African American History – Page 2

Manuscripts & Special Collections Virginia Authors

Rebuilding Hippodrome History

Downtown Richmond seems to be perpetually under construction. The Library of Virginia has had several buildings downtown during its 200-year history and the 800 block…

Library of VirginiaOctober 16, 2023

Newspapers

“Buckroe Fish Packer Now Devil’s Nemesis”

In September 1935, the Richmond Times-Dispatch grabbed readers' attention with the dramatic headline, "Buckroe Fish Packer Now Devil's Nemesis." The feature provided an early glimpse…

John DealJuly 24, 2023

Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections The Stacks

Building an Ideal Organization: A. W. Holmes and the National Ideal Benefit Society, Inc.

Editor's Note: As a participant in the inaugural year of the Transforming the Future of Libraries & Archives Internship Program last year, Zillia Dollinger worked in…

Zillia DollingerJuly 12, 2023

Archives Conservation Digital Projects

Virginia Untold: Looking Back and Moving Forward

Editor's Note: Neither Virginia Untold nor Virginia Untold Project Manager Lydia Neuroth is going anywhere, but as we transition out of our two-year NHPRC grant…

Lydia NeurothJune 28, 2023

Archives Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections

The First Civil Rights: Black Political Activism After Claiming Freedom

It is often assumed that after Congressional Reconstruction in Virginia ended in 1870, no Black men won election to political office in the state until…

Library of VirginiaFebruary 22, 2023

Archives

Jane Connelly: A Story from the City of Richmond Hustings Court Exhibit

In last month’s Virginia Untold blog post, we shared about the exhibition currently on display in our pre-function hall to celebrate Black History Month: “I…

Lydia NeurothFebruary 15, 2023

Archives Education & Programming

“I have this day committed to jail…”: An exhibition from Virginia Untold

On February 1, in celebration of Black History Month, a new exhibit from Virginia Untold will open to the public. This exhibition represents a small…

Lydia NeurothJanuary 25, 2023

Education & Programming Virginia Authors

“Pioneers in American librarianship who happen to be Black”

Brenda Mitchell-Powell’s book Public in Name Only explores the history of racial segregation in Virginia public libraries through the example of the Alexandria library system and…

Library of VirginiaJanuary 23, 2023

Archives Digital Projects

“[His] claim to be free is clear & unquestionable” : Free Black Virginians at Large

We continue to process more records from the Richmond City Hustings Court as a part of our NHPRC grant for Virginia Untold. As we do…

Lydia NeurothNovember 30, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

Project Updates from Virginia Untold

The past few months have seen some great progress on our NHPRC grant for our Virginia Untold project so we thought we’d share a few…

Lydia NeurothOctober 26, 2022

Archives

The “art and mystery of [Black] cabinetmaking”

In 1832, seventeen men were brought to the Richmond City Hustings Court with a unique charge. These men were cabinetmakers. They had united themselves illegally…

Lydia NeurothSeptember 28, 2022

Archives

“Descendants of a Woman of Indian Extraction”: The Story of Rachel Findley

Rachel Findley was a mother. She was a grandmother. She was a Virginian. She was also enslaved. The law defined Rachel as property. Because Rachel…

Library of VirginiaAugust 31, 2022

Archives

A Deed Undone

If only the dead could talk! This paradoxical statement proved sadly appropriate in the early 19th century. Enslaved people faced undue hardship from those who…

Sherri BagleyJuly 13, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

“Charging Hell with a Bucket of Water”: The Virginians of the 370th Infantry

In 2018, we shared a blog post detailing the World War I experience of James P. Spencer, a Black soldier in the 370th Infantry of…

Jessi BennettJuly 6, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

A Case Study of Freedom: John Hopes

Nearly a week and a half ago, the country celebrated Juneteenth, which commemorates emancipation from slavery in the United States. Juneteenth refers to the historic…

Lydia NeurothJune 29, 2022