African American History

Forthcoming Additions to Free Registers Collection in Virginia Untold

In view of thirty-nine of our free registers recently going live on the From the Page, we’re dedicating a series of blog posts to highlighting…

Lydia NeurothApril 27, 2022

Reopening the Case of the Petersburg and Isle of Wight Commonwealth Causes

Although many years have passed since Local Records staff completed the processing of Isle of Wight County (Va.) Commonwealth Causes Ended, 1774-1937 and the city…

Library of VirginiaApril 6, 2022

Archives Digital Projects Highlights

“Free Negro Registers” from Virginia Untold Now Available on From the Page

In 1793, the Virginia General Assembly passed a law requiring that all free Black and multiracial individuals of Black descent in the state of Virginia…

Lydia NeurothMarch 30, 2022

Education & Programming

Strong Men & Women in Virginia History Honored for Black History Month

African Americans and people of African descent have been a part of Virginia’s—and America’s—story since European colonization of the North American continent began. Yet the…

Library of VirginiaFebruary 25, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

The Freedom to Love

On her deathbed in 1848, Susan Mills called her brother Henry and her sister Nancy to her bedside. She told them that she wanted her…

Lydia NeurothFebruary 23, 2022

Education & Programming Virginia Authors

Back in the Game: Research renews interest in Virginia-born singer-songwriter Tommy Edwards

Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared in Broadside, the magazine of the Library of Virginia, Summer 2008. Approached by MGM to record a…

Don GunterFebruary 16, 2022

Archives Education & Programming

Beyond “Mary Bowser”: Researching & Writing a Biography of Black Activism in 19th-Century America

Editor’s Note: The Library of Virginia, in partnership with Virginia Humanities, sponsors residential fellows during the academic year to conduct in-depth research in the Library’s…

Lois LeveenFebruary 2, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

‘Teaching a School of Negro Children’: The Story of Elizabeth McKennon

In August 1852, Elizabeth McKennon was accused of assembling with “fifteen negroes” at a house on Second Street in the City of Richmond with the…

Lydia NeurothJanuary 26, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

“That he is a ‘person of mixed blood’”: Being Biracial in Antebellum Virginia

William H. Pemberton’s father was a white man. His mother, Elizabeth Pleasants, had skin that was described as “very bright mulatto”, a term then in…

Lydia NeurothDecember 29, 2021

Archives Education & Programming Public Libraries

Garden Clubs Plant Seeds of Change

Editor’s Note: The Library of Virginia, in partnership with Virginia Humanities, sponsors residential fellows during the academic year to conduct in-depth research in the Library’s collections.…

Meredith Henne BakerDecember 8, 2021

Education & Programming The Stacks Virginia Authors

Placing Pupils on Common Ground

Charlene Butts Ligon’s book Fearless: How a Poor Virginia seamstress took on Jim Crow, beat the poll tax and changed her city forever focuses on…

Library of VirginiaOctober 22, 2021

Archives Conservation

Coming Soon to Virginia Untold: Free Black Registers from Arlington County

We’re excited to announce that we’ve just uploaded new Virginia Untold material to our transcription platform From the Page! This Saturday, October 23, from noon…

Lydia NeurothOctober 20, 2021