Nate Parker at The Richmond Forum by The Richmond Forum

Nate Parker November 19, 2016

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The Legacy of the Nat Turner Insurrection November 19, 2016

Opening program

Virginia State University Gospel Chorale

National Anthem

Virginia State University Gospel Chorale

Opening remarks Bill Chapman Executive Director The Richmond Forum

Welcome and introduction

Remarks

Moderated conversation

Thomas J. McInerney President & CEO Genworth Financial

Nate Parker Mr. Parker with John B. Railey

Fifteen-minute intermission for collection of audience questions

Remarks

Audience questions

Closing remarks

Mr. Chapman Mr. Parker with Mr. Railey Mr. Chapman

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tonight's progra m

Nate Parker

An acclaimed actor, director, screenwriter, and producer, Nate Parker is committed to transforming his industry by training and supporting other independent filmmakers. His prize-winning film, The Birth of a Nation, was released in theaters in October and is considered an Oscar contender. Born in Norfolk in 1979, Parker was a champion wrestler at Chesapeake’s Great Bridge High School before accepting an athletic scholarship from Penn State. He later transferred to the University of Oklahoma where he became an All-American while earning his degree. After moving to California to study acting, Parker played the role of Henry Lowe in The Great Debaters, the acclaimed 2007 movie directed by Denzel Washington. His powerful portrayal landed him a role opposite Queen Latifah in the 2008 film The Secret Life of Bees. Opportunities thereafter were plentiful. Parker accepted a lead role in the 2012 George Lucas movie Red Tails, starred in Spike Lee’s Red Hook Summer, and appeared alongside Richard Gere in Arbitrage. In 2014, he played the lead in the critically-praised film Beyond the Lights. Yet even as his acting career was taking off, there was another constant preoccupation for Parker: the desire to create a film based on the life of Nat Turner, the mostly forgotten leader of an 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia in which more than 60 white people were killed. After six years of planning, in 2014, Parker announced he had secured funding and began assembling a team to create The Birth of a Nation. Parker wrote and directed the film, also casting himself to play the title role of Turner. Premiering to rave reviews at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, after which Fox Searchlight Pictures purchased its distribution

rights for a festival record $17.5 million, the film won both the festival’s Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. In August, Parker was presented with the Sundance Institute’s Vanguard Award which includes a cash grant and mentorship from industry professionals. Parker was also awarded the CinemaCon Breakthrough Director of the Year Award and the Disruption Innovation Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. Parker is committed to being an outspoken activist and positive force in the community. He mentors children from schools in central Los Angeles and spearheads projects with the Boys and Girls Clubs. He recently launched the Nate Parker Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to confront systemic disparities within African American communities in the areas of education, cultural enrichment, and social and economic justice. This summer, Wiley College and Parker’s foundation launched the inaugural Nate Parker Summer Film Institute, a workshop for aspiring student filmmakers. Parker has also announced plans to build a comprehensive film school at the college.

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John Railey grew up in Southampton County, Virginia, the site of Nat Turner’s revolt, where memories of the violence are in the very air. His father was an Atticus Finch-type lawyer whose support of integration cost him business. John Railey has grappled with the revolt for much of his life, including by enlisting William Styron, the author of the controversial 1967 novel The Confessions of Nat Turner, as a mentor. He corresponded and visited with Styron and showed him the remnants of the revolt route as a film crew worked on a documentary of Styron’s life. Railey has written numerous columns about the revolt. In one of those columns, this past March in the Winston-Salem Journal, he wrote, “I and many other treasured buddies, black and white

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and raised in Southampton, are haunted by this revolt that killed almost 60 white men, women and children and led to the court-ordered executions of most of the small band of rebels and the random revenge killings of as many as 100 blacks. My contemporaries and I were just a few long generations past the carnage as we went through the first strange years of integration.” Railey was educated at the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a veteran of newspapers in Virginia and North Carolina and is currently the editorial page editor of the Winston-Salem Journal. He has won numerous national and state awards for his work. He helped lead the more-than-10-year fight for North Carolina to become the first state in the nation to compensate victims of forced sterilization, a battle he chronicles in Rage to Redemption in the Sterilization Age: A Confrontation with American Genocide. He is at work on a novel about integration in his home county. He and his wife, Kathleen, live in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad region.

