"Walk the Ward": Part 3 of The JXN Project Summer Lecture Series
In partnership with the Library of Virginia and The JXN Project, RPL is pleased to present The JXN Project Summer Lecture Series. The JXN Project's co-creators, Enjoli Moon and Dr. Sesha Joi Moon, seek to recontextualize and more accurately capture the role of Richmond, Virginia and Jackson Ward in the Black American experience. Through a year-long celebration of Jackson Ward's 150th anniversary, a set of initiatives to rename the ward's streets after former residents, and a push to increase Black representation in Richmond's historical preservation bodies, The JXN Project will partner with community stakeholders to build a Richmond that honors Black excellence.
In this third lecture in a six-part series, Gary Flowers will moderate a discussion between panelists Dr. Carmen Foster (the Foster family), Maurice Hopkins (the Maggie L. Walker High School Alumni Association), and Liza Mickens (the Maggie Walker family), Nikki Shaw (St. Luke Legacy Center), Janis Allen (Historic Jackson Ward Association), and Korinn Carter (St. Luke Legacy Center). They will explore the arch of Jackson Ward through the lens of its past as "Little Africa," its prime as "Black Wall Street" and "Harlem of the South," and its present as the "Historic Jackson Ward District" and "North Jackson," with artifacts and anecdotes from multigenerational Jackson Wardians.
The public is invited to attend these lectures, comment, and become part of the process of this historic justice initiative.
Check the Library of Virginia's events calendar for the forthcoming lectures in the series!
- Date:
- Wednesday, June 23, 2021
- Time:
- 7:00pm - 8:15pm
- Categories:
- Virtual
Meldon Jenkins-Jones is the Richmond Public Library / Community Services Manager at Hull Street Branch Library.
Meldon also chairs the Get Lit Advisory Committee which supports the Richmond Public Library Get Lit Reading Initiatives including the Black Male Emergent Readers (BMER) program and the Lit Chicks Read book clubs.
Meldon is a graduate of the Leadership Metro Richmond Class of 2022. She was the first recipient of the Virginia Library Association (VLA) Librarians of Color Forum Award in 2021 and is an active member of VLA. She presented “Libraries Bringing Community Together” at the 2023 VLA Annual Conference.
In 2011, Meldon received her Master of Library and Information Studies from Florida State University. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers University School of Law—Newark and practiced law in New Jersey until her retirement in 2003. Meldon received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she studied African American Studies and Russian Civilization.
A Metro Richmond resident, Meldon is the mother of two adult children and enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.
