The executive director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in Williamsburg, VA, Ms. Coleman also serves as a member of the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission. Her remarks will be titled, “How Shall We Remember?”
The 2023 Founders Day Lecture is sponsored by Hampden-Sydney’s 250th Anniversary Planning Committee, Department of History, Office of Culture and Inclusion, and Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest.
WHAT: Hampden-Sydney College 2023 Founders Day Lecture by Christy S. Coleman
WHEN: Thursday, November 9, 2023, at 7:30pm
WHERE: Crawley Forum, Hampden-Sydney College
While priority seating is reserved for Hampden-Sydney students and employees, this event is open to the public. Parking will be available in the lot adjacent to Crawley Forum. Questions about the event may be directed to Director of College Events Cameron Cary at ccary@hsc.edu.
Founders Day is an annual commemoration of the day Hampden-Sydney College held its first classes, November 10, 1775. Each year, the College hosts a lecture as part of the festivities. Recent speakers include the pioneering heart surgeon Ranny Chitwood ’68 and former U.S. Congressman Robert Hurt ’91.
Christy S. Coleman Biography
Christy S. Coleman is executive director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, an educational agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia accredited by the American Alliance of Museums that administers Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. She has held leadership roles at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and the American Civil War Museum. She is an innovator and leader in her field and a tireless advocate for the power of museums, narrative correction, diversity, and inclusiveness.
Coleman has earned numerous awards for her decades of impact, including three honorary doctorates. In 2018, Time magazine named Coleman one of the “31 People Changing the South” and Worth magazine named her one of “29 Women Changing the World” in 2019. An accomplished screenwriter and public speaker, she has appeared on several national news and history programs.
Coleman’s accomplishments extend into the realm of broadcast, where she has served as the historical consultant for the award-winning film “Harriett” and Showtime’s “Good Lord Bird,” with additional projects in the queue. She’s most recently appeared in award-winning documentaries, “Grant,” “Abraham Lincoln,” “Black Patriots: Civil War Heroes,” “Neutral Ground,” and “When The Monuments Came Down.”