Browse Items (217 total)

After the American Revolution, some Virginians, inspired by the language of liberty, freed their enslaved laborers. By 1800 the population of free Black men and women had increased to nearly 20,000, primarily in urban areas like Richmond and…

Prior to the Civil War, Virginia did not have a comprehensive public school system. Some localities provided some "free schools" or "charity schools" for the children of indigent white families. African Americans, free and enslaved, were excluded…

This broadside advertises an excursion by train from Lawrenceville to Norfolk as a fundraiser for St. Paul Normal and Industrial Institute. James Solomon Russell (1857–1935) founded St. Paul Normal and Industrial School in Lawrenceville to serve the…

James Lafeyette was born enslaved about 1748. He lived on a plantation owned by William Armistead in New Kent County. Although he is sometimes identified as James Armistead, he never signed his name or self-identified as having the surname Armistead.…

On May 17, 1954, after nearly two decades of legal challenges against racial segregation in public schools and higher education, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas that school segregation was…

Late in the 19th century, some Virginians became interested in preserving historic buildings and landscapes that documented the state's illustrious past. White women led the effort to establish the Association for the Preservation of Virginia…

When the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling on May 17, 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, it declared that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. The ruling overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine…

Petitions to the General Assembly were the primary catalyst for legislation in the Commonwealth from 1776 until 1865. Public improvements, military claims, divorce, freeing of enslaved people, incorporation of towns, and religious freedom were just…

The United States produced many posters exhorting people to join the armed forces during World War II, as the need for soldiers, sailors, and pilots was critical. Often, the Office of War Information designed and circulated these posters, which were…

The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1 and ends November 30, with the season’s peak occurring between August and October. During the very active hurricane season of 1933, the Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane hit coastal Virginia on…