Dynamic voices, precise choreography, and bold attire have helped garner local, state, national, and international acclaim for the Virginia State University Gospel Chorale. The group has toured in nearly every state east of the Mississippi, as well as internationally in the Virgin Islands, Canada, Barbados, and Europe (Italy, Hungary, France, Switzerland, Romania, and Sicily). The Chorale has had the opportunity to share the stage with a number of recording artists of multiple genres, including Michael

Bolton, DeeDee Bridgewater, B.B. King, Cheryl “CoCo” Clemons, Mary Mary, Tye Tribbett, Earnest Pugh, Hezekiah Walker, and poet Nikki Giovanni. Perhaps biggest among the Chorale’s many accomplishments to date was appearing as a quarterfinalist in Season 8 (2013) of America’s Got Talent. The Chorale is under the leadership of Mr. James Holden Jr. (Faculty Director/Advisor), Mr. Perry Evans II (Director), and Mr. Michael Rainey (Business Manager).

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Contributed by The Library of Virginia not runaways but, rather, slaves On August 23, 1831, Governor from local plantations. Reports of John Floyd received a hastily as many as 450 black insurgents written note from the postmaster gave way to revised estimates of of Southampton County stating perhaps 60 armed men and boys, “that an insurrection of the slaves many of them coerced into joining. in that county had taken place, The confessions of prisoners and that several families had been the interrogation of eyewitnesses massacred and that it would take pointed to a small group of a considerable military force to ringleaders: a free man of color put them down.” Fifty-seven Nat Turner named Billy Artis, a celebrated white people, many of them women and children, died before a massive slave known as “Gen. Nelson,” and a slave force of militiamen and armed volunteers could preacher by the name of Nat Turner. Attention converge on the region and crush the rebellion. focused on Turner; it was his “imagined spirit Angry white vigilantes killed hundreds of slaves of prophecy” and his extraordinary powers of and drove free persons of color into exile in the persuasion, local authorities reported, that had turned obedient slaves into bloodthirsty killers. reign of terror that followed. Early newspaper reports identified the Turner’s ability to elude capture for more than Southampton insurgents as a leaderless mob two months only enhanced his mythic stature. While Nat Turner remained at large, of runaway slaves that rose out of the Dismal Swamp to wreak havoc on unsuspecting white rumors of a wider slave conspiracy flourished. families. Military leaders and others on the An abolitionist writer named Samuel Warner scene soon confirmed that the insurgents were suggested that Turner had hidden (Continued)

n at t u r n e r d o c u m e n t s at t h e l i br a r y o f v i r g i n i a

Newly Digitized Documents at the Library of Virginia Help Tell the Story of Nat Turner’s Insurrection

n at t u r n e r d o c u m e n t s at t h e l i br a r y o f v i r g i n i a ( c o n t ’ d )

himself in the Dismal Swamp with an army of runaways at his disposal. State officials took pains to ensure that Turner lived to stand trial by offering a $500 reward for his capture and safe return to the Southampton County jail. On October 30, 1831, Turner surrendered to a local farmer who found him hiding in a cave not far from the place where Turner lived. Local planter and lawyer Thomas R. Gray interviewed Turner in his jail cell, recorded his “Confessions,” and published them as a pamphlet shortly after Turner was tried, convicted, and executed. In tracing the “history of the motives” that led him to undertake the insurrection, Turner insisted that God had given him a sign to act, that he had shared his plans with only a few trusted followers, and that he knew nothing of any wider conspiracy extending beyond the Southampton County area.

Nat Turner’s revolt prompted a prolonged debate in the Virginia General Assembly of 1831–1832. As a result of Turner’s actions, Virginia’s legislators enacted more laws to limit the activities of African Americans, both free and enslaved. The freedom of slaves to communicate and congregate was directly attacked. No one could assemble a group of African Americans to teach reading or writing, nor could anyone be paid to teach a slave. Preaching by enslaved or free blacks was forbidden. Other southern states enacted similarly restrictive laws. The rebellion in Southampton County is often regarded as a turning point and Nat Turner as one of the most controversial figures in American history. Abolitionist Northerners saw the rebellion as a sign of the inherent instability of the slave system and the brutal violence it wreaked. Many Southerners reacted

with fear and enacted additional strict laws for both enslaved and free African Americans. By polarizing pro- and anti-slavery views, it propelled the country toward the Civil War. As for Turner himself, the American public continues to grapple with his legacy as a freedom fighter, as a murderer, as a hero, and as a leader of a religiously inspired violent rebellion. The conflicting interpretations of Turner’s legacy may never be resolved, but by examining history we may better understand the time and place that moved him to action. The Library of Virginia offers a newly assembled and scanned collection of documents related to the Nat Tuner rebellion, including the court records that document trials in the Southampton County Court of Turner and 54 others accused of taking part in the revolt. The records include subpoenas, warrants, and death sentences. The warrants contain the names of the defendants (first name only), the names of

