Inspiration for the Modern Revolutionary
Join us in February as we celebrate Black History Month with a full schedule of special tours, programs, films, and more. Although we tell these stories throughout the year, the special focus this month allows us to appreciate just how far we’ve come—and how far we still have to go….
A stolen hour in a quiet spot, somewhere near the edge of town. Rhythms pounded out on a djembe break the silence. “With the beat of this drum I call on the ancestors!” bellows Israel….
On Sept. 24, 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture will open its doors to the public, and First Baptist Church’s very own Freedom Bell will play a key role at the dedication ceremony….
I put the 3-D glasses on as instructed and gaze into the screen as the image comes to life. A room, rotating slowly. There is the clank of metal as a door unlatches. Voices at the bottom of the stairs, then footsteps.
Brian Emery, Associate Professor of Photography at the Fashion Institute of Technology, might seem like an unlikely candidate to be conducting a study of the attic at the Robert Carter house. I tell him as much, and he agrees….
We tell a lot of very important stories, and I’m not just talking about those of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. The stories of slavery cover the entirety of the Historic Area and a new program developed by a group of Actor-Interpreters hopes to promote healing and understanding.
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Back when he worked as an interpreter at Carter’s Grove, Art Johnson would intercept visitors as they crossed a bridge on the way to the mansion house. “Is anyone here related to the Burwells?” he would ask. When they acknowledged that they weren’t related to the mansion’s 18th-century occupants, Art had his opening, his chance to redirect their attention to the nearby slave quarter….
In 1800 an enslaved Virginian named Gabriel Prosser plotted an insurrection in Henrico County near Richmond. His goal reportedly was to kill any white person he came across, sparing only French Huguenots and one named individual. That person was Mary Randolph who, declared Prosser, would cook for him and be his queen.
Why would Prosser single out a white woman of privilege in such a way?…
Secrets are revealed, suspicions voiced, relationships challenged. Take Downton Abbey, mix in some elements of The Good Wife, and move it to colonial Virginia, and you might have something like Affairs of the Heart.
The evening program, an old favorite, has been brought back after about a 15-year hiatus. Its themes are still timeless….
The drums pictured above aren’t particularly fancy. In fact, that’s sort of the idea. They were both constructed in the last several months in a collaborative effort among our historical researchers, interpretive staff, and the cooperage….
Slavery is a sensitive topic that can be difficult to talk about. But that awful chapter in our history is part of who we are as Americans. We need to reckon with that history honestly. That’s why I asked Harvey Bakari, Manager of African American Initiatives, what he considered some of the most common misconceptions he has encountered. Here are his top five….