The Lemon Project: A Journey of Reconciliation

10/09/2026

The Lemon Project was glad to be at the dedication of the African Baptist Meeting House today, and we look forward to continue celebrating tomorrow! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19bRHX3ZV7/

10/08/2026

Mrs. Opal Lee celebrated her 100th birthday yesterday! From NPR: Civil rights icon Opal Lee celebrates 100th birthday by ‘Clearing the Way’ for new museum

Opal Lee, the Grandmother of Juneteenth, turns 100 today, and her team has two marquee events scheduled for her centennial celebration.

10/07/2026

From WAVY: Replica of first Black church in Colonial Williamsburg nears completion

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WAVY) — A replica of the first black church in the Colonial Williamsburg region is about to be completed, showing that black history has always been there. The original First Bap…

10/06/2026

Join us on October 28 at 5 pm for a Lemon's Legacies Porch Talk on Blacks' Beach with author Darlene Giles. Register today to receive a free parking pass. Register to receive a parking pass at⁠ https://events.wm.edu/event/view/lemonproject/378497
⁠
In Blacks’ Beach, Darlene Black Giles uncovers the hidden legacy of her ancestors in Charles City County, Virginia people whose lives were shaped by slavery, segregation, resilience, and an unbreakable connection to the land they fought to preserve. Blending genealogy, oral history, historical research, and deeply personal memories, this remarkable narrative traces generations of African American families from colonial Virginia through the Civil War and beyond. ⁠
⁠
From the plantations of Weyanoke and Sherwood Forest to the shores of a tiny five-acre peninsula known as Blacks’ Beach, Giles pieces together the forgotten voices of those erased from official history. Through stories passed down by grandparents, rare historical records, and emotional reflections on race, identity, family, and faith, Blacks’ Beach becomes more than a memoir; it is a testimony to endurance, heritage, and the power of remembering. Rich with historical detail and heartfelt storytelling, this book will resonate with readers interested in African American history, genealogy, Southern history, slavery studies, family legacy, and cultural identity.⁠
⁠

10/05/2026

The deadline to submit a proposal for the 17th Annual Lemon Project Spring Symposium has been extended to October 16, 2026. https://www.wm.edu/sites/lemonproject/annual_symposium/

The theme of the 17th Annual Lemon Project Spring Symposium, Our Shared Histories, Our Shared Work: From Reckoning to Repair, aims to answer the following questions: How have communities experienced, shaped, and sustained the places, institutions, and nation they call home? What are the emerging best practices on institutional and community collaborative histories and heritage preservation? How can institutions pursue reconciliation and healing while confronting the ongoing harm and tensions that continue to affect the communities they seek to repair relationships with? And how might communities move beyond institutional narratives to tell their own stories—within, alongside, and beyond those institutions?

10/02/2026

From the New Journal and Guide: African American Civil War Museum Features Former First Lady Michelle Obama, a Descendant of Civil War Heroes

A new African American Civil War Museum exhibit traces Michelle Obama’s family history from formerly enslaved ancestors who fought for freedom to the White House. , , , , , , , ...

09/30/2026

Deadline extended! 17th Annual Lemon Project Spring Symposium Call for Proposals, Submissions due October 16, 2026 (extended from October 5, 2026).

https://www.wm.edu/sites/lemonproject/annual_symposium/

The theme of the 17th Annual Lemon Project Spring Symposium, Our Shared Histories, Our Shared Work: From Reckoning to Repair, aims to answer the following questions: How have communities experienced, shaped, and sustained the places, institutions, and nation they call home? What are the emerging best practices on institutional and community collaborative histories and heritage preservation? How can institutions pursue reconciliation and healing while confronting the ongoing harm and tensions that continue to affect the communities they seek to repair relationships with? And how might communities move beyond institutional narratives to tell their own stories—within, alongside, and beyond those institutions?

The symposium is multi-disciplinary and open to all. We seek proposals from people who research Black and/or Indigenous communities and/or institutional histories, including but not limited to academic and descendant and/or family researchers and historians, educators, genealogists, activists, spiritual practitioners, and members of Greater Williamsburg/Virginia communities, communities across the United States, and beyond. We invite a broad range of topics from people who work in the fields of American Studies, Black Studies, Anthropology, History, Public Humanities, Preservation, Oral History, STEM, among others. We also invite community organizers, activists, mental health professionals, and wellness practitioners to submit proposals in areas such as cultural production (art, poetry, music), wellness, and spirituality.

The symposium has six core objectives centered on reckoning, collaboration, and repair:

-Build networks among individuals, community groups, and institutions engaged in reckoning with institutional harms.
-Share strategies for community-centered, collaborative cultural heritage preservation.
-Generate actionable approaches to advance equity, belonging, accountability, and reconciliation.
-Center community knowledge, lived experience, and storytelling as essential forms of historical interpretation and public memory.
-Examine the ongoing impacts of land dispossession, racial inequity, and institutional decision-making.

09/29/2026

Check out this VPM article on this past weekend's DEC-VA Symposium: Symposium helps descendants of enslaved people connect with family history

“We believe descendants should not simply be the subjects of research.”

09/28/2026

Join the Lemon Project on October 28 at 5 pm at Swem Library's Glenna Bowman MacKenzie Theatre for a Lemon's Legacies Porch Talk on Blacks' Beach with Darlene Giles.

In Blacks’ Beach, Darlene Black Giles uncovers the hidden legacy of her ancestors in Charles City County, Virginia people whose lives were shaped by slavery, segregation, resilience, and an unbreakable connection to the land they fought to preserve.

Blending genealogy, oral history, historical research, and deeply personal memories, this remarkable narrative traces generations of African American families from colonial Virginia through the Civil War and beyond. From the plantations of Weyanoke and Sherwood Forest to the shores of a tiny five-acre peninsula known as Blacks’ Beach, Giles pieces together the forgotten voices of those erased from official history.

Register at https://events.wm.edu/event/view/lemonproject/378497

09/25/2026

Nearly 4m records of enslaved people in 20 former British colonies now searchable online
Collection’s 300,000 pages record lives of enslaved people in countries including the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Mauritius, South Africa and Trinidad

Exclusive: Collection’s 300,000 pages record lives of enslaved people in countries including the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Mauritius, South Africa and Trinidad