the slaveholders who owned the defendants, the full names of three defendants who were free, and the charges brought. Also included are Legislative Petitions and Auditor of Public Accounts Records in which slaveholders whose slaves were either executed or transported out of the state for involvement in the rebellion sought to be financially compensated for the loss of property. Using our crowdsourcing website Making History: Transcribe, the public can view the original documents and type the contents in side-by-side windows. This will help us provide full-text searchable versions of these important documents in Virginia and American history. To see the Library’s original Nat Turner documents and join the transcription project, visit www.vamem.com/nat

n at t u r n e r d o c u m e n t s at t h e l i br a r y o f v i r g i n i a ( c o n t ’ d )

In October, Richmond Forum subscribers were the first to see and begin transcribing newly scanned documents from Southampton County related to the 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner. The Library’s “Making History: Transcribe” initiative uses volunteer crowdsourcing to transcribe thousands of never-before-seen records, making them available and searchable online for everyone to access.

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Ten Things The Birth of a Nation Got Right About Nat Turner By Patrick H. Breen Author of “The Land Shall Be Deluged In Blood: A New History of the Nat Turner Revolt” On 60 Minutes, when filmmaker Nate Parker was asked if The Birth of a Nation was historically accurate, he noted, “There’s never been a film that was 100% historically accurate. That’s why they say based on a true story and [not], ‘A true story.’” Hollywood may not be the best place to learn one’s history, but here are ten things that the new movie The Birth of a Nation got right about Nat Turner’s revolt: 1. Nat Turner was a literate slave. While most slaves were illiterate, Nat Turner could read. We do not know exactly how he learned to read. When he was recounting the story of his life, he saw it as a miracle that he learned to read without being taught, but Thomas R. Gray, the man who transcribed Turner’s confession, explained his literacy in the same way that Nate Parker did: He had been taught by his owners. 2. Nat Turner had a family, including parents, a wife, and a child. As Turner told his story to whites, he even recalled a “very religious” grandmother, to whom “I was much attached.” Unfortunately, we do not know as much about his family as we would like. We do not even know Turner’s wife’s name; some historians think that

her name was Cherry while others think that her name was Mariah or even possibly Fanny. He also had a child, although that child was not a girl, as Parker imagined him, but a boy named Redic. 3. Nat Turner’s father escaped slavery. In a dramatic moment in The Birth of a Nation, Turner’s father is forced to run away and is never seen again. We actually know nothing about the circumstance of Turner’s father’s escape, but Turner believed his father had escaped “to some other part of the country.” 4. Nat Turner was a religious man. According to the Confessions, Nat Turner recalled “devoting my time to fasting and prayer.” He believed that “The Spirit that spoke to the prophets in former days” spoke to him as well. 5. Nat Turner baptized a white man. Turner’s confessions describe him baptizing a white man, Ethledred T. Brantley. Brantley and Turner requested that a church baptize them both, but “the white people would not let us be baptised by the church.” So both Turner and Brantley were baptized together “in the sight of many (Continued) who reviled us.”

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9. Nat Turner remained at large for a significant amount of time after the revolt. The revolt was suppressed quickly. The rebel army was dispersed by Tuesday, August 23, 1831 and most of the rebels were killed or captured at that time. But Turner himself disappeared for more than two months and some whites began to think that he had escaped. Eventually the governor issued a reward for his capture and he was spotted first by a slave then by a white near where the revolt began. Although The Birth of a Nation portrays Turner’s ultimate surrender differently, Turner was captured by Benjamin Phipps on October 30, 1831 near where the revolt began.

7. Nat Turner called his master a kind master. Unlike the movie, Turner had multiple masters. When the revolt began, Turner was owned by Putnam Moore, a nine-year-old, but since January of 1830, he and Moore both lived with Moore’s stepfather, Joseph Travis. Turner described Travis, the first victim of the revolt, as “a kind master.” He then added, “in fact, I had no cause to complain of his treatment to me.” Turner believed that the fight for freedom was righteous independent of the master’s behavior.

10. Nat Turner kept his cool on the day that he was hanged. There are only two accounts of Turner’s death on November 11 and they do not always agree about what happened. (One report described an “immense crowd” but the other noted that “there were but few people.”) But they do agree that Turner kept his cool. One reported that Turner “exhibited the utmost composure during the whole ceremony;” the other noted that Turner “even hurried the executioner in the performance of his duty.”

