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Goochland County, Virginia

  • Central High Cultural and Educational Complex 2748 Sandy Hook Road Goochland, Virginia, 23063 United States (map)

PANEL DISCUSSION EXPLORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF REGINALD D. BUTLER

The Goochland County Historical Society invites you to join us for a panel discussion exploring the life and legacy of Reginald D. Butler, author of The Evolution of a Rural Free Black Community: Goochland, Virginia, 1728–1832.

People often ask: what makes Goochland so different. This special event will bring together a distinguished panel of scholars to discuss Dr. Butler’s groundbreaking research and its lasting impact on the study of Virginia’s free Black communities.

Featured Panelists:

  • Orice Jenkins – Independent scholar and award-winning author

  • Robert Trent Vinson – Commonwealth Professor of African American and African Studies and Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies at the University of Virginia

  • Robert Vernon – Independent researcher, Central Virginia History Researchers

Dr. Butler, the second director of the University of Virginia’s Carter G. Woodson Institute, authored an influential and much-cited doctoral dissertation at Johns Hopkins University that was not formally published until recently. In The Evolution of a Rural Free Black Community: Goochland, Virginia, 1728–1832, Dr. Butler examined the formation and development of one of Virginia’s rural free Black communities through innovative and meticulous research in county and state archives.

His scholarship reconstructed the social, economic, and family networks that connected free Virginians with one another, their enslaved neighbors, and the white employers and public officials who shaped their daily lives. Decades after it was written, Dr. Butler’s work remains a fundamental resource for historians and genealogists, offering profound insight into the resilience, complexity, and enduring legacy of Virginia’s free Black communities.

Join us for an engaging conversation celebrating Dr. Butler’s remarkable scholarship and exploring its continued relevance to the history of Goochland County, Virginia, and the nation.

📅 Date: August 29, 2026

🕒Time: 10:00 AM

📍Location: The Eagle Theater, Central High Cultural and Educational Complex, 2748 Dogtown Rd, Goochland, VA 23063

Admission is free and open to the public. A reception will be held following the presentation, and the book will be available for purchase.

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