African American History – Page 5

Archives

The Legacy of John Henry James

On 12 July 1898, an Albemarle County grand jury met to hear evidence against an African American man named John Henry James accused of assaulting…

Greg CrawfordJune 6, 2018

Archives Education & Programming

True Son of Freedom: The World War I Experience of James Preston Spencer

True Sons of Freedom, a photographic exhibition at the Library of Virginia, explores the stories of Virginia's African American World War I soldiers. More than…

Claire RadcliffeJanuary 17, 2018

Archives

Ibby Jane Smith: U.S. Pensioner

Ibby Jane Smith was born in January 1864 in Northampton County, Virginia, the daughter of Leah Smith, also called Leah Jacob, and Seth Smith, also…

Louise JonesMarch 29, 2017

Newspapers

Wendell Scott: Racing’s Minority of One

"I was a race driver before I ever hit the track,” said Wendell Scott, the first African American to race NASCAR’s Grand National circuit, in a…

Kelley EwingFebruary 28, 2017

Archives

A Last Resort: Madison County Reenslavement Petitions

In 1856, the General Assembly decided that free African Americans could petition their county or city court to be enslaved. These individuals had to be…

Cara GriggsJanuary 11, 2017

Archives Conservation The Stacks

Westmoreland County Cohabitation Registers Now Online

Last summer, the Westmoreland County Circuit Court Clerk Gwynne Chatham contacted the Library of Virginia concerning old marriage records that staff discovered in her office.…

Greg CrawfordJanuary 4, 2017

Archives

The Value of a Man: The Muse Brothers of Franklin County

People looked at the Muse Brothers, Georgie and Willie, and saw something different. Some saw objects of pity. Some saw objects of ridicule. Some saw…

Vince BrooksNovember 23, 2016

Education & Programming

Nat Turner Re-examined

Professor Patrick H. Breen, author of The Land Shall be Deluged in Blood: A New History of the Nat Turner Revolt, spoke at the Virginia…

Errol SomayNovember 21, 2016

Newspapers

Portraits of a Prophet: 100 Years of Nat Turner in Print

CONTENT WARNING: Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and…

Kelley EwingOctober 13, 2016

Manuscripts & Special Collections Newspapers

Willis M. Carter Journal and Research Collection Donated to the Library of Virginia

Author and researcher Deborah Harding recently donated to the Library of Virginia a rare, firsthand account of slavery and its aftermath written by Willis M.…

Margaret RhettMay 11, 2016

Archives Digital Projects

Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection

In 1820, Rachel Findley won freedom for herself and more than 35 of her descendants in a Powhatan County court in a law suit dating…

Greg CrawfordFebruary 3, 2016

Archives

Virginia Untold: Certificates of Importation

This is the second in a series of blog posts on the record types found in the forthcoming Library of Virginia research database: Virginia Untold: The…

Greg CrawfordJanuary 13, 2016

Archives Digital Projects

Virginia Untold: Freedom Suits

This is the first in a series of blog posts on the record types found in the forthcoming Library of Virginia research database: Virginia Untold: The…

Chris SmithJanuary 6, 2016

Archives

A Knight Unlike Any Other: John Mitchell Jr. & The Knights of Pythias

While processing Nottoway County chancery causes several years ago, Local Records Archivist Louise Jones came across a most unusual item fastening several papers together: a…

Sarah NerneyDecember 16, 2015

Archives

Have You Seen The Vigilante Man?: Reconstruction Era Violence

Life for African Americans in Virginia following the end of the Civil War can be described as uncertain at best. As the social balance between…

Chris SmithSeptember 16, 2015