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A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

By Amie Knowles

February 1, 2025

Join us as we take you on a daily journey across Virginia to explore some of the most meaningful ways that Black history shaped the commonwealth.

February is Black History Month, a time to reflect on the significant contributions of Black Americans throughout history. In Virginia, this month offers an incredible opportunity to explore the state’s rich African American heritage. 

From the birthplace of Booker T. Washington to the legacies of educators, activists, and artists, Virginia boasts a multitude of important sites and stories that highlight the resilience, strength, and impact of Black communities. Whether you’re visiting a museum, historical marker, or hidden gem, this is the perfect time to connect with the state’s diverse cultural history. 

Join us as we take you on a daily journey across Virginia to explore some of the most meaningful ways that Black history shaped the commonwealth.

Saturday, Feb. 1

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Video by Dogwood

Did you know there are a plethora of impactful places to visit throughout Virginia to learn more about Black history? February, designated as Black History Month, is a great time to road trip with the family and explore the commonwealth’s meaningful memorials, historical locations, and traveling exhibits.

We’ve put together a list of impactful places to visit here.

Sunday, Feb. 2

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Booker T. Washington National Monument photo by the National Park Service

Did you know that you can visit Booker T. Washington’s birthplace? And that the site is a national monument?

Born into slavery in 1856 on a 207-acre farm in rural Franklin County, Washington went on to become one of the country’s best-known historical Black figures. He was the first principal at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School (now Tuskegee University), and became a renowned advisor, author, and orator throughout the country.

When visiting the monument, start off at the visitor center to view the exhibits and watch an audio-visual presentation about Washington’s life. From there, you can walk on one of two trails around the old plantation. The farm and garden areas depict what life was like there in the 1850s.

Want to learn more about Black historical sites in Virginia? We’ve got more info for you right here.

Monday, Feb. 3

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Dangerfield Newby photo by the Library of Congress

You might’ve seen the Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained, with stunning performances by Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, and Leonardo Di Caprio. But did you know the character Django, played by Jamie Foxx, was loosely based on Dangerfield Newby?

Newby was born into slavery in Fauquier County in 1815. He was later freed, along with his mother and siblings, by his father when he moved them across the Ohio River.

Later in life, Newby saved up $1,500 to buy his wife and her children’s freedom. However, despite his efforts, her master raised the price. Since all of his previous efforts to save them had failed, Newby planned to free them by force—that choice ultimately resulted in the end of his life during John Brown’s 1959 slave revolt on Harpers Ferry.

Newby’s wife, Harriet, and her children were sold to a Louisiana slave owner after the raid. In 1899, the remains of 10 raiders, including Newby, were reburied in a common grave near the body of John Brown in North Elba, New York.

Tuesday, Feb. 4

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo of Dr. Mickey Hickman by Ashley Spinks Dugan

Dr. Mickey Hickman began attending Calfee Training School, a school for Black students, in 1955. He stayed at Calfee, located in Pulaski, through seventh grade.

Hickman later taught social studies in Pulaski County Public Schools, where he served as an educator for more than 40 years. 

“I’ve always been able to do the work, and I attribute it to those teachers I had at Calfee,” Hickman said.

In 2020, Hickman was one of several community members who worked to revive the school building he attended as a boy. Nowadays, the Calfee Community and Cultural Center hosts a multitude of community events, and offers a glimpse into the past. 

To read about the history of this project, click here

Wednesday, Feb. 5

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo of Missy Elliott by Getty Images/Kaitlyn Morris/FilmMagic

Does the name Melissa Elliott ring a bell? You probably know her better as “Missy!” Born in Portsmouth in 1971, the singer’s known for making waves in her hometown.

Elliott graduated from Manor High School in 1990, and just 30 years later, she became the first female rapper (and third rapper, period) to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Just last year, Elliott made history again when she became the first female rap star to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The next time you’re driving through Portsmouth, be sure to swing by and snap a photo of Missy Elliott Blvd.

Thursday, Feb. 6

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Video by Dogwood

Did you know that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to Danville in 1963? There, he spoke at a luncheon at High Street Baptist Church, where he condemned the “brutality and viciousness” of the Danville police force at the time.

US Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) recently reflected on the impact of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“[He] kept to that truth that nonviolence can overcome hatred—and boy, oh boy, we need that message in our country right now,” Warner said.

