VCU Libraries’ 17th Annual Black History Month Lecture will take place February 20, 2019, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, featuring a thought-provoking discussion about how our society treated African-American veterans after their service and how that affected soldiers and their communities. The lecture, held at James Branch Cabell Library, Lecture Hall (Room 303), will explore the injustices and insults experienced by African-American soldiers returning home. This event is free and open to all, but registration is requested. Parking is available for a fee in the West Broad Street, West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks.

Speakers include:

Christy Coleman, executive director of the American Civil War Museum, was featured in Time magazine’s July 2018 article “Meet the 31 People Who Are Changing the South.” She will address the experience of African-Americans in the wake of the Civil War.

Adriane Lentz-Smith, Ph.D, associate professor of African and African-American studies and women’s studies at Duke University and author of the 2009 book Freedom Struggles: African-Americans and World War I, will address the challenges faced by African-Americans after service in the military during WWI.

Kiara Boone, Deputy Director of Community Education with the Equal Justice Institute, will discuss EJI’s landmark 2016 report, “Lyching in America: Targeting Black Veterans.”

Jeffrey Blount (moderator) is an Emmy Award–winning television director whose 34-year career at NBC News included a decade of directing such shows as Meet the Press, The Today Show, The Chris Matthews Show and others. He is a commentator on issues of race and social justice and also an accomplished novelist whose latest book, The Emancipation of Evan Walls, is forthcoming this spring from Koehler Books.

The 17th Annual Black History Month Lecture is presented by VCU Libraries in partnership with VCU Military Student Services and sponsored by the Friends of VCU Libraries and the Francis M. Foster African-American History Endowment Fund.