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!
Registration will open in late January 2025.
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. |
Welcome | School of Education, Matoaka Woods |
9:10 a.m. - 10:40 a.m. |
Keynote by Dr. Daniel Black, Followed by Q&A | Matoaka Woods |
10:40 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. |
Book Signing/Break | Concourse |
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Three Concurrent Panels |
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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 |
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Panel 2: “Exploring the History of Enslavement in North Carolina and Virginia” | Dogwood |
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Panel 3: “Reclaiming Our Story” | TBA |
12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. |
Lunch | Matoaka Woods |
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Vendor and Exhibition Tours | Concourse |
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Three Concurrent Panels |
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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 |
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Panel 5: “Exploring Black American Lives through Disability, Relationships, Religion, and Conversation” | Dogwood |
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Panel 6: “Prenatal Through Postpartum: The Renaissance of Black Maternal Health” | TBA |
2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. |
Break | |
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Three Concurrent Panels |
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2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
Panel 7: “Descendant Power | Mobilizing for Community and Advocacy” | Matoaka Woods |
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Panel 8: “Jackson Ward: The Birthplace of Black Entrepreneurship” | Dogwood |
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Panel 9: “Resilience and Healing Through History and Communities” | TBA |
4:00 p.m. -4:15 p.m. |
Break | |
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Three Concurrent Panels |
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4:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. |
Panel 10: “Undefeated by Eminent Domain: The Lee Family Rebuilding after Displacement in WWI” | Matoaka Woods |
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Panel 11: “Piney Swamp: A Place of Black Resistance, a Site of Black Landedness, a Subject of Cooperative Research” | Dogwood |
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Panel 12: ““We've Come Full-Circle:” How Two Families Separated by Slavery are Back Together Again” | TBA |
5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. |
Community Reception | Matoaka Woods & Concourse |
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Vendor and Exhibition Tours | Concourse |
Saturday, March 22 |
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8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
Registration | School of Education, Concourse |
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. |
Breakfast | Concourse |
9:00 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. |
Welcome | Matoaka Woods |
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Three Concurrent Panels |
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9:10 a.m. - 10:25 a.m. |
Panel 13: “Healing Through the Arts: Music, Stories, and Dance” | Matoaka Woods |
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Panel 14: “The Resilience of Black Women” | Dogwood |
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Panel 15: “Partnership Model for Historical Preservation that Empowers Communities: The Cape Charles Rosenwald School Restoration Initiative and the W&M Public Policy Program” | TBA |
10:25 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. |
Break | |
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Three Concurrent Panels |
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10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
Panel 16: “Writing "The Williamsburg Bray School": A Study in Community Resilience and Partnership” | Matoaka Woods |
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Panel 17: “Lemon Project Graduate Student Panel” | Dogwood |
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Panel 18: “This Represents Opportunity:” Black Resilience and the Legacy of Mitchelville” | TBA |
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
Lunch | |
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Vendor and Exhibition Tours | Concourse |
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Three Concurrent Panels |
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1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. |
Panel 19: “Aspiring for Change: Community Transformation Through "Coming to the Table” | Matoaka Woods |
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Panel 20: “Initiatives For Memorialization & Institutional Accountability” | Dogwood |
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Panel 21: "Highlighting Undergraduate Research at William & Mary” | TBA |
2:15 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. |
Break | |
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Three Concurrent Panels |
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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 |
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Panel 23: “Reclaiming the Narrative: Rediscovering the Black History of Smith's Fort” | Dogwood |
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Panel 24: “Resilience Through Cooperation – William & Mary Cultural Heritage Immersion Program (CHiP)” | TBA |
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. |
Celebration Gathering |
Hearth: Memorial to the Enslaved |
Thank you for the support of the Arts & Sciences Dean’s Innovation 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]].
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