# Event Details - **Event Name**: Virtual Book Club: Thy Will Be Done - **Event Start and End Date**: Thu, 02 Jul, 2026 at 08:00 pm – Thu, 02 Jul, 2026 at 09:00 pm - **Event Description**: When: Thursday, July 2, 2026 Time: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Central Time Where: Online - Free with Registration About the Discussion How do we remember a man who was both a "liberator" and an enslaver? George Washington’s ties to slavery have vexed Americans for nearly 250 years. He enslaved more people than any other Founding Father. Yet, he was the only one to emancipate them in his will. This contradiction has shaped our national identity and continues to fuel heated debates today. Join Whitney Plantation for a live virtual book club featuring Historian Dr. John Garrison Marks, author of Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory and Dr. Ashley Rogers, executive director of Whitney Plantation. Buy your copy of Thy Will Be Done at the Whitney Plantation Store online or in person. FREE REGISTRATION About the Speakers Dr. John Garrison Marks, historian and author of Thy Will Be Done John Garrison Marks, PhD, is a historian and writer exploring the United States' histories of race, slavery, and public memory. His latest book, Thy Will Be Done: George Washington's Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory, explores how generations of Americans have made sense of slavery's place in George Washington's legacy. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, TIME, Smithsonian Magazine, and elsewhere. John is also a senior staff member at the American Association for State and Local History, where he leads research and leadership development initiatives. He earned his Ph.D. in history from Rice University. He is a New Jersey native currently living outside Washington, D.C. Dr. Ashley Rogers, executive director, Whitney Plantation Ashley Rogers, PhD, is the executive director of the Whitney Plantation. Ashley has led the museum’s interpretation and operations since its opening in 2014, and in 2019 guided the institution through a transition from a founder-owned C-Corp to 501(c)(3). Ashley has been instrumental in long-range planning, writing the site’s first strategic plan and building its first board of directors. She has over ten years of experience in historic sites, and she has consulted with numerous organizations about issues of race, slavery interpretation, and equitable museum practice. She served on the advisory board for and co-authored the MASS Action toolkit, the Inclusive Historian’s Handbook, and James Madison’s Montpelier's rubric for engaging descendant communities. She holds an MA in History from Colorado State University, and has earned her PhD from the department of history at Louisiana State University. She serves on the board of directors of the Southern Mutual Help Association, a New Iberia-based organization dedicated to fostering healthy and economically vibrant rural communities. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/wallace-louisiana/virtual-book-club-thy-will-be-done/200030098174556 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, sports - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 21 ## Ticket Details ## Event venue details - **city**: Wallace, Louisiana - **location**: Online event - **full address**: Online event, 5099 LA-18, Edgard, LA 70049-2803, United States, Wallace, Louisiana ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Virtual Book Club: Thy Will Be Done - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events9/banners/c895d32b36f8938a519a940f7e3f3023c1d2a6250f9d4c74ee5a2c8a76dcd6a8-rimg-w1200-h628-dcf4f0e7-gmir?v=1782309374 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Virtual Book Club: Thy Will Be Done being held? - **A:** Virtual Book Club: Thy Will Be Done takes place on Thu, 02 Jul, 2026 at 08:00 pm to Thu, 02 Jul, 2026 at 09:00 pm at Online event, 5099 LA-18, Edgard, LA 70049-2803, United States, Wallace, Louisiana. - **Q**: Who is organizing Virtual Book Club: Thy Will Be Done? - **A:** Virtual Book Club: Thy Will Be Done is organized by Whitney Plantation. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Virtual Book Club: Thy Will Be Done is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Wallace, Louisiana, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If Virtual Book Club: Thy Will Be Done sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Virtual Book Club: Thy Will Be Done", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events9/banners/c895d32b36f8938a519a940f7e3f3023c1d2a6250f9d4c74ee5a2c8a76dcd6a8-rimg-w1200-h628-dcf4f0e7-gmir?v=1782309374", "startDate": "2026-07-02", "endDate": "2026-07-02", "url": "https://allevents.in/wallace-louisiana/virtual-book-club-thy-will-be-done/200030098174556", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Online event", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "5099 LA-18, Edgard, LA 70049-2803, United States", "addressLocality": "Wallace, Louisiana", "addressRegion": null } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "When: Thursday, July 2, 2026\nTime: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Central Time\nWhere: Online - Free with Registration\n\nAbout the Discussion\n\nHow do we remember a man who was both a \"liberator\" and an enslaver?\n\nGeorge Washington’s ties to slavery have vexed Americans for nearly 250 years. He enslaved more people", "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Whitney Plantation", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/whitney-plantation/11126906", "description": "Whitney Plantation, Wallace. 96,402 likes · 2,200 talking about this · 36,087 were here. Whitney Plantation is a non-profit museum dedicated to telling..." } ] } ] ```