Watch Warner’s remarks here.

Friday, Feb. 7

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo of Eliza Bannister Walker by the Special Collections and Archives, James G. Leyburn Library, Washington & Lee University

Move over, Wonder Woman. Virginia has a new superhero in town—and her name is Eliza Bannister Walker.

Born in 1874, Walker became a talented performer, singing in the “Charity Nightingales” group. Her skills weren’t limited to just her beautiful voice, though—she was also an impactful poet. She used her writing abilities on select occasions to raise money for causes close to her heart. One such project was an “old folks home” and orphanage in Lexington. Asking for a minimum donation of 25 cents per copy, according to the Rockbridge Historical Society, Walker sold original compositions to benefit the project.

She also advocated for strides in education for the area’s Black students. In 1932, she signed a letter asking the Lexington School Board for a high school teacher at the Lylburn Downing School (which opened in 1927 to educate Black children). In the letter, Walker and three other signers noted that the parents would pay the additional teacher a salary of $55. According to a historical marker at the location, the program expanded to offer high school education in the 1940s.

Saturday, Feb. 8

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo of L. Douglas Wilder by AP Photo/Ken Bennett

Just 35 years ago, L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the nation’s first elected Black governor. After being sworn in on Jan. 13, 1990, the Korean War veteran went on to provide sound fiscal management in an economically difficult time.

He’s also to thank for new construction projects at:

  • Multiple Virginia colleges and universities
  • Virginia mental health facilities
  • And Virginia State Parks

Fun fact: Wilder was named after abolitionist Frederick Douglass and poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, according to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.

Sunday, Feb. 9

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo by the Fredericksburg Area Museum

The Fredericksburg Area Museum preserves and teaches local history, including the area’s African American history. A notable, and challenging, part of that history is the “Auction Block,” which was associated with the sale of enslaved people and stood on the corner of William and Charles streets in downtown Fredericksburg from around 1843 until June 2020.

The block can be viewed at the museum, along with accompanying exhibit “A Monumental Weight.” The museum website describes the endeavor as a “physical and digital exhibition grounded in historical documentation, academic scholarship, and extensive community involvement.” 

Want to learn more about Black historical sites in Virginia? We’ve got more info for you right here.

Monday, Feb. 10

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo of Booker T. Washington speaking at CI, courtesy of Christiansburg Institute Inc.

The first southwestern Virginia school educating formerly enslaved African Americans resides in Christiansburg, called Christiansburg Institute (CI). Cpt. Charles Schaeffer, a Union soldier and Baptist minister from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded CI shortly after the Civil War. In 1866, he taught 12 formerly enslaved individuals—an illegal act just one year prior.

Merely three years later, the Hill School, as locals called it, educated over 200 students. In 1870, the Friends’ Freedmen’s Association helped Schaeffer fund the school. In the 1880s, Schaeffer turned over control of the school to a completely African American staff. He retired to focus on ministry, organizing 29 southwestern Virginia churches, before his death in 1899.

To read more about the school’s history—and rebirth, thanks to a local group working to keep its memory alive—click here

Tuesday, Feb. 11

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo by UVA Law Archives of Gregory Swanson with Assistant Law Dean Charles Woltz after registration at UVA on Sept. 15, 1950

On Sept. 15, 1950, segregation was still happening in Virginia. But that day, one man helped pave the way for University of Virginia (UVA) students. His name was Gregory Swanson, and the Danville native became the first Black man to register for classes at the Charlottesville school.

Swanson sought a master’s in law from UVA, but he faced an issue when he applied. The Howard University graduate’s application was rejected due to Virginia’s racial segregation in schools. A UVA Lawyer article 2016 noted that the law faculty supported Swanson’s admission, but the UVA Board of Rectors opposed it. Not taking no for an answer, Swanson took the matter to court.

Swanson won a federal lawsuit and applied to UVA. He ultimately became an attorney for the Internal Revenue Service.

Wednesday, Feb. 12

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo by Arlington Public Schools

Feb. 2, 1959 wasn’t a normal school day at Stratford Junior High School. Police escorted four students to the building, in pursuit of an education. While most seventh graders focused on math and science, Gloria Thompson, Ronald Deskins, Lance Newman and Michael Jones had other things on their minds. That day, those four brave children became the first 

Black students to integrate Arlington Public Schools. 

