Book Talk at the Library of Virginia - Help Me to Find My People: The African American Search for Family Lost in Slavery
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Time: 6:00 PM–8:00 PM

The pain and hope in the search for lost kin

Immediately following the Civil War, African Americans placed "information wanted" advertisements in newspapers, searching for missing family members. Heather Andrea Williams was inspired by the power of these ads and uses slave narratives, letters, interviews, public records, and diaries to guide readers back to the devastating moments of family separation during slavery. Williams explores the heartbreaking stories of separation and the long, usually unsuccessful journeys toward reunification. Williams follows those who were separated, chronicles their searches, and documents the rare experience of reunion. She also explores the sympathy, indifference, hostility, and empathy expressed by whites about sundered black families. Williams shows how searches for family members in the post–Civil War era continue to reverberate in African American culture in the ongoing search for family history and connection across generations.

Heather Andrea Williams is associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of Self-Taught: African American Education in Slavery and Freedom.

A book signing will follow the talk.

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Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello: Her Life and Times
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Time: 12:00 PM–1:00 PM

As the oldest and favorite daughter of Thomas Jefferson, Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph (1772–1836) was extremely well educated, traveled in the circles of presidents and aristocrats, and was known on two continents for her particular grace and sincerity. Yet, as a mistress of a large household, she was not spared the tedium, frustration, and great sorrow that most women of her time faced. Though Randolph's name is familiar because of her famous father, Kierner is the first historian to place her at the center of her own story, taking readers into the largely ignored private spaces of the founding era. Randolph's life story reveals the privileges and limits of celebrity and shows that women were able to venture beyond their domestic roles in surprising ways. Cynthia A. Kierner is professor of history at George Mason University. A book signing will follow the talk.

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"Books on Broad" Edgar Allan Poe's Richmond: The Raven in the River City
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Time: 5:30 PM–7:30 PM

Chris Semtner, curator at the Poe Museum in Richmond, joins us to discuss his newest book. Edgar Allan Poe's Richmond: The Raven in the River City reveals how the mystery, madness and tragedy that Poe encountered during his time in Richmond helped shape his life and literature.

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In Service of Children: African American Children's History Before and After Emancipation
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Time: 6:00 PM–8:00 PM

Dr. Wilma King, the Arvarh E. Strickland Professor of African American History and Culture and professor of history at the University of Columbia, Missouri, will share her research on the history of African American children, before and after Emancipation, and will explore how lessons drawn from the past can inform how we—parents, teachers, and community members—can advocate for today's youth. This free program is offered by a partnership of Hope in the Cities, the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, the Virginia NAACP, and the Library of Virginia.

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For previous book talks please visit our calendar of events.