News Release

Enslaved Field Laborers Project Community Meeting

Discussion group at the first EFLP meeting

NPS

News Release Date: November 8, 2022

Contact: Alexis Morris, [phone] ext. 304

On Saturday, November 19, Petersburg National Battlefield (PETE) and the Northeast Archeological Resources Program invite the public to attend the second community meeting for the Enslaved Field Laborers Project (EFLP). This meeting will share the historical and archeological information learned from four seasons of fieldwork at the Enslaved Field Laborers site. It will also explore how PETE can collaborate with the public on interpreting the enslaved community at Whitehill Plantation. The two-hour meeting will begin at 10:00 am at St Stephen's Episcopal Church, 228 Halifax St, Petersburg, VA 23803. It will include a historical overview, the results of the archeology, a summary of the first community meeting, and interactive learning stations and breakout groups.

About The Enslaved Field Laborers Project
The EFLP offers an opportunity to contextualize the world of enslaved people living in Petersburg and explore their lives. The project's specific goal is to understand better and interpret the daily life and experiences of African American women, men, and families who lived at the field quarters on Whitehill Plantation during the 1800s. The National Park Service and Petersburg National Battlefield are interested in examining how enslaved people created homes and families, asserted their humanity and dignity, and sought to survive and resist the institution of slavery.
If you go St. Stephen's Church has the distinction as the oldest black church in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Consecrated in 1868 (organized in 1867), St. Stephen's Church's development as a parish coincided with the initial post-Civil War efforts to educate the newly emancipated blacks in Petersburg by the Freedmen's Bureau. For more information, please contact Alexis Morris at [e-mail] or [phone] ext. 304.