Six decades later, the school district paid tribute to those students, using a unique way to teach kids more about their history. The Stratford Commemorative Trail showcases the story of desegregation through a series of enlarged photos of the four trailblazers. It’s now a permanent installation at the site. 

To read more about the project, click here.

Thursday, Feb. 13

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Video by Dogwood

At just 16 years old, Barbara Johns changed history. On April 23, 1951, she staged a strike at R.R. Moton High School in Farmville, where students participated in a walkout for equal education opportunities. The public high school, which educated Black students, had “overcrowded conditions and substandard facilities,” according to the Library of Virginia.

Watch US Senator Mark Warner’s remarks on Johns here.

Friday, Feb. 14

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo of Ella Fitzgerald by AP Photo/Bob Dear, File

If you could’ve been a fly on the wall 90 years ago tonight, you would’ve witnessed the start of Ella Fitzgerald’s amazing career. The jazz singer from Newport News wowed audiences, winning the amateur night contest at Harlem’s Apollo Theater in 1934.

At just 17 years old, the competition launched Fitzgerald into stardom. Just five years later, Fitzgerald recorded “A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” which sold 1 million copies, hit number one, and stayed on the pop charts for 17 weeks. The recording skyrocketed her career, and she ultimately produced more than 200 albums.

Saturday, Feb. 15

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo by Library of Congress/T. Holmes, photographer

Who is this gentlewoman?

February is Black History Month, and all month long, we’re focusing on the stories and contributions of Black Virginians.

But this woman with a Mona Lisa smile is a mystery. Like so many other Black identities, hers has been lost to history. Prior to the 1870 census, there was a lack of detailed information available about the country’s Black population.

What we do know is from a short note written on the back of her photo: She was a nurse at Chesapeake Hospital in Hampton, likely during the Civil War. The picture comes from the (Chris) Foard Collection of Civil War Nursing, housed in the Library of Congress.

Do you know anything about this woman? Let’s try to find her story together, Virginia.

Sunday, Feb. 16

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo of Rita Dove by AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

This multi-award-winning writer doesn’t just specialize in one style. From poetry to essays to stories, lyrics, and more, Rite Dove seemingly does a little of everything when it comes to creative writing.

She’s won Lifetime Achievement Medals from the Library of Virginia and the Fulbright Association and became the only person to ever win both the National Humanities Medal and the National Medal of Arts, the latter of which was presented to her by former President Barack Obama.

The Poetry Foundation noted that Dove attained 29 honorary doctorates from schools including Yale University, Harvard University, and a multitude of others. Dove, who served as the US Poet Laureate from 1993 to 1995, currently teaches at UVA in the English department.

Monday, Feb. 17

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Video by Dogwood

Rep. Jennifer McClellan recently celebrated the powerful legacy of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to run for president.

Watch McClellan’s remarks here.

Tuesday, Feb. 18

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo by the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington

“African Americans played a vital role in the formation and development of Arlington County,” according to The Black Heritage Museum of Arlington. “African American history is not a separate component of the Arlington story, but a central part of our shared history.”

To learn about that history, including the Freedman’s Village which was established in the 1860s with the intention of it being “a model community for freedpersons,” plan a visit to the museum.

Want to learn more about Black historical sites in Virginia? We’ve got more info for you right here.

Wednesday, Feb. 19

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo by the University of Virginia Visual History Collection

Would you work 72 hours a week for less than $7? Probably not. But in the early 1940s, that was the going wage for 28 Black female employees at the UVA Hospital. 

When they walked off their shift demanding a livable wage of $9.30, UVA President John Newcomb solicited Red Cross volunteers to take over the ward maids’ duties of cleaning rooms and washing linens. He then talked to the ward maids one-on-one, not as a group as they’d requested, offering them each about $9 a week. 

The following spring, the ward maids and Black orderlies threatened another walkout over hours worked, wanting their 12-hour shifts reduced to eight hours. The university lobbied the state budget director for four days, ultimately getting the deal—and the workers involved formed a union. 

You can read more about their powerful efforts here.

Thursday, Feb. 20

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo of Mary Bethune by the Library of Congress

Born in South Carolina in 1875, Mary Bethune became a pioneer in the education of Black students and an active supporter of African American women’s rights nationwide.

