Join historian Craig Thompson Friend, Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor of History and Public History at North Carolina State University and a Wake Forest University alumnus (’83), for a special two-day exploration of the remarkable life of Lunsford Lane, the self-emancipated entrepreneur and author whose story challenges and enriches our understanding of freedom, identity, and resilience in nineteenth-century North Carolina.

These programs celebrate Friend’s acclaimed new book, Becoming Lunsford Lane (University of North Carolina Press), and are presented in partnership between the Wake Forest Historical Museum and the Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections & Archives at Wake Forest University.

Event 1: Lunsford Lane in Wake County

Tuesday, March 3, 2026, 6:00 p.m.

Wake Forest Historical Museum, 414 N. Main Street, Wake Forest, NC

In this lecture, Dr. Craig Thompson Friend will focus on Lunsford Lane’s early life and experiences in Wake County, exploring how local communities, institutions, and racial hierarchies shaped his journey toward self-emancipation. Drawing on years of archival research, Friend will illuminate how Lane’s story reflects both the constraints and possibilities of life for enslaved North Carolinians in the early 19th century.

This event is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow the presentation.

Event 2: Becoming Lunsford Lane—Rewriting a Life

Wednesday, March 4, 2026, 4:00 p.m.

Z. Smith Reynolds Library, Special Collections & Archives, Room 625 (Livestream Available)

At this WFU campus lecture, Dr. Friend will present a broader discussion of Becoming Lunsford Lane, highlighting how he reconstructed Lane’s life and legacy through historical detective work and critical engagement with older narratives. He will discuss the process of separating myth from memory and the challenges of writing biography within the context of race, freedom, and authorship in the antebellum South.

Presented by the ZSR Library’s Special Collections & Archives in partnership with the Wake Forest Historical Museum. Free and open to the public.

Access Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/XIBQurrkDO4