8. The rebels were on their way to Jerusalem. While the name of the town toward which the rebels headed, Jerusalem, sounds like it came out of Central Casting, the county seat for Southampton was actually called Jerusalem. You won’t find Jerusalem on a map if you look. The town changed its name to Courtland in 1888. While the moviemakers are right about

This article orginally appeared on the Oxford University Press Blog (OUPBlog) and is reprinted here with permission. Patrick H. Breen is an associate professor of history at Providence College and the author of “The Land Shall Be Deluged in Blood: A New History of the Nat Turner Revolt” (2015). Breen presented a Banner Lecture about Nat Turner at the Virginia Historical Society on November 10th.

the rebels’ goal, they incorrectly suggest that the rebel army made it to Jerusalem. The rebels were defeated in a battle at James Parker’s place about 3 miles southwest of the town.

holly wood vs. history (cont ’d)

6. Nat Turner believed that God spoke to him through prodigies, including the eclipse of the sun. Turner interpreted unusual appearances in the natural world as signs from God. As portrayed in The Birth of a Nation, Turner “discovered drops of blood on the corn as though it were dew from heaven.” He also saw signs in the sky and hieroglyphs on leaves. The Birth of a Nation suggests that an eclipse of the sun was the sign that set the revolt in motion. Actually, the eclipse, which happened in February, was the sign that led Turner to begin telling others about the revolt. The plan itself was set in motion by a different sign, a strange appearance of the sun. Turner never described this second sign, but on August 13, people up and down the East Coast of the United States described the sun’s unusual appearance, a woman in Richmond describing it “as blue as any cloud you ever saw.”

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Nat Turner’s Bible, which he is believed to have been holding when he was captured, is now a centerpiece of the collection of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, which opened in September. The small volume—shorn of covers, part of its spine, and the Book of Revelation—remained in the Southampton County courthouse storage until 1912, when a courthouse official presented it to members of the Person family, some of whose ancestors had been among the whites murdered by Turner and his fellow rebels. The museum is the Bible’s new home after being stored “on top of a piano, then a closet, then a safe deposit box,” said Mark Person of Richmond, whose ancestors had owned Nat Turner as an enslaved person. Speaking on behalf of his family about their decision to donate the Bible after a meeting with Turner’s descendants, “They said ‘the Bible is in the right place’ [in regards to the donation].”

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Nation would have obviously been filmed right here in the Commonwealth. In fact, incentives offered by other states took this project elsewhere. While this was a missed opportunity for our industry, we are thrilled to be here tonight to celebrate the cinematic achievement of Virginia native Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation. Making a movie is hard. Making a good movie is extremely difficult. Film and new media productions also plays Making a critically-acclaimed cinematic an integral role in building Virginia’s new masterpiece is almost impossible. economy. When filmmakers choose Virginia, they put all corners of our Commonwealth Virginia owes its success in this business to up on the screen to inspire travel to our its homegrown talent on display tonight, and abundance of incomparably beautiful to everyone who offers support to the art of locations, supporting Virginia’s $23 billion filmmaking as we work together to grow this dollar tourism industry. While in production lucrative industry. they support hundreds of small businesses and thousands of skilled workers, with an Congratulations to Nate, and to the talented industry wage that is substantially higher than team behind The Birth of a Nation! the average salary statewide. This is why so many states compete for this industry with tax credits and other financial incentives. Mountain Lake in Dirty Dancing. Our beautiful State Capitol in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. The cobbled streets of Petersburg in PBS’ hit series Mercy Street and AMC’s TURN: Washington’s Spies. Small-town magic in Big Stone Gap. Rolling country fields in Loving - and Lassie. Filmmakers always find a perfect palette in Virginia.

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Ed A. Grier VCU School of Business

Monica M. Rao Graphoria, Inc. Daphne Maxwell Reid DMR Fresh Prints E. Matthew Schaaf IV Xenith Bank John S. West Troutman Sanders LLP Siri G. Wiggins WestRock

Production Team & Staff Production

Support

John Carter Hailey Stage Manager

James W. Bynum Student Room Manager

Susan Senita Bradshaw Assistant Stage Manager

Sarah Powell Heidi Thompson William Willersdorf Box Office

Boitnott Visual Communications HD Video Ryan Marasco Production Manager Boitnott Visual Communications Dave Swain Motion Graphics Carlos Chafin Composer In Your Ear Altria Theater

Audrey M. Booth Theater Manager Steve Sweet Technical Director Glenn Major Director of Operations

Henry Gonzalez VIP Ground Transportation First Class Service Josée Covington Air Travel Covington Travel P. Kevin Morley Photographer Peter Habenicht Writer Outwrite

