JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT & AMERICAN REVOLUTION MUSEUM AT YORKTOWN PRESENT DYNAMIC EVENTS TO CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Black Artist Showcase Exhibits 28 Works of Contemporary Art Honoring America’s 250th Anniversary

Revving Up to the Weekend Thursday Evening Music Series Debuts February 12, 19, 26 Starring Sammy Lee, Roberta Lea and Akeylah Simone

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., February 5, 2026 – Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown present dynamic programs and events in honor of Black History Month that invite visitors to rediscover the experiences of Africans and African Americans in early America, from the first-known Africans in Virginia in 1619 to the role of African Americans in the Revolutionary War, and their legacies today.

Immersive gallery exhibits, rare artifacts and compelling films at both museums recount stories of people and events in 17th- and 18th-century Virginia throughout the year. In February, Jamestown Settlement special programs range from an art exhibit and live evening performances to a community talk and youth art workshop.

BLACK ARTIST SHOWCASE • Jamestown Settlement
February 1-March 29 • 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Connect the past and present through vivid intersections of contemporary art and 17th-century history during the annual Black Artist Showcase, featuring 28 visual works from 27 Virginia artists. Inspired by poet Phillis Wheatley’s poetic words and in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this year’s theme – “Raise Your Voices: Sounds of Protest” – continues Wheatley’s legacy, and contemporary Virginia artists exhibit their perspectives through various art mediums.

A Black Artist Showcase closing reception on March 28 will feature music, a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres and costs $25 per person with advance registration.

REVVING UP TO THE WEEKEND THURSDAY EVENING MUSIC SERIES • Jamestown Settlement
February 12, 19 & 26 • 6:30 p.m.

A new music series accompanies the annual Black Artist Showcase, offering opportunities to listen to live music, socialize and view the art exhibition on three Thursday evenings. Performances feature musicians Sammy Lee (February 12), Roberta Lea (February 19) and Akeylah Simone (February 26). Sammy Lee showcases cadence-driven and acoustically inclined Motown folk. Roberta Lea, a touring member of The Black Opry, is an award-winning singer/songwriter of “country-neo-pop” sounds with a “delicious, folky flair.” Akeylah Simone fuses genres from neo-soul rock, R&B, pop and jazz. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students.

AFTER ANGELO • Jamestown Settlement
February 21 • 1 – 4 p.m.

After Angelo, named for one of the first African women in Jamestown’s historical record, celebrates African American culture and heritage through art, performance and community conversation about art and activism. Clyde Santana, a muralist, poet and visual arts instructor, will lead a community art project from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A 1 p.m. panel discussion, moderated by Barbara Hamm Lee, executive producer and host of WHRV’s “Another View” radio program, will feature Travis Harris, Ph.D., Norfolk State University assistant professor of African American Literature and Journal of Hip Hop Studies editor-in-chief; Sidney Rose McCall, a Ph.D. history candidate studying slavery, abolition and freedom-making practices of Black towns across the American South; Lacroy "Atlas" Nixon, an award-winning, spoken-word poet; and Clyde Santana.

YOUTH ART WORKSHOP • Jamestown Settlement
February 28 • 11 – 1 p.m.

Inspired by artwork featured in the Black Artist Showcase, professional artist Sharard X will help students explore how artists communicate ideas, emotions and identity through visual choices. After viewing and discussing the artwork on display, participants will create their own painted piece that reflects something meaningful to them and learn how art can be both personal and expressive. Workshop is designed for upper elementary and middle school students. Tickets are $12 per student and include all supplies. Advance registration required.

The Black Artist Showcase and After Angelo are supported in part by the Williamsburg Area Arts Commission and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc. Annual Fund.

Rare Period Artifacts, Exhibits & Films on Display

Expansive exhibition galleries at Jamestown Settlement tell the story of Virginia Indian, English and West and Central African cultures who converged in the 17th century. The documentary film, “1607: A Nation Takes Root,” traces the evolution of the Virginia Company spanning three continents and chronicles the forced arrival of the first recorded African captives in Virginia in 1619.

Period artifacts, immersive films and interactive exhibits share historical accounts of the first recorded West Central Africans to Virginia in 1619, their homeland in Ndongo (Angola), life in the Virginia colony, development of the transatlantic slave trade and the evolution of a new African American culture. Through artifacts and film, the dramatic multimedia presentation, “From Africa to Virginia,” chronicles West Central African kingdoms’ encounters with the Portuguese and Europeans, the impact on diverse African cultures and development of the transatlantic slave trade through the 1600s.

At the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, visitors can explore the contributions of both well-known and little-known participants in the Revolutionary War from the first shots fired at the Boston Massacre to the decisive victory at Yorktown and points in between.

Among the iconic artifacts on exhibit is a circa-1733 portrait of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo by William Hoare, one of the two earliest known portraits done from the life of an African who had been enslaved in one of the 13 British colonies (Maryland) that became the United States of America. His 1734 memoir, “Some Memoirs of the Life of Job,” is in the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation collection.

Stories of enslaved and free African Americans including both Patriots and Loyalists are shared throughout the galleries, like the story of poet Phillis Wheatley and her first edition of the 1773 volume, “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral,” and Benjamin Banneker, a free African American who became famous in the 1790s as a scientist and writer. Accounts of Billy Flora, an African American hero of the Battle of Great Bridge in 1775, and James Lafayette, an enslaved African American from New Kent County, Virginia, who successfully spied on the British for American forces, come to life in films and an interactive exhibit.

Visiting the Museums

Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, Jamestown Settlement is located on Route 31 just southwest of Williamsburg and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown is located at 200 Water Street in Yorktown. Parking is free.

All daytime programs and exhibition galleries, including the Black Artist Showcase and After Angelo, are included with museum admission. The Revving Up to the Weekend evening music series, Black Artist Showcase closing reception and youth art workshop requires separate admission.

Admission tickets to Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown can be purchased online or in person. Daytime museum admission is $20.00 for adults, $10.00 for ages 6-12 and free for children ages 5 and under. A value-saving combination ticket is $34.00 for adults and $17.00 for ages 6-12. Residents of James City County, York County and the City of Williamsburg, including William & Mary students, receive free admission with proof of residency.

For more information, visit jyfmuseums.org or call (757) 253-4838.

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Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown are administered by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and a commemorative partner of the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission.

IMAGE CREDITS

The 2026 Black Artist Showcase at Jamestown Settlement features 28 works of art by 27 Virginia artists, including (shown above from left) “Solace” by Amari Wooten; “Procession 2025” by Otis Stanley; and detail from “Born Into The Fight” by Sharard X. Images courtesy of the artists.

Jamestown Settlement debuts its new Revving Up to the Weekend Music Series on Thursday evenings, February 12, 19 and 26, featuring (shown above from left) Sammy Lee, Roberta Lea and Akeylah Simone.

An After Angelo panel discussion on February 21 will explore art and activism. The panel will be moderated by Barbara Hamm Lee (shown above from left) with Travis Harris, Sidney Rose McCall, Lacroy “Atlas” Nixon, and Clyde Santana.

Media Contacts

Tracy Perkins, tracy.perkins@jyf.virginia.gov or (757) 253-4114
Meghan van Joosten, meghan.vanjoosten@jyf.virginia.gov or (757) 253-4175