Speaker: Stedman Graham, philanthropist, author, motivational speaker, and George H. White relative
Panelists: Earl Ijames, curator of African American history, NC Museum of History; and Mike O’Connell, award-winning film producer, PBS North Carolina. Deputy Secretary Dr. Darin Waters is the moderator for the program.
Celebrate Juneteenth at the NC Museum of History by honoring the career of George H. White, one of the most significant African American leaders of the Reconstruction era. From humble beginnings in eastern North Carolina, White ascended through the ranks of state politics to serve in the United States Congress as its sole Black voice little more than two decades after Emancipation. George H. White: Searching for Freedom, a 30-minute film produced by PBS North Carolina, charts White’s remarkable career as an educator, lawyer, politician, and civil rights pioneer during the rise of racist Jim Crow laws in North Carolina and his establishment of an all-Black community in Whitesboro, New Jersey.
Following the screening, noted author and motivational speaker Stedman Graham will address the impact of White’s life and his legacy of self-determination. The program will conclude with a Q&A session featuring Graham, historian Earl Ijames, and film producer Mike O’Connell.
This program is made possible with support from the North Carolina Museum of History Foundation.
