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Freedom's Paradox

Take a 60-minute walking tour of the Randolph Yard, Market Square and Palace Green.

After making a free life for herself as an adopted Shawnee Indian, Methotaskee is brought back into slavery.

Join Harold Caldwell, apprentice carpenter, as he shares a pictorial of the connected 18th-century African and Virginian history, while tying it to a modern understanding.

Thomas Jefferson and John Hemings: A Collaboration

After his retirement, Jefferson returned to Monticello, where he relied on his African American joiner, John Hemings, an enslaved woodworker, to build and decorate Monticello.

Voices of Their Hands

Discuss the lives of enslaved tradespeople on this walking tour. Hear from our historic tradespeople discussing their experiences interpreting skilled laborers and their work.

Works By Black Artists and Artisans

Tour the museum galleries, including the “I Made This” exhibition, to explore decorative arts and folk art made by Black American artists and artisans. Free reservation required.

Private Family Tour

Your group's private guide will lead your family through town to learn more about what it was like to live in the 18th century.

Silent Night

From the Revolutionary War to Vietnam, travel through time as women in various wartime roles struggle to experience a silent night in the midst of the sounds of war.

A Taste of Freedom

This performance tells the story of Americus Weston’s journey to freedom during the Civil War, developed to commemorate Juneteenth.

Freedom's Paradox for Home Educators

Learn about the evolution of slavery, and how the institution impacted Williamsburg, the Colony of Virginia, and both the master and enslaved people.

Clothing Enslaved People in Colonial Virginia

This lecture will explore some of the complex relationships between apparel, labor, identity, and enslavement.

How Did They Survive?

Join Ayinde Martin, Journeyman Carpenter, to discuss enslaved people in colonial Virginia and their survival techniques and skills.

God is My Rock

Gowan Pamphlet, an enslaved man and popular local preacher, offers his perspective on slavery, religion, and freedom.

(re)educate

This theatrical performance explores the agency of free and enslaved students of the Williamsburg Bray School and the legacies of their lessons.

She Had on When She Went Away

Explore the material culture and lives of self-liberated Black women in the 18th century and the society they inhabited.

Loquacious Lucy, Queen for a Day

When Lucy, a loquacious enslaved child, learns that her friend has been sold, her father must teach her hard lessons about slavery and instill in her the pride of her ancestors.

A Taste of Freedom For Home Educators

This performance tells the story of Americus Weston’s journey to freedom during the Civil War, developed to commemorate Juneteenth.

Visit a Nation Builder- Reverend Gowan Pamphlet

Step into the past with Gowan Pamphlet, revolutionary Black Baptist preacher. Through stories and questions, explore the hopes, choices, and challenges he faced.

Black History Month

Learn even more about Black History Month by exploring these resources from both our museum and other trusted institutions.

The African American Experience

During the 18th century, half of Williamsburg’s population was Black. Learn more about the daily life and culture of African Virginians.

Celebrating Juneteenth

This Wednesday, June 19, while people across the nation commemorate the anniversary of the emancipation of the last enslaved African Americans in America, guests to Colonial Williamsburg can discover untold stories about the men and women of color who lived in 18th- and 19th-century Williamsburg. Actor Interpreters and Archaeologists will …

Why "Created Equal?"

We started with a question that Frederick Douglass asked in 1852, “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?”The idea for ‘Created Equal’ came in the days following the Fourth of July in 2018. As we reviewed the programming that we offered on that day, I realized that we …

African American Watercolors

At Colonial Williamsburg, we uncover stories through archaeology, journals, architectural clues, and of course, through art. Join us on Nov. 8 at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg for a fascinating opportunity to explore three unique historic watercolors featuring African Americans with paper conservator Pamela Young.Here are the three pieces …

What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth Freedom Day, also known as Juneteenth, celebrates the end of slavery and the emancipation of the former slave people. Read on to learn more.

How to Make a Market Wallet

A market wallet is an all-purpose bag used in the 18th century as a substitution for plastic bags. Read on to learn how to make a market wallet at home.

Bringing the Past to Life: From Archaeologists to Actors

Discover how an archeologist and artist in Colonial Williamsburg work together to bring the past to life. Read more to learn about this collaborative effort

Reflections on ‘Created Equal’

Based on the lives of enslaved people in the 18th century, Creating Equal focuses on the idea that "all men are created equal." Learn more about this program.