While we couldn’t find evidence of her living in Virginia, she purchased a home across the Potomac in Washington, D.C. Now known as the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, her home became the first location of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) headquarters. It also put her near the White House, where she worked with presidents including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover.

Bethune died in 1955, but her impact on the Old Dominion State still reaches far and wide. The Mary Bethune Office Complex in Halifax was initially built as a school for Black children in the area and currently serves as a space for local branches of the Virginia Department of Health and Virginia Department of Social Services, the local school board office, a voting location, and more. The building is part of the Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail. The Mary Bethune Academy in Lynchburg and the Mary Bethune Park in Rocky Mount are also named after the leader, with each location paying homage to her influence.

Friday, Feb. 21

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Colonial Williamsburg Archaeological Field Technician DéShondra Dandridge at the excavation site of the First Baptist Church’s original permanent location; photo courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg

Each time he preached at First Baptist Church, Gowan Pamphlet risked being arrested. Pamphlet’s congregation in Colonial Williamsburg wasn’t like the other church groups in the area. Comprised of an all-Black membership, First Baptist Church wasn’t just unique—it was illegal.

The only Black ordained minister in the country at the time, Pamphlet first held his meetings at Green Spring Plantation, about five miles outside of Williamsburg. From the brush arbors, built under the direction of a former minister, the enslaved tavern worker spoke to a congregation of hundreds of enslaved and free African Americans. By 1881, Pamphlet’s congregation gathered a few miles down the road, at Raccoon Chase. 

Pamphlet gained his freedom in 1793, the same year his church became the only African American congregation accepted into the Dover Baptist Association. He continued as the minister until his death in 1809, the owner of 14 acres of land and two horses.

About a decade after Pamphlet’s death, Jesse Cole entered the picture. Cole, a prominent white landowner, learned of the congregation’s gatherings. He also realized they had no meeting place. Oral tradition notes that Cole gave the congregation a building on his land—and in 1856, the congregation erected a new church building. That location was at the center of a series of archeological digs in 2020, when a team set up an excavation site of the First Baptist Church’s original permanent location on South Nassau Street.

You can read more about the dig, history, and preservation efforts here.

Saturday, Feb. 22

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo of Booker T. Washington by Peter P. Jones, photographer/Library of Congress

He was an educator, author, orator, Virginian, and — a slave? Dr. Booker Taliaferro Washington wasn’t born eating off of a silver spoon. In 1856, the man that would become one of the most influential African Americans of the 19th century was born into slavery in Franklin County, Virginia.

The 207-acre plantation grew tobacco, and it’s where Washington spent the first nine years of his life “owned” by James and Elizabeth Burroughs. As a youngster, Washington faced conditions much different from kids today. His housing arrangement — a small log cabin that also served as the “Big House’s” kitchen, since his mother, Jane, was the plantation cook — had no floor, no bed, and no glass windows, but rather “openings in the side which let in the light, and also the cold, chilly air of winter,” Washington described in his autobiography, Up From Slavery. 

According to the National Park Service, which now preserves the land and history of Washington’s birthplace, Washington wanted to attend school. However, as a slave, he couldn’t. Instead, he had to carry the books to school for the local teacher, who was the plantation owner’s daughter, Laura Burroughs. Following the end of the Civil War and the reading of what Washington assumed was the Emancipation Proclamation, he was finally able to go to school as a student — but only after working a morning job.

In 1872, he learned of a school for formerly enslaved individuals: the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (Hampton University). Washington chose to seek out the opportunity and walked 500 miles to the school, where he excelled as a student. Washington later went on to attend Wayland Seminary in Washington, DC, after which he returned to Hampton Institute to teach. When an opportunity opened in Alabama, the man who founded Hampton Institute, Union Gen. Samuel Chapman Armstrong, referred Washington to the The Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (Tuskegee University)— and as folks like to say, “The rest is history.”

Sunday, Feb. 23

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo of the Anne Spencer House by the Historic American Buildings Survey/Library of Congress

Did you know that Anne Spencer was the first African American woman to be featured in the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry? The Lynchburg native also had a hand in the Harlem Renaissance and had close friendships with other writers such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. 

Her house still stands in Lynchburg, and the property offers tours by appointment. 

