Menokin
Now entering its fifth season, Menokin’s Speaker Series is presented in a traditional way, yet delves into topics and demonstrations that are out-of-the-ordinary in scope and subject matter. Campfire Conversations, an offshoot of the speaker series, take place outdoors around an open fire as a means of encouraging participants to take a closer look at what may be difficult topics while participating in a safe, supportive dialog with others. To help set the tone and encourage mingling, historic beverages and edibles will be served.
“We look for speakers who are, like Menokin, exploring new and innovative ways to approach traditional topics of interest, methodology and ideology,” says assistant director Leslie Rennolds.
The goal of both series is to appeal to a wide range of interests and experience. The Speaker series run from 4–6 p.m., timed, Rennolds says, so that working folks can scoot out a little early to attend and older folks can get home before it gets too late.
Jobie Hill, a licensed architect whose research andprofessional work has focused exclusively on domestic slave buildings since 2011, will give the May 17 talk. Her project, the Slave House Database, is an effort to ensure that slave houses, finally recognized as irreplaceable pieces of history, aren’t lost forever.
Lately, she’s seen a positive cultural shift in acknowledging the legacy of American slavery. “It’s vital for our national self-worth to give voice to enslaved individuals and recognize and present authentic, truthful accounts of slavery,” Hill explains. “Stories of enslaved people, told in part by the slave houses they inhabited, have the capacity to facilitate our nation’s efforts to collectively move forward from the legacy of slavery.”
On June 23, University of Richmond professor Daryl Dance, who’s spent much of her career collecting, analyzing, and attempting to preserve the rich body of African-American folklore, will lead a campfire conversation on her book, Four Hundred Years of African-American Folklore.
She says African-American folklore is crucial for discovering the realities of the Black experience in this country. “Despite the difficulties they faced, slaves somehow found moments to enjoy sharing sad/funny stories, stories designed to entertain, amuse, teach, and inspire their children and cohorts, to protest their condition, to explain their world, to appease their masters, to berate their masters and at times simply to flaunt their histrionic skills,” says Dance.
A glass carving lecture and demonstration takes place on June 13 and a talk on early Tidewater building techniques on July 13. The July 28 Campfire Conversation will revolve around the African-American oral tradition of spirituals. On August 12, Menokin will host a Perseids Meteor shower viewing party from 8–10 p.m.
Menokin’s programming is dedicated to those who carved out an existence at Menokin and left evidence behind: the Rappahannock, early American thinkers, plantation owners, the enslaved, immigrant workers, architects and professional builders.
“We want visitors to take away an understanding of the individual’s place in history as a builder and maker,”Rennolds says, “And as an inspiration for the role of the individual in carving our present and future.”
4037 Menokin Road, Warsaw · menokin.org
