Virginia Humanities

The Long Roads of Memory

By David Bearinger Justin Reid tells the story this way. In 2014 he set out to find the site where his ancestors had been enslaved. What he found was not only a line connecting him to some of the most prominent families in Virginia, but also an unexpected lesson in the power of place to […]

Overlooked

Stories of African Americans from Virginia History

Our shared historical narratives—whether Black, White, or Brown—are all interconnected and can’t be understood in isolation from each other. For that reason, we’re always striving to tell more complete, inclusive histories, every month of the year, in everything we do. But February is a time when we stop and examine those intertwined narratives with an […]

Gallery 5 – Conversation Series

A series of facilitated public conversations, presented monthly, exploring a range of social issues that are central to Richmond’s past and present. Richmond & the Suburbs – 1/30 Richmond & Black Freedom – 2/20 Urban Agriculture – 3/13 Richmond & Public Art – 4/17 Richmond & Sustainability – 5/15 Richmond & Transportation – 6/19 This […]

Fellows Talk: A People Between

Servitude and the Law in 18th-Century Virginia - Feb. 19, Charlottesville

Join Virginia Humanities Fellow and University of Oregon history professor Allison Madar for a discussion of her research on the history of early America and the early modern Atlantic world with a focus on unfreedom and the law. Her book-in-progress examines the legal and social dynamics of servitude and the ways in which masters used […]

African American Historic Resources Symposium

Join Virginia Humanities and Preservation Virginia as we bring together the Virginia Rosenwald School Network and other advocacy and history groups for an in-depth look at the state of Virginia’s historic African American resources. Expanding on the annual Rosenwald School Network Meeting, Preservation Virginia, the African American Cultural Resources (AACR) Task Force, Virginia Humanities, and […]

The Greensboro Massacre: Ambush or Shootout?

Competing narratives of what happened on Nov. 3, 1979

On the morning of November 3, 1979, communist labor and anti-racist activists were preparing for a city-sanctioned, noontime rally in Greensboro, NC. The subject of their march was Ku Klux Klan interference with multi-racial union building efforts in the powerful, local textile mills.  As four news crews rolled their cameras, Klansmen (and women) and American […]

Student-Led Black History Month Assembly

As part of the “Together We Rise” oral history and performing arts project, Embrace Richmond is hosting a special student-led Black History Month assembly at Community High. Help us carry the school integration story forward from the 1960s into the 1970s! Join us in celebrating the history of the Brookland Park area and supporting local […]

Because I’m Here

film screening and discussion

Earl Gilmore was a singular, creative spirit, unapologetic in his being and expression, but deeply private about his gay sexuality—until he spoke publicly, on camera about it with filmmaker Andrew Garrison in 1984. Wanting to honor Gilmore’s decision to speak openly, on-film, but not have the film “out” him before he spoke in-person to friends […]

Documentary Spotlights Encyclopedia Virginia

A New Documentary Short from Google Earth Outreach

Members of the Encyclopedia Virginia (EV) team can often be found behind the camera, capturing 360-degree panoramic images of historic sites across Virginia. Recently, however, Peter Hedlund and Justin Reid found themselves on the other side of the camera as subjects in a short documentary film by Google Earth Outreach, a division of Google Earth […]