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OFE News Release

'Thomas Jefferson' to Visit Oklahoma Feb. 2-4

January 26, 2006

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Historical interpreter Bill Barker, who portrays founding father Thomas Jefferson at Colonial Williamsburg, will make a historic visit to Oklahoma Feb. 2 through 4 to participate in several educational events and to help commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.

Bill Barker, who portrays Thomas Jefferson for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, will give a free public lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, at the Oklahoma History Center, 2401 N. Laird Ave., near the State Capitol. He will be in Oklahoma for three days of history education activities coordinated through the Oklahoma History Center, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

The foundation, which recognizes and encourages academic excellence in public schools, is teaming up with several groups to bring Barker to Oklahoma for the benefit of Oklahoma students, educators and citizens. He will be accompanied by a delegation from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

“Jefferson” will give a free, public lecture on his plans for universal education and responsibilities of citizenship at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, at the Oklahoma History Center, 2401 N. Laird Ave., near the State Capitol. While the event is free, seating is limited and reservations are encouraged by e-mailing waltereskridge@okhistory.org or by calling (405) 522-0791. Jefferson will also give presentations earlier in the day to more than 600 students at the History Center.

On Friday, Feb. 3, Barker will join other historical personalities, including Benjamin Franklin and Abigail Adams, for Colonial Day at the Capitol, which is coordinated by alumni of the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute and attended by more than 500 metro-area fifth-graders.

Barker will be the keynote speaker at the State Superintendent’s Social Studies and Fine Arts Conference, slated from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at Moore-Norman Technology Center South Campus, 13301 S. Pennsylvania in Oklahoma City. Other Williamsburg staff participating in the conference include Educational Program Development Director Bill White, who will give a historical overview on “The Road to Revolution and the Declaration of Independence,” and Education Partnerships Manager Dale VanEck, who will discuss “Gaming Technology in History Education.” The conference is free and open to all Oklahoma teachers in grades pre-K through 12. Educators can register through Feb. 2 online at http://sde.state.ok.us (click on state conferences) or they can register at the door. For conference information, contact Kelly Curtright at (405) 522-3523.

Plans for Barker’s visit began one year ago when the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence was seeking ways to commemorate its 20th anniversary through each of its educational programs. “As co-sponsor of Colonial Day at the Capitol, we know how much students love interacting with the historical interpreters each year,” said Emily Stratton, executive director. “What better historical figure to help us celebrate this year’s Colonial Day than the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson!”

Through its partnership with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence arranged for Barker’s visit and invited other history and education groups to co-sponsor the trip so that “Jefferson” would have an opportunity to meet as many Oklahomans as possible, Stratton said.

Barker has portrayed Thomas Jefferson for more than 18 years and first began working for the Williamsburg Foundation in 1993. In Williamsburg, he assists in the development of programs recognizing the 20 years that Jefferson was associated with the former Virginia capitol as a student, lawyer, representative and governor. Barker, who happens to share the same height, weight and general appearance of Jefferson, has performed as Jefferson throughout the United States, Great Britain and France. He has appeared in numerous national magazines and has been featured on every major television network.

Other sponsors of Barker’s visit to Oklahoma include the Oklahoma Humanities Council, the Oklahoma State Department of Education, Edward C. Joullian III, the Oklahoma History Center, the Colonial Dames of Oklahoma and Charles L. Oppenheim.