Connecting the past to present

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will host a book talk and signing as part of its Isaac Julien Speaker Series. Dr. Robert Levine will talk about the life of Frederick Douglass during the Reconstruction period, including his fight for equal rights for African-Americans, his contentious relationship with President Andrew Johnson and his fa- mous anti-lynching speech, “Lessons of the Hour.”

A book-signing begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by a discussion at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 21, in the Leslie Cheek Theater.

The speaker series supports the museum’s ongoing exhibition, “Isaac Julien: Lessons of the Hour - Frederick Douglass,” an immersive, 10-