HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — The Hampton community will virtually commemorate a significant historical milestone this year.
Exactly 401 years ago, the first enslaved Africans were brought to English North America at Old Point Comfort which is known as — Fort Monroe.
Last year, Fort Monroe National Monument held a massive event to commemorate the 400th Anniversary but due to COVID-19, organizers say 2020’s event will happen online.
“This is our generational responsibility on how we can commemorate this. Future generations are going to look back and say, ‘how did they honor this in 2020?'” said Glenn Oder, who is executive director of the Fort Monroe Authority.
The event on Saturday will include a ceremony that will feature remarks given by Governor Ralph Northam, as well as a Lift Your Voice panel.
Calvin Pearson, who is a Hampton native and founder of Project 1619, will speak on the panel.
He started the non-profit back in the 1990s.
“It’s been in my heart for 26 years to tell that story and we just want to tell the true stories of our ancestors in this country we now call the United States of America,” he said.
Pearson says he recently traced back his roots to one of the first Africans brought here so it means even more to him to continue to tell the story for the ancestors who went through this traumatic event.
He hopes Saturday’s event will also give people a place to come together and discuss race history in the shadow of the social upheaval we’ve seen this year.
“I think it just all came to a head,” Pearson said about people’s push for social justice amid three high profile killings of African Americans. “It’s a hope for a better future that tomorrow, next year and the year after that, we’ll see a change in America that respects all people. That’s a hope that this brings all people together for an interchange, for a discussion, and that’s what we’ll be doing on Saturday,” he said.
Fort Monroe Acting Superintendent Eola Dance hopes that people will be able to see Fort Monroe — which has a rich yet complicated racial history — as a place to heal and reconcile with the past.
“This is a contemplative space,” she said. “It’s, in a lot of ways, where we honor our ancestors through work or ceremony. Fort Monroe is essential in thinking about that. Not only is it significant to understanding the history of Hampton Roads, but the making of America and the broader African diaspora.”
Oder also hopes Saturday’s event can help educate people. He says that many teachers across the country have reached out to Fort Monroe about educational research for their students to tell about 1619.
“We’re all involved in a journey. We’re all learning about our history and how it affects us individually. I think the more you can learn about this subject and what happened, the more conversations you can have with your families and community and I think we’ll grow as a nation. I think at this point, Point Comfort is a great place to start,” he said.
Attendees for the virtual event can also answer questions as well as contribute to the making of a virtual quilt.
The ceremony starts at 10 a.m. and the panel starts at 2 p.m.
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