6/17/2026
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Opportunities Lost: Bacon’s Rebellion and the Denial of Class and Racial Justice in the United States
To purchase tickets for this program and learn more about “Reconsidering Bacon’s Rebellion at 350 Years” lecture and event series, go to BaconsRebellion350.org.
Join us for a lecture from Dr. Michael Blakey, National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of Anthropology, Africana Studies, and American Studies at the College of William & Mary, as he examines how the first opportunity for an America unblemished by the immorality of racial slavery and the injustices of class inequity was lost with Bacon’s 1676 Rebellion in Virginia, and had a long lasting effect on efforts to achieve an America with equal rights for all.
Michael Blakey, Ph.D. Michael Blakey is National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of Anthropology, Africana Studies, and American Studies at William & Mary where he directs the Institute for Historical Biology. He is former director of Howard University’s African Burial Ground Project in New York City and currently sits on the Scholarly Advisory Committee of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. He is co-chair of the American Anthropological Association’s Commission for the Ethical Treatment of Human Remains. Blakey is the author of more than 80 articles in refereed journals and anticipates the release of his 3-volume book, The Blinding Light of Race; Race and Racism in Western Science and Society, by Routledge Taylor Francis Press in 2026. He advises many descendant communities and has lectured on bioarchaeology, publicly engaged archaeology, and racism at universities in Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, Australia and across the United States.
Additional ticket required. Purchase your ticket for this event at BaconsRebellion350.org. In-person and virtual admission available.
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This program is presented as part of “Reconsidering Bacon’s Rebellion at 350 Years,” a joint program series by Preservation Virginia, Jamestown Rediscovery, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, William & Mary Office of Strategic Cultural Partnerships, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, the Rappahannock Indian Tribe, and the Nottoway Indian Tribe with support from Virginia Humanities.
