Dr. Gaila Sims, the curator of African American history at the Fredericksburg Area Museum, will be featured in the virtual Germanna Community Conversation Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m.
Dr. Sims will share stories of African Americans in Fredericksburg from the 18th century to the present day. She will highlight their influence on our shared community, including political, social, religious, and commercial contributions.
The Germanna Community College series is open to the public, and free, but registration is required at
Originally from Riverside, Calif., Dr. Sims received her BA in History and African American Studies from Oberlin College and her MA and Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Before joining the FAM, she worked at a variety of museums and archives in the Austin, Texas, area, including the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, the Harry Ransom Center, and the Bullock Texas State History Museum.
At 7 p.m. on March 6, historian, author, and Peabody Award-winning journalist Jelani Cobb will explore the complexities of race and inequality, while offering guidance and hope for the future. Cobb will outline how the levers of justice are in our hands and how we can move them in the direction we see fit. He is a staff writer at The New Yorker, writing on race, history, justice, politics, and democracy, as well as Columbia University’s Ira A. Lipman Professor of Journalism and Dean of Columbia Journalism School.
