News Release: John W. Franklin, with the National Museum of African American History, to Speak at Thomas Balch Library

Leesburg, VA (October 15, 2018) – John W. Franklin will be the guest speaker at the Thomas Balch Library’s lecture series on Sunday, October 21, 2018. Mr. Franklin will talk about his experience in developing public programs on African American history and culture and the importance of libraries and museums to African American history and geneaology research. The event begins at 2:00 p.m. and is free to the public.

John W. Franklin is currently Senior Manager in the Office of External Affairs at the National Museum of African American History in Washington D.C. He has worked for the Smithsonian Institute for more than 30 years in a variety of roles, including researcher for the African Diaspora program of the Bicentennial Folklife Festival; symposia/seminar developer for the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies; and curator for Folklife Festival programs on the Bahamas, Cape Verde, Washington D.C., and Mali. Franklin has served on a variety of boards and commissions, including the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, the board of the Reginald Lewis Maryland Museum of African American History and Culture, the board of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, and the Washington D.C. Commission on African American Affairs. With his father, he edited My Life and an Era: The Autobiography of Buck Colbert Franklin.

For more information, please call the Thomas Balch Library at 703-737-7195.

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