2016–2017 Richmond Forum Scholars

Staff

Iram Amir The Steward School

Bill Chapman Executive Director / Producer bill@richmondforum.org Twitter: @forumbill

Morgan Canaan Douglas S. Freeman High School

Debbie Mangolas Office & Ticket Sales Manager debbie@richmondforum.org

Julia Gibson Douglas S. Freeman High School

Dee A. Raubenstine Director of Development & Special Events dee@richmondforum.org

Pablo Gómez García James River High School Fuller Wise St. Christopher’s School

The Richmond Forum 6968 Forest Hill Avenue Richmond, Virginia 23225 (804) 330-3993 www.richmondforum.org

Susan Greenbaum Proofreader Mr. Chapman’s suits provided by

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2 0 1 6 - 2 0 1 7 pat r o n s

2016–2017 Patrons Lead Patron Altria Group Davenport & Company LLC Dominion Resources Genworth Financial, Inc. Wells Fargo Host Patron Capital One Bank Chrysalis Institute Hourigan Construction Owens & Minor Troutman Sanders LLP Producer Patron Boitnott Visual Communications Bon Secours Virginia Health System C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Foundation Covington Travel First Tennessee Bank IBM Longwood University PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP SingleStone TowneBank The Trust Company of Virginia Universal Corporation VCU Health VCU School of Business Foundation Virginia Cancer Institute Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Film Office Virginia State University Williams Mullen HD Simulcast Room Patron Virginia Lottery Educational Patron Dr. & Mrs. W. Baxter Perkinson, Jr. Trinity Episcopal School Wells Fargo Foundation Media Patron Community Idea Stations WCVE-WHTJ-WCVW-88.9FM Music Patron Moore Cadillac Company Transportation Patron WINN Transportation Municipalities City of Richmond County of Chesterfield County of Henrico

Sponsor 3north Actuarial Consulting Group Batzli Stile Butler PC Buckingham Greenery, Inc. C.H. Robinson Mr. & Mrs. Langdon T. Christian IV Comcast Cream Studio Evolution Advisers The Fahrenheit Group Heritage Wealth Advisors HHHunt Hunton & Williams LLP Kaufman & Canoles, P.C. McGuireWoods LLP Tissa & Bart Nasta NBC12 PadillaCRT Park Sterling Bank Rainbow Station Randolph-Macon College U.S. Trust/Bank of America Private Wealth Management Union Bank & Trust University of Richmond WestRock Willis Towers Watson Xenith Bank Contributor 2nd Order Solutions Actuarial Benefits & Design CEBCO INC. Cornerstone Realty Advisors DieHappy EY Hoover & Strong, Inc. In Your Ear J.P. Morgan Chase Chris & Dave Klein Mary & Ted Linhart Markel Corporation Mr. & Mrs. David L. Monday Judy & Dave Pahren SMART Resources, Inc. Janine Collins & Tredway Spratley Westham Partners Friend Dr. & Mrs. Ralph L. Anderson B&B Printing Dr. & Mrs. Robert K. Beckler Mr. & Mrs. Roger L. Boevé The Brink’s Company Julie Christopher & Marge Connelly Steven F. Glessner, MD & Virginia Schuster

Philip Goodpasture Mr. & Mrs. William H. Goodwin, Jr. Thomas A. Grant Dr. Trisha Krause & Dr. Sanjay Bhagchandani Todd & Betty G. LePage Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Mann The Martin Agency Mutual Assurance Society of VA Mary Ellen Pauli & Timothy D. Smith M.H. Reinhart & Shirley Baker Lisa & Leon Roday Jim & Mary Beth Shannon Mr. & Mrs. James E. Ukrop VAMAC, Inc. Vanessa & James Wigand Supporter Dottie Amore & Andrea Amore-Clark Frazier & Brad Armstrong Sherrie & Gary Armstrong Ginger Bacon, Sallie Gilliam Betty & Tommy Baer Betsy Bampton Dr. K.C. Blaisdell & Sherry Stauffer Winn & Scott Bleicher Karen & Joseph Brower James Buzzard Linda & Dale Cannady Jeff Chapman & Katrina Dozier Kevin & Sheila Clasbey Robert L. Clayton Kim B. Claytor Candace & Robert Cody Angela & Ted Cox Harold M. Cruse, DDS Mr. & Mrs. Clifford J. Culley Tanya & Brad Cummings Mr. & Mrs. James M. Daniel, Jr. Mrs. Creed S. Davis Carol & Frank DePew Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Druff Ken Dye & Sam Seeley Nita & Jack Enoch Mr. & Mrs. Ron Ferguson William R. Fields Whitney & Chris Forstner Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Gaidos Mr. & Mrs. Robert B. Giles Marsha & Bill Ginther Maya & Stuart Glaser Nancy & Bruce Gottwald C. Mark & Linda Greer Dr. Ed Griggs Mr. & Mrs. A. William Hamill Tom & Mary Harrison Michael Hayes

