Lauranett Lee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lauranett Lee
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|---|---|
| Born |
Lauranett Lorraine Lee
c. 1956 (age 69–70) |
| Alma mater | Mundelein College, Virginia State University, University of Virginia |
| Occupation | Independent historian, educator, curator, author |
| Known for | Civil War, Reconstruction, African-American history |
Lauranett Lorraine Lee (born around 1956) is an American historian, educator, and author. She is also a curator, which means she helps organize and care for museum collections. Lauranett Lee teaches at the University of Richmond. She was also the first curator for African American History at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. She is an expert in the American Civil War, the time after the war called Reconstruction, and African-American history.
Early Life and Education
Lauranett Lee grew up in Chesterfield County, near Bon Air. Her mother worked with computers for the U.S. Defense Supply Center.
Lauranett Lee went to college and earned several degrees. She received her first degree in communications from Mundelein College in Chicago. Later, she earned a master's degree from Virginia State University. In 2002, she completed her PhD from the University of Virginia. For her PhD, she studied the teachers who helped formerly enslaved people in Charlottesville, Virginia, after the Civil War.
Career and Contributions
Before returning to Virginia in 1988, Lauranett Lee lived in different cities like Raleigh and Atlanta. She started her career teaching middle school and high school in Chesterfield County Public Schools.
From 2000 to 2016, Lee worked at the Virginia Historical Society, which is now called the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. She helped create an important database called "Unknown No Longer: A Database of Virginia Slave Names." This tool helps family researchers find information about people who were once enslaved.
Lauranett Lee also wrote a book titled "Making the American Dream Work: A Cultural History of African Americans in Hopewell, Virginia." This book, published in 2008, shares the history of African Americans in Hopewell, Virginia. She has also appeared on C-Span to discuss history.
She was part of an advisory group for Virginia's executive mansion. She also spoke about the history of Juneteenth when Virginia's governor, Ralph Northam, announced it would become a state holiday. In 2023, Lauranett Lee was a candidate for the School Board in the Midlothian District of Chesterfield County.
Writings
- "Making the American Dream Work: A Cultural History of African Americans in Hopewell, Virginia" (2008)
