2025 Anne and Ryland Brown Teacher Research Fellowship Information
Fellowship Application due May 11, 2025
Open to Virginia 4th–12th Grade History and Social Science Educators
The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the Anne & Ryland Brown Teacher Research Fellowship. The goal of the program is to enhance knowledge and training in history and social science instruction in the Commonwealth of Virginia by providing educators with an opportunity for in-depth study and the development of teaching materials in collaboration with members of the Library of Virginia’s professional staff. Over the course of the summer, Brown Fellows work with Library of Virginia staff members to pursue research on an approved topic and produce educational materials based on the results of their findings. Brown Fellows are also required to make presentations regarding their research and finished projects at educational conferences.
This year the Brown Fellowship will focus on research and projects that explore the history of Black Virginians in Richmond’s Jackson Ward district in support of the Library’s forthcoming exhibition, “House to Highway: Reclaiming a Community History” (July 14, 2025–Feb. 28, 2026). “House to Highway” uses the story of Abraham Peyton Skipwith, the first Black homeowner in the area that would be known as Jackson Ward after the Civil War, and the subsequent removal of his house in advance of the construction of the Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike, to anchor a larger national story of the Black American experience and the founding of the nation through the Jim Crow era. Moreover, the exhibition illuminates the present-day restorative justice movement in Jackson Ward and how the community’s story and legacy can be found in other Black American communities across the nation, including Bronzeville in Chicago; Hayti in Durham, North Carolina; Sweet Auburn in Atlanta; West Ninth Street in Little Rock, Arkansas; and Farish Street in Jackson, Mississippi.
Jackson Ward, often dubbed “Black Wall Street,” was named a National Historic Landmark in 1978. In 2020, Richmond natives and sisters Sesha Joi and Enjoli Moon began exploring the question of how it acquired the name Jackson Ward, and their research brought them to the Library of Virginia. They discovered instead the compelling story of Abraham Peyton Skipwith, a skilled Black businessman, early Richmond homeowner, and emancipator of the Revolutionary Era. The sisters followed the fate of his house — one of the first built by a Black person in Richmond — and his remarkable descendants, mapping out a narrative of Black Richmond that touched on key themes in American history: slavery and emancipation, Black wealth creation and political activism, and the role that racism and segregation played in defining and destroying Black neighborhoods in the 20th century. Thus, was born The JXN Project, a reparative historic preservation project that recently celebrated Jackson Ward’s 150th anniversary through restorative truth-telling and redemptive storytelling. As the country approaches the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the United States of America, the project, in partnership with the Library, endeavors to propose a more complete narrative of the American origin story by focusing on the life, legacy and lineage of Abraham Peyton Skipwith, who in his own right should be acknowledged as a “Founding Father” of the Black American experience.
The exhibition at the Library will be the first venue for “House to Highway,” which will also be a key component of the visitor experience at the Skipwith–Roper Complex. Because the site of Skipwith’s house was razed during construction of the Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike (now I-95/I-64), The JXN Project is reconstructing the house with an interpretive center on Bates Street. The Skipwith-Roper Complex is within the Jackson Ward National Historic District. In what is likely to be the first time the history of Jackson Ward and its community members have been explored using a timeline of more than 230 years (1793–2026), “House to Highway” will use a combination of archival records, maps and photographs from the Library’s collection. Although the Library’s collection numbers more than 130 million items, the archival records pertaining to Skipwith and his descendants are sparse, a phenomenon that characterizes much of Black history. Nevertheless, the records that are available are powerful and document the extraordinary achievements of the Skipwith and Roper families.
This summer, the Library of Virginia will host a teacher institute in four of the eight superintendent’s regions, and will select four Brown Fellows (one from each region) to present their research during a session at their region’s teacher institute. For the 16th Annual Brown Teacher Institute (summer 2025), the Library seeks fellows from regions two, three, five and seven.
Brown Fellows will be asked to create a set of documents to be added to the online primary resource collection Document Bank of Virginia (DBVa), the Library of Virginia’s initiative to get primary sources into classrooms. Using original materials, teachers and librarians can make history relevant to students while helping them learn and understand state standards. DBVa will teach students to be critical thinkers as they analyze original documents and draw their own conclusions about Virginia’s past.
Brown Fellows will give presentations at their regional teacher institutes sharing what they have learned with fellow educators and will be available to connect with the other institute attendees during the year.
The Brown Teacher Research Fellowship includes:
- A stipend of $3,000 for each recipient
Eligible candidates for the Brown Teacher Research Fellowship must:
- Be residents of Virginia
- Have a minimum of three years of teaching experience in history and/or social science
- Exhibit the use of creative and engaging teaching techniques in the classroom
- Demonstrate a commitment to the use of primary sources as a part of classroom instruction
- Be available to complete 80 hours of research between June and September 2025, with at least part of the hours in attendance at the Library of Virginia
Applications must include:
- A résumé
- A statement of interest in 500 words or fewer outlining:
- reasons for applying for the Fellowship
- teaching philosophy
- what you hope to gain from the experience
- A letter of support from an immediate supervisor
- A sample lesson plan and/or narrative description demonstrating creative uses of primary sources, along with examples of student work based on the lesson, if available
DEADLINE: Complete applications should be emailed to the following address before Monday, May 12, 2025: education@lva.virginia.gov
For additional information, please contact Catherine Fitzgerald Wyatt, Education and Outreach manager, at catherine.fitzgeraldwyatt@lva.virginia.gov or 804.692.3999.