Jerry McKinney Benita & Mike Miller Kathy & Bill Monday Gaye E. Montgomery Eileen & Daniel Murphy Lindy Nevi, Asimina Fergusson & Sharon Miller Amy & David Nisenson Nyfeler Associates Laurie Petronis & Jeff German W. Paul Pitts Loyal & Leslie Pridgen Susan Prizzia Rainbow Station Boulders Andi & Brian Redmond Tim Reid & Daphne Maxwell Reid Karen & Paul Reilly Mr. & Mrs. Robert Q. Rhodes Michael & Linda Rigsby

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Philip & Ellen Marie Hess Jon & Trish Hill Jay Holloway Robert & Susan Horne Bobbie Hunt Ms. Louise Jackson JoycePayne Partners Linda & Kerry Keenan Bruce Kelley Ray Knapp & Ellen Ray Jeffrey Lacker & Lisa Halberstadt Nancy F. Langston Drs. Bernice & Wiley Latham Raymond & Pamela Lepper John & Rhoda Mahoney Paul Manno Blair & Bill Martin Candace & Patrick Martin Dale Mays

Mr. & Mrs. N. Pendleton Rogers Lori & John Ross Rick Schofield Janie & Maurice Schwarz Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Shockley Will & Lisa Sims Leila & Kirk Spitzer Leslie Stack & Frank Rizzo Mr. & Mrs. Charles E. Stallings Polly Stephens & Michael Fatsi Geoffrey & Carolyn Stiff Kenneth E. Stoner, DDS Joe Teefey & Judy Collins Claiborne W. Terry Bobby & Marilyn Thalhimer Melodie Thigpen & Paulette Moncol Linda & Art Warren Doug & Carol Wayne Mr. & Mrs. Richard T. Wilson III

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FORUM.indd 5

10/3/16 4:52 PM

The First Official

Thanksgiving

the story of Captain John Woodliffe’s journey from Bristol, ReliveEngland to the north bank of the James River, where he and

a crew of 35 men arrived about 20 miles upstream from Jamestown

on a site now known as Berkeley Plantation. The group’s charter required that the day of arrival–December 4, 1619–be observed “annually and perpetually” as a “day of thanksgiving”. On that first day, over a year before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Captain John Woodliffe celebrated The First Official Thanksgiving in Virginia.

Thanksgiving Day at 8 PM A production of

ideastations.org/tv

Trinity Episcopal School advocates service to one’s community as an important aspect of individual character development and the creation of a strong community. These Trinity students, selected from the School’s Honor Roll, serve as pages for The Richmond Forum this season. Through their service, the students facilitate an exchange of ideas that broadens our understanding of the trends and issues shaping our lives and our community. Drew Acquaye Virginia Allen Dominic Angeli Caroline Bell Caroline Benedetti Hunter Benes Harper Bibb Seanpaul Coffey Ellis Credle Felicity Davies Lexi Flood Alexa Fojtik

Alexandra Geier Grace Gomes Katherine Grotewiel Anna Kelley Mary Kenzakowski Mary Kern Matthew Majikes Tolliver Mance Colin McManus Madison Michalec Julia Morton Connor O’Brien

Gabriel Parker Federico Parmeggiani Davide Parmeggiani Daniel Pelkey Griffin Phillips Elizabeth Rivera Logan Roberts Cameron Schofner Louis Smith Andrew Stevens Elizabeth Valentine Jordan Warner

Collin Winters Noah Yates Elizabeth Kelley, Advisor Maureen Mauck, Advisor Sarah McDermott, Advisor

The Richmond FoRum Welcomes The sTudenTs and FaculTy oF TRiniTy episcopal school in a special pRogRam designed To connecT The classRoom, The communiTy and cuRRenT evenTs. In AcAdemIcs We discover what motivates students and use that knowledge to challenge them In The InTernATIonAl BAccAlAureATe ProgrAm Academics with a world view provide a competitive curriculum in a dynamic environment In The communITy We celebrate the differences that make us individuals and the common ground that makes us a community WITh The FAculTy Building relationships based on mutual respect helps students realize their full potential dIscover your PATh AT TrInITy ePIscoPAl school 3850 Pittaway Drive, Richmond, VA 23235 • (804) 272-5864 www.trinityes.org

