The Lemon Project

The Lemon Project aims to build bridges between William & Mary and African American communities and to “rectify wrongs perpetrated against African Americans by William & Mary.” The Lemon Project was officially established in 2009 when the Board of Visitors responded to persistent calls from students and faculty to study William & Mary’s past. The BOV acknowledged that the university had “owned and exploited slave labor from its founding to the Civil War; and that it had failed to take a stand against segregation during the Jim Crow Era” and offered its support for the Lemon Project. The project is named for Lemon, a man enslaved by the university. While Lemon’s individualism is incredibly important, his name also serves as a symbol for African Americans who helped build William & Mary.

This exhibit is in honor of the 15th Annual Lemon Project Spring Symposium, which will be held March 21-22, 2025 and is titled “Undefeated: Black Resilience through Resistance, Creativity, and Cooperation.”