Monday, Feb. 24

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo by the Hampton History Museum

The Hampton History Museum has exhibits, including “1619: First African Landing” and “When the Computer Wore a Skirt: NASA’s Human Computers,” on some of the pivotal moments in Black history.

After visiting the museum, you can continue on the  Hampton Black History Driving Tour. The tour “explores the largest stone fort in the U., one of the ‘Great Trees of the World,’ and a historic African American neighborhood.”

Want to learn more about Black historical sites in Virginia? We’ve got more info for you right here.

Tuesday, Feb. 25

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo of Robert R. Moton by the Library of Congress

Did you know that not only the first but also the second role of president at the famous Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) went to Virginians?

Dr. Booker T. Washington, born into slavery in Franklin County, founded the Alabama school and served as its first president.

Following Washington’s death in 1915, Robert Moton, born in Amelia County, assumed the role. Moton is featured in the center of this photograph promoting Rosenwald schools, which predominantly educated Black students in the South before desegregation.

“Robert R. Moton, an advocate for American servicemen and women, traveled to France to support Black soldiers during World War I. Dr. Moton worked with the federal government to establish the Tuskegee Veterans’ Administration Hospital on land donated by Tuskegee. At the demand of Moton, the hospital opened in 1923 and was fully staffed by Black professionals—the first of its kind,” the university’s website reads.

Wednesday, Feb. 26

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Video by Dogwood

Last year, Rep. Jennifer McClellan took the House floor to honor the legacy of Yvonne B. Miller, the first Black woman elected to the General Assembly.

“I stand on her shoulders and was proud to pay tribute to her on the House floor,” McClellan mentioned on X, formally known as Twitter.

Watch McClellan’s remarks here.

Thursday, Feb. 27

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Bray School photo by William & Mary

The Bray School in Williamsburg, originally founded in the 1760s, was a colonial institution dedicated to educating enslaved and free Black children. However, some of the subjects were vastly different from what you’d find in a modern classroom—including a major motivation focused on saving students’ souls, rather than freeing them from the binds of slavery. 

Teachers preached not only about salvation, but also about “accepting one’s fate”—an idea inappropriately excused slavery as a malpractice. It’s unclear what other education the children received from the Bray School. Evidence suggests children on the site, given unearthed items like clay marbles, a doll and sewing paraphernalia. 

Some suggest that children could have learned to read and write, given slate pencils found on-site during archeological digs. Other historians stray away from the written component. If children learned to write, they could forge a manumission document—a letter freeing enslaved individuals.

Excavations of the site continued in 2021. To read more about the history of the school or the discoveries made, click here.

Friday, Feb. 28

A daily journey through Virginia’s Black history: From Civil Rights to cultural icons

Photo by the Library of Congress/The African Church, Richmond, VA. Photographed between 1861 and 1865, printed between 1880 and 1889

You can almost hear the sound of “Amazing Grace” ringing through the rafters at this RVA church more than 180 years ago.

Known simply as the “African Church” at the time, congregants established Richmond’s First African Baptist Church in 1841—but the building predated the designation. The structure was built around 1780 and had more than 2,000 members just 40 years later.

Unfortunately, racial division crept in as the number of attendees grew. The University of Richmond’s “An Unfolding History“ virtual exhibit noted that of the 2,000 congregants, 1,708 were either enslaved or free Black people. Once the split occurred, Black members contributed over $5,000 to purchase the building.

However, just because the members had a place to worship didn’t mean they could conduct their own sermons. Per Virginia law at the time, only a white man could lead a religious assembly of Black people. Despite the law’s limitations, the members were incredibly active in the service.

“Before his own sermon, [Richmond College President Robert] Ryland would gesture to certain men, such as John Kinney, the leader of the choir, and Lewis Allen, a free Black deacon of the church, to rise and lead prayers or exhort listeners with addresses that were long, elaborate, and sermon-like,” according to An Unfolding History.

While the congregants relocated to a different structure in the 1950s, the First African Baptist Church is still an active part of the Richmond community.

  • Amie Knowles

    Amie is Dogwood's community editor. She has been in journalism for several years, winning multiple awards from the Virginia Press Association for news and features content. A lifelong Virginia resident, her work has appeared in the Martinsville Bulletin, Danville Register & Bee and NWNC Magazine.

CATEGORIES: LOCAL HISTORY

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