For over four centuries, domestic labor—whether indentured, enslaved, or waged—helped build and shape the American South. Despite new freedoms that came with emancipation in 1865, the transition from a master/slave relationship to that of an employer/employee was constrained by Jim Crow legislation at the turn of the 20th century.

To mark the opening of Maymont House Museum’s exhibition, “In Service and Beyond: Domestic Work and Life in a Gilded Age Mansion,” Maymont Foundation, Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of History, and the Virginia Historical Society present a two-day symposium: “American Servitude: The Southern Experience.”

On Friday, September 16, 2005, at the Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Virginia, scholars will explore aspects of this complex subject and the various ways it is interpreted today.

Speakers include:
Tera Hunter (Carnegie Mellon University), Njeri Jackson (Virginia Commonwealth University), Norrece T. Jones Jr. (Virginia Commonwealth University), Elizabeth O’Leary (Maymont Foundation and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts), Susan R. Stein (Monticello, Thomas Jefferson Foundation), and John Michael Vlach (George Washington University).

The program also offers site visits to Maymont House Museum, and, on Saturday, September 17, 2005, a special bus tour to Monticello and Tuckahoe Plantation.

Advance registration is required and must be received by Friday, September 2, 2005.

To request a registration form, contact Maymont Foundation at: (804) 358-7166 ext.357, or charris@maymont.org.

Visit the website at http://www.maymont.org