Jim Thomas, of Stafford, VA, has spent much of his life researching the codes and secret messages that are reflected in the earliest known U.S. Slave Songs (also known as Spirituals.) Mr. Thomas, an alumni of Fisk University, and former member of the Fisk University Singers presented a program on the grounds of Chatham Manor on Nov 2, 2014, as a part of the County's 350th Anniversary Celebration.