WILLIAMSBURG — The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation will launch a six-part “Director’s Series” at Jamestown Settlement in 2022.
The series, which debuts Jan. 19, will feature the Foundation’s executive director, Christy S. Coleman, engaging in enlightening conversations with “some of the nation’s most prominent scholars and public figures,” according to a Dec. 15 release.
The six-part series will take place in Jamestown Settlement’s Robins Foundation Theater, 2110 Jamestown Rd, at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays to include the dates: Jan. 19, March 16, May 25, July 20, Sept. 21 and Nov. 16.
The series will kick off on Jan. 19 with Jason Herbert, a scholar who explores the social, political, demographic and ecological transformation of Southeastern American Indians, Europeans and Africans in Florida in the 18th and 19th centuries. The conversation will explore the affect of pop culture on the public’s understanding of history and American culture.
On March 16, Coleman will talk all things Alexander Hamilton with Dr. Joanne B. Freeman, a U.S. historian of the Revolutionary era and Early Republic and tenured professor of History and American Studies at Yale University. As a leading expert on the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton, she served as a co-host of the nationally syndicated podcast “Backstory” and as a consultant for the Broadway musical “Hamilton.”
The May 25 program will feature Lonnie G. Bunch III, an American educator and historian. He is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and the first African American and first historian to serve in the role. Bunch will discuss the evolution of museums over the years and their role in life now and in the future.
Dr. Keisha Blain, an associate professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh and the 2022 New America National Fellow, has written extensively about African-American history and is a regular contributor to NPR, BBC and other national and international media outlets. On July 20, she will discuss Black freedom struggles and their impact on American history and culture.
Winona LaDuke is a member of the Ojibwe Nation, an internationally renowned activist working on issues of sustainable development, renewable energy and food systems, a 2007 inductee in the National Women’s Hall of Fame and author of five books. On Sept. 21, she will discuss her efforts to deploy Native American techniques to address environmental issues.
The series will conclude on Nov. 16, with veteran TV host, author and social media influencer Shannon Lanier. Lanier will discuss the role and responsibility of journalism and media in American discourse, as well as the approach of the 250th commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Online registration is required in advance to attend the presentations and can be made here.
Guests can reserve their spots for all six programs in the series for $50, or $10 per program. Masks will be required while in the indoor theater.
