African American History – Page 3

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

Archives Digital Projects

Forthcoming Additions to Free Registers Collection in Virginia Untold

In view of thirty-nine of our free registers recently going live on the From the Page, we’re dedicating a series of blog posts to highlighting…

Lydia NeurothApril 27, 2022

Archives

Reopening the Case of the Petersburg and Isle of Wight Commonwealth Causes

Although many years have passed since Local Records staff completed the processing of Isle of Wight County (Va.) Commonwealth Causes Ended, 1774-1937 and the city…

Library of VirginiaApril 6, 2022

Archives Digital Projects Highlights

“Free Negro Registers” from Virginia Untold Now Available on From the Page

In 1793, the Virginia General Assembly passed a law requiring that all free Black and multiracial individuals of Black descent in the state of Virginia…

Lydia NeurothMarch 30, 2022

Education & Programming

Strong Men & Women in Virginia History Honored for Black History Month

African Americans and people of African descent have been a part of Virginia’s—and America’s—story since European colonization of the North American continent began. Yet the…

Library of VirginiaFebruary 25, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

The Freedom to Love

On her deathbed in 1848, Susan Mills called her brother Henry and her sister Nancy to her bedside. She told them that she wanted her…

Lydia NeurothFebruary 23, 2022

Education & Programming Virginia Authors

Back in the Game: Research renews interest in Virginia-born singer-songwriter Tommy Edwards

Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared in Broadside, the magazine of the Library of Virginia, Summer 2008. Approached by MGM to record a…

Don GunterFebruary 16, 2022

Archives Education & Programming

Beyond “Mary Bowser”: Researching & Writing a Biography of Black Activism in 19th-Century America

Editor’s Note: The Library of Virginia, in partnership with Virginia Humanities, sponsors residential fellows during the academic year to conduct in-depth research in the Library’s…

Lois LeveenFebruary 2, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

‘Teaching a School of Negro Children’: The Story of Elizabeth McKennon

In August 1852, Elizabeth McKennon was accused of assembling with “fifteen negroes” at a house on Second Street in the City of Richmond with the…

Lydia NeurothJanuary 26, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

“That he is a ‘person of mixed blood’”: Being Biracial in Antebellum Virginia

William H. Pemberton’s father was a white man. His mother, Elizabeth Pleasants, had skin that was described as “very bright mulatto”, a term then in…

Lydia NeurothDecember 29, 2021