We are grateful to Dr. & Mrs. W. Baxter Perkinson, Jr. for their financial support for this educational program.

student pages

Trinity Episcopal School Student Pages

pa st speakers

Thirty-one Seasons of The Richmond Forum 1987 January Ted Koppel February Hodding Carter, Paul Duke and Larry Speakes March Diane Sawyer with Brent Scowcroft April Charles Kuralt 1988 January Oprah Winfrey February Marvin Kalb, Jeane Kirkpatrick and Vladimir Pozner March George Will April Art Buchwald 1989 January Sam Donaldson February Henry Kissinger and John Chancellor March William Buckley and Charles Rangel April Dr. Carl Sagan 1990 January Paul Duke, Howard Fineman and Charles McDowell February Frank Carlucci, Bettina Gregory, George McGovern, William Proxmire and William Rusher March Mike Wallace April Alistair Cooke 1 990–1991 October Chancellor Helmut Schmidt January Adm. William Crowe, Gen. Alexander Haig, Robert McFarlane and Edwin Newman February H. Ross Perot March Art Buchwald and Andy Rooney April James Burke, Dr. Frank Drake and James Lovell 1991–1992 October Barbara Walters January PM Margaret Thatcher February Larry King with Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf March Patricia Cornwell, Dr. Victor McKusick and Dr. Marc Micozzi April Mark Russell 1 992–1993 October Terry Anderson January Hiroki Kato and T. Boone Pickens February Dr. Joyce Brothers March Bill Cosby April Mikhail Gorbachev with Cokie Roberts 1 993–1994 November Lamar Alexander, Marvin Cetron, Sen. Warren Rudman with Chris Wallace January Louis Rukeyser with Frank Cappiello and Michael Holland February President George H. W. Bush March Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross April Bob Newhart 1994–1995 November Gen. Colin Powell January Walter Cronkite February Dave Barry March Tom Clancy April Jack Kemp and George Mitchell

1 995–1996 November PM Brian Mulroney and Ambassador Carla Hills January Neil Armstrong, Capt. Eugene Cernan, Dick Rutan with David Hartman February Calvin Trillin March Charles Kuralt April David Gergen, Pierre Salinger, Sheila Tate, Bob Woodward with Ed Bradley 1996–1997 November Dick Cavett and Carl Reiner January Ray Brady with Paul A. Volcker February Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough March Andrew Lloyd Webber with David Frost April Marcia Clark, Philip K. Howard, Dr. Rodney Smolla, Kym Worthy with Prof. Arthur Miller 1997–1998 November Bill Moyers January Wynton Marsalis February PM Shimon Peres March Mary Tyler Moore April Peter Lynch 1 998–1999 November PM John Major January Robert Bennett and Dr. William Bennett with Tim Russert February Harry S. Dent and Lou Dobbs March Lily Tomlin April Dr. Robert Ballard and Jean-Michel Cousteau

1999–2000 November Julie Andrews January Todd Brewster and Peter Jennings February Ray Brady, Michael Connors and John Krubski March Archbishop Desmond Tutu April James Carville and Newt Gingrich 2000–2001 November Sen. John Glenn January Tom Brokaw February PM Benjamin Netanyahu March Frank McCourt April Dr. William Kelso 2 001–2002 November Hal Holbrook January Rabbi Marc Gellman and Msgr. Thomas Hartman February Dick Clark March Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough April Madeleine K. Albright and James A. Baker III with Gwen Ifill 2 002–2003 November Ken Burns January Rudolph W. Giuliani February PM Benazir Bhutto and Queen Noor with Gwen Ifill March Louis Freeh April Sen. Fred Thompson

2010–2011 November President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf January Laura Bush February Anderson Cooper March Dr. George Church April David Blaine

2 004–2005 November Gen. Tommy Franks January Michael Beschloss and Walter Isaacson February Tim Russert March Fareed Zakaria April Frank Gehry

2011–2012 November Dr. Robert Ballard January Robert Gates February Quincy Jones with Tim Reid March Charles Krauthammer and Robert Reich with John Donvan April Sir Ken Robinson and Rafe Esquith

