In 1902, Louisiana became the first state to pass a statute requiring mandatory segregation of passengers on streetcars. Mississippi followed with similar legislation in 1904. Also in 1904, Virginia authorized, but did not require segregated…
The Federal Reserve System, sponsored by Virginia State Senator Carter Glass, was signed into law on December 23, 1913 by President Woodrow Wilson. In 1914, the city of Richmond was selected to be the home to one of 12 central bank locations and was…
"Agitate – Educate – Legislate” was the slogan of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, which advocated the prohibition of alcohol. Established in 1874 in Ohio, the union became a national movement and Virginia women established a state chapter in…
Richmond's former city hall building, known as Old City Hall, is located on Broad Steet with one side facing Capitol Square and another facing the current city hall building. The building stands out as a remnant of the Gothic Revival style popular…
At the turn of the twentieth century, the call for Prohibition had become a national issue, espoused by many politicians and pushed by several strong organizations. The American Temperance Society, started in 1826, acted as a support group for…
Maggie Lena Walker was an African American woman, a banker, a business leader, and a civic leader. In 1903, she was the first woman to establish a bank in the United States, the Saint Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond. She was also the first…
John Mitchell Jr., was the determined and pioneering force behind the success of the Richmond Planet newspaper. Mitchell was born into slavery at Laburnum near Richmond on July 11, 1863. He was the son of John Mitchell and Rebecca Mitchell, who were…
What is known as the Progressive Movement in the United States lasted from the late 19th century until the 1940s. While many positive social reforms occurred, there were also laws enacted in which people who were thought to be “inferior” in some way…
In 1924, Virginia's General Assembly passed the Racial Integrity Act, which was designed to stop the “intermixture” of white and Black people. The act banned interracial marriage by requiring marriage applicants to identify their race as "white,"…
Marriage licenses such as this one began to appear after Racial Integrity Act was introduced in 1924. The application for marriage shows how an individual had to indicate that he or she was not "a habitual criminal, idiot, imbecile, hereditary…