Rev. L. Francis Griffin Lecture 2026
Featuring Dr. Michael L. Blakey
The Robert Russa Moton Museum welcomes Dr. Michael L. Blakey for the 2026 Rev. L. Francis Griffin Lecture on Sunday, September 13, at 3:00 PM.
Drawing from his newly published three-volume work, The Blinding Light of Race: Race and Racism in Western Science and Society, Blakey will examine the enduring problem of racism in America and trace its scientific and social origins through Western history and society.
A discussion and book signing will follow the lecture.
Sunday, September 13, 2026 | 3:00 PM
Robert Russa Moton Museum
900 Griffin Blvd., Farmville, VA 23901
Meet the Author
Dr. Michael L. Blakey is National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of Anthropology, Africana Studies, and American Studies at William & Mary, where he is founding director of the Institute for Historical Biology.
From 1992 to 2009, Blakey served as Scientific Director of Howard University’s African Burial Ground Project in New York City. Since 2004, he has served on the Scholarly Advisory Committee of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
An author of more than 80 articles in refereed journals, Blakey has lectured on bioarchaeology, publicly engaged archaeology and racism at universities and museums across the United States and in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and South America.
About the Rev. L. Francis Griffin Lecture
Known as “The Fighting Preacher,” Rev. L. Francis
Griffin Sr. was the longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmville, a community leader and a steadfast advocate for equal education and civil rights.
His leadership was central to Prince Edward County’s struggle for equal education—from standing with the students of Robert Russa Moton High School following their 1951 strike to continuing the fight during the years Prince Edward County’s public schools were closed.
The Rev. L. Francis Griffin Lecture is presented in his honor, carrying forward a legacy of courageous leadership, education and an unwavering commitment to justice.
Free and open to the public.
