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“Freedom in the Air” to be Subject of Talk by Dr. Randolph H. Latimore, Sr.

The Heritage Committee of Middlesex County, Inc. will sponsor a talk by Dr. Randolph H. Latimore, Sr. on Sunday, November 10, 2024, at 3:00 PM at Union Shiloh Baptist Church, 3 Union Shiloh Lane (at Route 17), Jamaica, Virginia 23079. Dr. Latimore’s topic will be “Freedom in the Air.” Presented by The Heritage Committee in commemoration of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, this program will be the county’s first “250” program to highlight the unique perspective of African Americans and the first to be held in Northern Middlesex.
When captured Africans arrived at Virginia’s Point Comfort in 1619, they had lost their families, their homes, and their freedom. Thus, began the arduous and sorrowful journey of enslavement of Black people in this country that lasted for almost two hundred and fifty years. Join Dr. Randolph Latimore of The Heritage Committee as he articulates the story of African Americans and their quest for freedom against the institutional and societal challenges that have persisted throughout the American experience. He will explore how the Black community’s legacy of resilience, innovation, determination, and courage is woven deeply into the fabric of our nation’s story.
Dr. Latimore is a native of Middlesex County and a 1968 graduate of St. Clare Walker High School. He received his undergraduate degree from Virginia State College, now Virginia State University; his master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, and his doctorate degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). During his extensive career as an educator, he served as a teacher, principal, district administrator, and school superintendent. Upon his retirement as superintendent of Lancaster County Public Schools in 2007, he worked with the Hyde County North Carolina school system as a school administrator and then superintendent. Dr. Latimore currently resides in the Jamaica area with his wife, Sabrina Baytop Latimore. They are the parents of two adult children, Danielle Latimore and Dr. Randolph H. Latimore, Jr.
The Heritage Committee of Middlesex County seeks to research, discover, and preserve the history of African Americans in Middlesex County. It is one of five organizational members of the Middlesex County 250 Committee, an entity created by the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors in 2023 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.
The program at Union Shiloh will include poetry and music that reflect African American history and culture, as well as a memorial tribute to the Honorable Patricia Polson Satterfield, the founding president of The Heritage Committee.
Following Dr. Latimore’s talk, refreshments will be served in Union Shiloh’s Fellowship Hall. Built in 1923, this building once housed Union Shiloh School, one of four Black schools in Middlesex County that were supported by the Rosenwald Fund and the only one still standing.
The public is cordially invited to attend this free event. For further information about this event or about The Heritage Committee, please call 804-651-8753.