The Fredericksburg Area Museum (FAM) is pleased to announce its first 2024 Evening with an Expert lecture, The Marquis de Lafayette, a True Friend of the Cause. The Marquis de Lafayette was a committed abolitionist, and often urged his American friends to end the system of slavery. He joined the French abolitionist organization “Society of the Friends of the Blacks,” and often advocated for Black emancipation in his correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington. In 1842, English abolitionist Thomas Clarkson wrote of Lafayette: “He was a true friend of the cause.” Dr. Gaila Sims, Curator of African American History and Special Projects will speak about the Marquis’s abolitionist influences and his beliefs on the institution of slavery.

Evening with an Expert will take place Thursday, May 9 at the FAM (907 Princess Anne St), from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm and will conclude with a light reception with the speaker in FAM’s newest exhibit Lafayette’s World: Revolutionary Ideals and the Limits of Freedom. Lecture tickets are $20 for non-members and $10 for members. Visit (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-marquis-de-lafayette-a-true-friend-of-the-cause-tickets-852486438887?aff=oddtdtcreator) to reserve your spot.

Lafayette’s World: Revolutionary Ideals and the Limits of Freedom is sponsored in part by Virginia Humanities, in partnership with the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission.

For more information please either contact Theresa Cramer at tcramer@famva.org, or visit us at www.famva.org. The FAM collects, researches, interprets, teaches, and preserves the history, heritage, and culture of the Fredericksburg region. We serve a diverse community through a commitment to inclusion, integrity, credibility, and relevance. We will facilitate an understanding and appreciation of how the acts of those who preceded us have shaped this community and the nation at large—providing both lessons and inspiration as we work together to forge a greater community.