We are thrilled to welcome Shaun Spencer-Hester, the executive director and curator of the Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum in Lynchburg, VA as our distinguished guest speaker for a truly inspiring evening.

Shaun Spencer-Hester is the granddaughter of Anne Spencer, who was a Harlem Renaissance poet, librarian, avid gardener, and civil rights advocate. Shaun is devoted to preserving her grandmother’s home and garden. The garden was Anne Spencer’s sanctuary, and the inspiration for much of her poetry. A national historic landmark, the preservation of the garden is being supported by The Garden Conservancy.

In its time, Anne Spencer’s home and garden served as a gathering place for leading African American voices such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, George Washington Carver, Langston Hughes, and Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as Anne’s own son, Chauncy E. Spencer, Sr., who was a renowned Tuskegee Airman and civil rights pioneer.

The garden includes a one-room cottage crafted by Anne’s husband, Edward, as a retreat for her writing endeavors. The name “Edankraal” is a heartfelt tribute, blending “Edward,” “Anne,” and “kraal,” an Afrikaans term for enclosure, symbolizing the poetic enclosure of creativity and love.

Reception at 5:30 p.m. in auditorium

Lecture at 6 p.m. in Linn-Henley Lecture Hall

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