration with James City County Parks and Recreation.
Location: Freedom Park (Centerville)
Date and Time: Saturday, February 15; 4 pm
The African Odyssey Exhibit
Do you believe that it's possible to encourage racial reconciliation by discussing slavery? Do you believe racial reconciliation should be an essential goal for a liberal arts institution like W&M? Come join the discussion! Dr. Joanne Braxton, director of the W&M Middle Passage Project and 1619 Initiative, will give a talk about the Middle Passage. A reception following the talk will highlight the African Odyssey Exhibit which features artifacts from the Brock-Critchfield Collection and photos related to the story. Presented in collaboration with the W&M Black Caucus.
Location: Botetourt Gallery (Basement of Swem)
Date and Time: Thursday, February 13; 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Civil Rights at the College of William and Mary
Have you ever wondered about the role of William and Mary students during the Civil Rights era? Were they ardent activists? Did their attitudes and beliefs clash with those of the administration? Come find the answers to these questions and more at a lecture by Dr. Jody Allen! Presented by the W&M Black Caucus and The Lemon Project.
Location: McGlothlin-Street Hall Room 20
Date and Time: Wednesday, February 12; 8 pm - 9 pm
