Free public lecture series is now in its third decade. Also in this issue: Giving Tuesday is Nov. 28.
by Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
The 21st annual William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture series will explore familiar historical, literary and cultural figures such William Shakespeare, George Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.
It will also present the lives of lesser-known figures like Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who established a school for Black men that became Virginia Union University; and Rosemary Kennedy, the eldest sister of John F. Kennedy whose tragic life inspired her siblings’ advocacy on behalf of Americans with disabilities.
The University of Mary Washington announced the 2024 lineup last week to 140 supporters of the lecture series, now in its third decade.
It used to be an academic course with certain lectures open to the public, but has gained such a large following, in addition to an endowment from John Chappell of Philadelphia, that it is now a signature event for the university.
The first of 18 programs will take place on Jan. 18, with Douglas Waller presenting on Wild Bill Donovan, who during World War II directed the Office of Strategic Services (the country’s first national intelligence agency) and is considered the father of today’s CIA.
The rest of the series is as follows. All lectures are free and held in Dodd Auditorium. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and lectures begin at 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 18: Lewis & Clark/Sacagawea with Dale Blanshan
Jan. 23: Shakespeare with Elizabeth Winkler
Jan. 25: George VI and Elizabeth with Sally Bedell Smith
Jan. 30: Sam Shepard with Jon Winters
Feb. 6: George Washington with Alexis Coe
Feb. 8: Mary Lumpkin: Enslaved Woman, Liberator with Kristen Green (a UMW graduate)
Feb. 15: Franklin D. Roosevelt with Jonathan Darman
Feb. 20: Picasso with Marjorie Och
Feb. 22: Stan Lee: Spider-Man and Marvel Comics with Bob Batchelor
Feb. 27: Martin Luther King Jr. with Jonathan Eig
Feb. 29: Rosemary Kennedy with Kate Clifford Larson
Mar. 12: Edith (Mrs. Woodrow) Wilson with Rebecca Roberts
Mar. 14: Billie Jean King with Johnette Howard
Mar. 19: Elizabeth Taylor with Kate A. Brower
Mar. 26: Ten Caesars with Barry Straus
Mar. 28: Edgar Allan Poe with Mark Dawidziak
Giving Tuesday is Next Week
This Year – Remember FXBG Advance
The FXBG Advance is filling a critical void in our community – and we are doing so because of your support. Over the past year, we have moved from a simple blog to a full-blown news service because our readers have made it possible for us to hire Adele Uphaus as managing editor, bring Vanessa Sekinger aboard as books and culture editor, and bring together an extraordinary range of talented guest writers.
This coming Tuesday, November 28, we’re asking you to help us take the Advance to an even higher level. Your contribution of $8 a month, $80 year, or $500 founding membership is critical to our hiring a new reporter dedicated to Stafford County.
News matters – and local news matters most of all.
–Martin Davis, editor-in-chief
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The FXBG Advance is off and running, but we can’t do this without your help. You can support local journalism here in Fredericksburg by donating $8 a month. Your dollars will go toward hiring journalists so that we can broaden our reach and strengthen our coverage.
The content is now, and will continue to be, free.
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Thank you for reading and supporting FXBG Advance.
-Martin Davis, Editor
The first lecture is Jan. 16, not the 18th.