400 Years Initiative

The 400 Years initiative is an opportunity to examine what many scholars have identified as the 400th year since the arrival of enslaved Africans in Jamestown, VA in 1619, also marking the beginning of institutional slavery on the lands now known as the United States. This programming series seeks to both offer a year long conversation that examines slavery’s foundational role in US history and in shaping the societal context, and to create an opportunity for an intersectional and global examination of slavery and its implications.

This guide is intended to serve as a starting point for anyone interested in learning more about the initiative at Lesley, the conversations sparked by it, and the history surrounding it. Each event will be accompanied by resources that provide background and context around this topic, in the hopes of further enriching and enhancing the conversation at Lesley.