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POSTPONED – History, HeArt, and Harmonies -Interactive Workshop
August 15 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
POSTPONED – History, HeArt, and Harmonies -Interactive Workshop
Jamestown SettlementSaturday, August 15 from 9 am to 1 pmAll ages welcome. Tickets are just $10 per person, but hurry, because spots fill fast!
EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED – NEW DATE TBD
Jamestown Settlement honors the legacy of the first recorded Africans brought to Virginia in 1619 with reflections of history and modern perspectives through an African American lens.
History, HeArt, and Harmonies is an interactive workshop where you can explore museum exhibits including art, artifacts, or historical displays then translate your experience into music.
Roberta Lea will help guide you through creative prompts and songwriting techniques to write your own original song.
All ages welcome. Tickets are just $10 per person, but hurry, because spots fill fast!
Roberta Lea is an award-winning singer and songwriter who released her debut album “Too Much of a Woman” to critical acclaim and punctuated her presence in the industry with a coast-to-coast tour. Described as “country-neo-pop” with a “delicious, folky flare,” the Virginia native is known as a powerful songwriter and engaging storyteller.
This is part of the First Africans Commemoration – Saturday, August 15, 2026 at Jamestown Settlement
Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia history and culture, will honor the legacies of the first recorded Africans brought to Virginia in 1619 with two dynamic programs on Saturday, August 15, blending history, music and religion.
The story of the first recorded Africans brought to Virginia in August 1619, as well as their culture and traditions, unfolds year-round in Jamestown Settlement’s immersive exhibition galleries with period artifacts, interactives and films, including the “From Africa to Virginia” multimedia presentation.
Special programs on August 15 include:
Black Churches in Virginia History • 2 to 4 p.m.
The Robins Foundation Theater is the setting for a powerful conversation about the development of the Black church in Virginia and its impact on the community today, followed by a performance by the Freedom Choir, organized by Sylvia Tabb-Lee and featuring musical director James Marsh.
The distinguished panel features:
• Travis Harris, Ph.D., a Norfolk State University assistant professor and world-renown scholar of African diaspora and the Black experience, will look at the primary religious artifacts found in Virginia in the 17th century.
• Brandon Lee, a Williamsburg native, actor, musician and historical character interpreter and University of Virginia alumnus with a background in African and African American studies, will explore Black churches in revolutionary Williamsburg.
• The Rev. Dr. Carlon Lassiter of Saint John Baptist Church in Williamsburg, Va., and a respected scholar of the African American religious experience, will lead a discussion on the importance of Black churches to the community today.
The program is free with museum admission.
