Past Symposia
Each spring, the Lemon Project hosts an annual symposium that invites researchers, academics, and members of the community to shed light on the past experiences of African-Americans in and around the College of William and Mary so as to provide a usable past for our future.
2011: "From Slavery Toward Reconciliation: African Americans & the College," Bruton Heights School
2012: “The Journey Continues: Learning From Difference,” Bruton Heights School
2013: “Campus & Communities: The African American Experience Along the Peninsula,” Bruton Heights School (Friday evening) and the School of Education (Saturday)
2014: “Aspiring for Change: Representations of the African American Experience,” Bruton Heights School (Friday evening) and the School of Business (Saturday)
2015: “Ghosts of Slavery: The Afterlives of Racial Bondage,” Bruton Heights Auditorium (Friday evening), the School of Education (Saturday), and Sadler Center (Open Mic Night)
2016: “Jim Crow & Civil Rights in the Age of President Obama,” Kimball Theater (Friday evening) and the School of Education
2017: “Black Revolutionary Thought From Gabriel to Black Lives Matter," First Baptist Church (Friday evening), the School of Business, and the Sadler Center Lodge One (Open Mic Night)
2018: Lemon Project & 50-Year Commemoration Symposium: Building on the Legacy, "Desegregating Higher Education in Virginia: William and Mary in Historical Context," at the Sadler Center (Friday), the School of Education (Saturday), and Small Hall (Open Mic)
2019: “Celebrating Legacies, Constructing Futures: Four Hundred Years of Black Community and Culture” Universities Studying Slavery Consortium Meeting at the Sir Christopher Wren Building (Thursday), Brown Hall yard (Friday morning), and the School of Education (Friday and Saturday).
2020: “When and Where They Enter: Four Centuries of Black Women in America," was canceled because of COVID-19.
2021: "Four Centuries of Black Women in America: Freedom, Activism, and Justice for All," Virtual Symposium, March 22-27, 2021.
2022: "The Time is Now: The Lives of Black Men Past, Present, and Future," In-Person and Virtual Symposium, School of Education, March 25-26, 2022.
2023: "At the Root: Exploring Black Life, History, and Culture," In-Person and Virtual Symposium, School of Education and Hearth: Memorial to the Enslaved, March 24-25, 2023.
2024: Taking Our Time: Healing Through Black History, Family, and Communities," In Person and Virtual Symposium, School of Education and Lodge 1, Sadler Center, March 22-23, 2024.
