NSU to host three-day 1619 Making of America Event in the Fall

Norfolk State Hosts Three-day Event as Part of 400th Commemoration

New Virginians: 1619-2019 & Beyond

As part of American Evolution, the Library of Virginia is offering the exhibit, New Virginians: 1619-2019 & Beyond. The exhibition, made in conjunction with Virginia Humanities, explores the immigration and refugee experience and Virginia’s increasing diversity through video interviews with firstgeneration newcomers. Solomon Isekeije, professor of fine arts, is part of the exhibit, which runs through December 7, 2019. The New Virginians exhibition explores themes such as opportunity, family, service, faith, and gratitude – and features artifacts related to the interviewees’ personal journeys. You can view the interviews at http://edu.lva.virginia.gov/ changemakers/new-virginians

American Evolution highlights the significance and modern relevance of several important events that occurred in Virginia in 1619. These events strongly influenced the development of the colony and shaped the foundation of the United States. Norfolk State University is playing a prominent role in the telling of this history. The University will host a three-day event on campus September 25-27. The 1619 Making of America summit will explore the 400- year journey of our founding cultures; African, Native, and English peoples; immigrant stories; and the contributions and influences that have shaped the building of America.

At the foundation of the cross-cultural event will be the question, “Who are we as Americans?” Leading with the African American voice, over the course of the 1619 event, scholars, thought leaders, artists, filmmakers, dignitaries and students will delve into America’s current and historic chronicle with more accuracy and with a lens towards a more inclusive future.

The Summit will explore four themes through conversations with scholars and media personalities that include:

• Reimagining Representations of People of Color How does media, news, entertainment, and other forms of popular culture play a significant role in shaping perceptions of people of color?

• America’s Future: Citizenship and the Law in America What defines citizenship, civil rights, and the American class system?

• America’s Narrative Reframed Why is the forced arrival of Africans to Old Point Comfort in the Virginia Colony in 1619, and those hundreds who followed in the 17th century, important in our understanding of the American history narrative?

• Finding America’s Root Is there generational power in uncovering who Americans really are?

The 1619 Making of America summit will provide an opportunity to review who we are as Americans and the enduring quality and importance of author James Baldwin’s words “Our history is our present, and we cannot run away from it.”

For more information, go to www.nsu.edu/1619MakingofAmerica