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Virginia: Colonial Williamsburg, Celebrating More Than Three Decades of African American Programming. 060WiliamsburgNationBuildersWalking around Colonial Williamsburg is like stepping onto a movie set and being part of the action. The creative programming definitely provides a means to share living history with your children and have fun in the process.

No two days will be the same but everyday will be memorable. Colonial Williamsburg’s programming is particularly relevant today for families to explore our cultural roots, and experience the dark moments of our past in order to discover how far we’ve come as a society.  Not only is the programming fun, interactive and engaging, but it’s also a great way to provide children with the historical perspective on the historical inauguration of Barack Obama. 
 
Colonial Williamsburg’s African American programming is particularly noteworthy given how revolutionary it was when it debuted among public criticism a mere decade or so after the end of the Civil Rights Movement. The programs also served as a model and inspiration for many of the nation’s successive African American programming in existence today. The programs are extremely multifaceted, and the portrayal takes a tremendous amount of courage and emotional coaching for the colonial interpreters. The visionary behind the programs, Dr. Rex Ellis, is a storyteller who has recently left Colonial Williamsburg to curate and oversee all the program elements that are going into the soon-to-be-built Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
 
The African American programming in place today is vast and spans street theatre and musical performances in the Historic Area (reenactments by interpreters) to story-telling to museum exhibits to online games for kids - all with the mission to teach the evolution of African American life and to showcase the development of citizenship. Much like the Foundation’s mission of “so the future may learn from the past,” a philosophy shared by many West African societies is the idea of Sankofa – that we must go back and recover what was lost before we can move forward.  This strikes me as particularly relevant in providing context for the momentous and historical inauguration of President Barack Obama, and as he so eloquently pointed out, “why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.” Programs embrace this philosophy to illustrate the relevance of 18 th century history to today’s visitors. 060WilliamsburgSoldiers
 
The rich experiences offered evoke powerful emotions and open visitors' eyes to the breadth, depth and variety of experiences of black ancestry in America and their cultural foundations in this country.
 
Make it Happen. Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA 23187. 1-800-HISTORY or www.history.org
 
For fun, kid-friendly Hotels & Resorts in Virginia check out Uptake.com. They search 5000 travel sites...so you don't have to!
 
Content and images provided by Colonial Williamsburg. Copyright 2010. 
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