Telling Their Stories

Embodying the persona of enslaved persons has enhanced my artistic development, expanded my mind, and forced me to go places within myself I never would have imagined. ‘Enslaved’ is an out of character term used to provide humanity to the people who were held in bondage. The law was the …

The Enslaved Men and Women of Margaret Hunter’s Millinery

In a previous post last July, we introduced the story of Margaret Hunter, one of Williamsburg’s milliners, who made and sold fashionable ornaments to accessorize both wardrobes and lifestyles. As an unmarried woman who owned her own shop, she represents an important example of one of many female entrepreneurs whose …

Restoring Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery Posts

In early July of this year, I received an inquiry from Juan, a Boy Scout from Maryland. He was looking for an African American blacksmith working in Maryland to assist with an Eagle Scout project to rehabilitate the Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church cemetery in Glen Arm, Maryland. The …

Connecting with the Past

Archaeological investigation has been ongoing at Colonial Williamsburg since 1928. Each decade since has offered new ways to examine old artifacts as scientific advances and sociological perspectives provide fresh insight. Active digs in the Historic Area give guests an opportunity to watch the process, ask questions, and participate in the …

Researching 40 Years of African American Interpretation

Delve into the research behind the 40 years of African-American Interpretation exhibit at Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Read on to learn more.

200 Years of Returns: A Cross-Cultural Collaboration

In November of 2019, the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD) conference was held at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Pilot of the Patriot

Guests to Colonial Williamsburg discover early in their visit that at the start of the American Revolution, just over half the city’s population was enslaved. These people labored in trade shops, taverns, and the homes of Williamsburg’s well-to-do. Outside the city, enslaved people could be found working on plantations and …

Resources for Understanding Race and Inequality Through History

Learn about the racial inequality and injustice endured by the free and enslaved African-Americans in the 18th century—Uncover the reality of the slave trade.

Research Spotlight: Finding Peter

Join us as we look into the life of an enslaved person called Peter, who self-emancipated himself through running away. Read on to learn more.

Exploring African American History Through Music

Learn about the instruments that have been a part of African Americans' music during the 18th century. Watch the video to discover history through music.

How to Read a Runaway Ad

Primary source documents are treasures for interpreters and the Virginia Gazette of the 18th century is one of my favorite places to explore and learn more about people of the time period, especially people who were enslaved. My focus is primarily Afro-Virginians since I represent enslaved and free blacks in …

A Survey of the Material Culture of Enslaved Black Women through Runaway Slave Advertisements

The lives of enslaved women are often viewed through their enslavement, their work, and their suppression and violation within a slave society. They are often viewed as an amorphous group, nameless, faceless, unchanged over 200 years of slavery. Their individual stories obscured by neglect. Few stop to think about these …

Research Spotlight: Finding Colonial Williamsburg's Black Archaeologists

Twenty-twenty was an excellent year to be an archaeologist. Direction from the CDC that we gather only outdoors, and that we maintain social distance required only minor tweaks to excavation protocols. Over the last 15 months, Colonial Williamsburg’s archaeologists have charged ahead, spreading out across four acres to excavate Custis …

A Future and a Hope

Robert Carter III, an unlikely emancipator, brought his young family and enslaved “domesticks” to his Palace Green home in 1761. Carter was a member of the Governor’s Council and the grandson of Virginia landholder, slaveholder, and slave trader Robert “King” Carter. As a child, Robert Carter III had inherited over …

What Can Paint Analysis Tell Us About the Bray School?

The discovery and examination of the Williamsburg Bray School has been an important and exciting project for William & Mary and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (CW), particularly CW’s Department of Architectural Preservation and Research, working in collaboration with the Department of Conservation.

Finding Edmond Parsons

Have you ever felt that you were being followed?Born into slavery around 1815, Edmond Parsons would have been 200 years old the summer we met — he as the former resident of a 19th-century house on Duke of Gloucester Street, and I as an archaeologist uncovering its chimney. For the …

First Baptist Church Excavation Project

Join us as we excavate the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg—the country's first church for free and enslaved worshippers. Learn more about our findings.

44 Results for tag "African American"