RICHMOND, VIRGINIA – The Library of Virginia will present a free talk by historian Jody Lynn Allen on her new
book, “Roses in December: Black Life in Hanover County from Civil War to Civil Rights,” on Wednesday, Oct. 15
from 12 to 1 p.m. (This event was rescheduled from an original date of Thursday, May 29.) Registration is required at https://lva-virginia.libcal.com/event/14479752.
“Roses in December” presents the inspiring chronicle of a Black community in Virginia fighting for civil rights
over the course of a pivotal century. Beginning in the era of Reconstruction and ending with desegregation,
Allen examines the lives of newly freed people and their descendants in Hanover County, providing an
unprecedented look at rural Black Virginians’ resilience after disfranchisement. In the century between 1865
and 1965, Black residents of Hanover County embraced liberty as they organized for education, employment
and religious freedom, and built a community that flourished in the face of white retrenchment and day-today oppression. The book’s attention to local, community-level history offers an overlooked yet vital
perspective on the Civil Rights Movement in the rural South.
A book signing will follow the talk.
Allen is an assistant professor of history and the Robert Francis Engs Director of the Lemon Project at William
& Mary. The Lemon Project is uncovering, making public and addressing William & Mary’s 330+ year
relationship with African Americans on the campus and in the Williamsburg and Greater Tidewater area.