2005–2006 November Robert Redford January Sherry Lansing February Gen. Colin Powell March Tom Wolfe April Rick Wagoner 2 006–2007 November Burt Rutan January Malcolm Gladwell and Alvin Toffler February B.B. King March Jim Lehrer April Dr. Jared Diamond 2007–2008 November President Vicente Fox January Carly Fiorina February Michael Douglas March Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. April David Brooks 2008–2009 November PM Tony Blair January Reza Aslan and Jon Meacham February Smokey Robinson with Daphne Maxwell Reid March Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long April Marion Nestle and Michael Pollan 2009–2010 November Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson January Greg Mortenson March Steve Forbes April Condoleezza Rice May David Plouffe

2012–2013 November Platon January Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner and Doris Kearns Goodwin with Tim Reid February President Bill Clinton March Capt. Mark Kelly with Gabrielle Giffords April Dr. Jane Goodall 2013–2014 November Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and Maajid Nawaz with John Donvan January Dan Buettner February President George W. Bush March PM Gordon Brown April Steve Martin and Martin Short 2014–2015 November Diana Nyad January Garry Trudeau March Ben Bernanke April Dr. Daniel Levitin and Rosanne Cash May Gen. Keith Alexander and Robert Mueller with John Donvan 2015-2016 November Michael Sandel January Alan Alda February James Balog March PM Julia Gillard April Russell Wilson and Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. This Season November Nate Parker January Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham with Steve Inskeep February Krista Tippett March Ehud Barak and Mohamed ElBaradei with Robin Wright April To be announced

Continue the Conversation Online.

Join over 4,400 Richmond Forum fans on Facebook: www.Facebook/RichmondForum

#RVAFORUM @richmondforum Please tweet only before the program or during intermission. As a courtesy to others, phones must be turned off during the program.

pa st speakers

2 003–2004 November Cal Ripken, Jr. January Robert Shiller and Jeremy Siegel February Candice Bergen March PM Mary Robinson April Thomas L. Friedman

Go Behind the Scenes at The Richmond Forum! Which Forum speaker drove the Secret Service batty, repeatedly jumping out of the car to meet ordinary Richmonders? Which Nobel Peace Prize-winning speaker made a special request to visit Richmond's Arthur Ashe statue? Which speaker warned in 2001 that Iran wanted to build a ballistic missile that could reach the Eastern Seaboard (and Richmond)? Which head of state made headlines by abruptly dissolving her cabinet before boarding a plane for The Richmond Forum? TONIGHT JUST

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A beautiful hardcover keepsake. 155 full-color pages filled with behind-the-scenes stories, photos, correspondence, and memories. Available in the theater lobby tonight!

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OPEN

W W W . R I C H M O N D G O V . C O M

9/26/16

9:58 AM

Two Great Locations. One Great Experience. Charmaine Crowell-White as Harriet Tubman

Photo: Wilson Butler Architects

Carnegie Hall. Abby Mueller (“Carole King”) Photo: Joan Marcus

Kinky Boots National Touring Company Photo: Matthew Murphy

Photo: Geoff Burke

Dominion Arts Center 600 East Grace Street

richmondcenterstage.com 804.592.3330

Carpenter Theatre Libby S. Gottwald Playhouse Rhythm Hall Genworth BrightLights Education Center

Altria Theater

6 North Laurel Street

Next at The Richmond Forum

Jon Meacham and Doris Kearns Goodwin A History of America’s New Presidents January 21, 2017 The day following the inauguration of our next U.S. president, The Richmond Forum will welcome back two of America’s leading presidential historians to provide us with a long view of our nation’s newly elected presidents—from George Washington to Barack Obama, from their inaugural addresses to their fabled “first 100 days,” and from their promises as campaigners to their ability to deliver as the occupants of the Oval Office. Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham have written extensively about the U.S. presidency, and our moderator for the evening, Steve Innskeep, host of NPR’s Morning Edition, has conducted eight sitdown interviews with President Barack Obama.

Krista Tippett

Ehud Bar ak & Mohamed ElBar adei

To Be Announced

Becoming Wise

Peace in the Middle East: Prospects & Roadblocks

A 5th Big Program

February 18, 2017

March 25, 2017

April 22, 2017

For 30 seasons, The Richmond Forum has been bringing the biggest names in the world to Richmond, Virginia. BVC is proud to bring them to you in High Definition video.

Providing audio-visual equipment rental, staging, sales and installation since 1969. www.boitnottvisual.com (804) 379-9400

My dream of becoming a performing artist was bigger than my small town, so I had to follow it far from home. Luckily there were people at VCU to support me all along the way. To find a bigger stage I had to blaze the trail, for myself and for others. Embracing the unknown is how I challenge the norm. VCU is where I make it real. My name is Ciara McMillian.

an equal opportunity/affirmative action university

See how we challenge the norm at makeitreal.vcu.edu.