This free virtual talk was held on Thursday, February 17, 2022 at 6pm.
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2022 is a momentous year: the 90th anniversary of the federation of Black women’s garden clubs in Virginia. Join us virtually as special guests Abra Lee and Meredith Henne Baker will share untold stories and highlight the groundbreaking legacy of these women and the many ways they shaped Virginia and the nation.
Speaker Spotlights:
Abra Lee is an international speaker, writer, and founder of Conquer the Soil, a community which celebrates the history, folklore, and art of horticulture. She has spent a whole lotta time in the dirt as a municipal arborist and airport landscape manager and has been featured in publications including The New York Times and Wildflower Magazine. Lee is a graduate of Auburn University College of Agriculture and an alumna of the Longwood Gardens Society of Fellows, a global network of public horticulture professionals. She is the self-proclaimed “reigning hype woman of Black Garden history” and strives to make sure that the stories she shares are uplifting and educational. Abra Lee’s first book Conquer the Soil: Black America and the Untold Stories of Our Country’s Gardeners, Farmers, and Growers is due to be published in 2022.
Meredith Henne Baker is a Virginia Humanities Fellow completing a research residency at the Library of Virginia. Her forthcoming book is about the remarkable impact of Virginia’s gardening women. Baker’s research is also contributing to a statewide, multi-site commemoration of the 90th anniversary of Virginia’s Black women’s garden clubs in 2022. A history educator, independent scholar, and award-winning writer, Baker lives in the Richmond area.
Support for this program comes from a civic engagement partnership grant between the Hampton Roads Community Foundation and the Virginia Humanities. The grant, Beneath the Surface, helps nonprofits explore the history of race in South Hampton Roads through community programs, events, and more.
