HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2018-09-14 Remembering Lucile event
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
September 14, 2018
Media Contact:
Betsy Arnett, Public Information Officer
barnett@leesburgva.gov 703-771-2734
Dr. Polly McLean to Speak at Thomas Balch Library on Her
Book, “Remembering Lucile”
Book traces the history of a Virginia family’s rise from slavery in Northern
Virginia to middle-class in the Rocky Mountain west.
Leesburg, VA (September 14, 2018) – On Sunday, September
23, 2018, Dr. Polly McLean, with the University of Colorado,
will talk about her recent book, Remembering Lucile: A
Virginia Family’s Rise from Slavery and a Legacy Forged a Mile
High, at the Thomas Balch Library.
Remembering Lucile traces the history of Lucile Berkeley
Buchanan Jones who was born to freed people formerly
enslaved at Oatlands and Evergreen plantation and became
the first African American woman to graduate from the
University of Colorado in 1918. Through Lucile’s story, the
book depicts the rise of the African American middle class,
particularly in the Rocky Mountain region.
Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Polly McLean is an
associate professor of Media Studies and affiliated faculty in
the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. She received her
master’s degree from Columbia University and her PhD from the University of Texas, Austin.
She has been a visiting professor at the University of Zambia and Howard University as well as a
Fulbright Scholar at the University of Namibia.
Dr. McLean’s talk at the Thomas Balch Library begins at 2:00 p.m. and is free to the public.
Copies of Dr. McLean’s books will be available for purchase. For more information, please call
the Thomas Balch Library at 703-737-7195.
Dr. McLean will present a companion talk, focused on the Buchanan family’s association with
Oatlands plantation, at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 22, 2018, at the Oatlands Carriag e
House. For information about the event at Oatlands, call 703 -777-3174.
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