Come and visit Stratford Hall on July 16th for First Africans Day, commemorating the enslaved Africans and African Americans who built and sustained Stratford Hall and the Lee family for generations. This will be a free, full day of remembering and honoring those enslaved at Stratford Hall and their descendants, through music, storytelling, special tours, and lectures.
Schedule:
11:00-11:45 am: Opening Ceremony: African drumming, singing, and a performance by the Shiloh Baptist Church Choir. Gravestone dedication, African American Cemetery
1:00 pm: Performance by Storyteller & Performer Valerie Davis, Council House
2:00-3:30 pm: Bessida White, African American Genealogy Workshop, Council House
5:00-5:30 pm: The Chronicles of Adam Performance, Great Hall in Great House
5:30-6:30: pm Open Mic, Great Hall in Great House
PLEASE NOTE: The last Audio Tour will begin at 2:00 pm due to the programs in the Great House.
7:00 pm Closing Ceremony, shoreline of the Potomac River
12:00 - 5:00 pm: Demonstrations throughout the Historic Site
Dontavius Williams, African American Historical Foodways Demonstration, Historic Kitchen
Nicole Moore, 19th century African American History and Culture, Payne Memorial Cabin
Stratford Hall brings together people from around the world to experience two-thousand acres of natural and human history, preserved and presented so that we can all learn from the courageous struggles of our ancestors, taking inspiration both from what they endured and what they accomplished. There are few places in America where people can travel down small, rural roads to arrive at a vast site that preserves so many aspects of early-American life, from the Great House where the influential Lee family helped to forge a new nation, to the fields worked by enslaved Africans, to the waters of the rivers that fueled trade, to the ground, which still yields secrets about the people and animals that lived before.
Come experience this extraordinary place and learn about a layered history that began millions of years ago - a history that continues to educate, inspire, and influence Americans to the present day.
Find more Stratford Hall Historic Preserve Events and Community & Culture events in Stratford
Add To Calendar
Share 