BHMVA & VMHC: A Partnership for the Community

Portrait of Colonel Charles Young (1864-1922), a soldier, diplomat, educator, and civil rights leader who achieved several firsts in his long and distinguished military career. Born enslaved, Young was the third Black student to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1889. According to the National Park Service, Young became the first Black superintendent of a national park in 1903, as a captain in charge of the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th Cavalry, at what is now Sequoia National Park in Visalia, California. He also served with distinction as a military attaché in Haiti and Liberia. He was honorably promoted to the rank of Brigadier General posthumously in 2021. The ceremony for the posthumous promotion took place at The United States Military Academy at West Point in April 2022. (BHM.0226)

BHMVA Director of Collections Mary Lauderdale and VMHC Curator L. Paige Newman look at two photos of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson walking and caring for a horse (BHM.PH.904-905).

A roster for the Old Timers Club (BHM.0047)

Object collections are reviewed by staff for condition and then described, measured, tagged, and photographed.  Then objects are wrapped in archival tissue and boxed for storage.

Black wool, V-neck with white cotton twill straps at shoulders, scoop back and built-in shorts. Manufacturers size label inside, white tag with red letters, "40/B.V.D." From a collection of clothing and textiles from the Steamer Trunk belonging to Mildred Clement Tate.

On display in the VMHC's Our Commonwealth exhibition, Tidewater section. (BHM.0484)

The front of this six-inch wooden ruler, is labeled: "Cut, Design, and Make Success / J. L. Loving, Jr. School of Tailoring / Suite 3030 St. Luke Bank Building / Tel. Madison 245 / Richmond, Va." Printed on the reverse: "For Men / Busheling, Pants Making, Coat Making / Cutting, Grading, Block Pattern Manipulating" and "For Women / Elementary Sewing, Dressmaking / Tailoring, Drafting and Designing" and "Six weeks and three months courses for Journeymen and teachers of the trade and for those who would train as designers, tailors and cutters."

On display in the VMHC's Our Commonwealth exhibition. (BHMVA.80.8)

The back of this sign includes a green foam strip, black fabric strap, and a metal handle, so the carrier can secure the sign to their arm to hold it.

On display in the VMHC's Our Commonwealth exhibition. (BHM.0115)

This photographic artwork was created by students at the Oakwood Arts program in Richmond, Virginia, and displayed in the exhibition, Beyond the Lens: Jackson Ward, in 2019. In partnership with Oakwood Arts, the Black History Museum hosted a one-week photography class where students explored the rich history of Jackson Ward through digital photography and worked on their own projects using inspiration from the BHMVA's collection, under the guidance of program mentors, local photographers, and museum professionals. Students explored the work of influential black photographers, learned about the fundamentals of photography, practiced basic editing techniques, and were introduced to several careers related to photography. 

On display in the VMHC's Our Commonwealth exhibition, May 2022-April 2023. (BHM.0505)

On February 20, 1960, Black civil rights activists in Richmond staged a sit-in at this lunch counter to protest racial discrimination. In the segregated South, most white businesses refused to hire Black people for certain jobs, or allow them to try on clothing while shopping or eat at the same tables as white customers. Sit-ins, marches, and other non-violent protests were a key part of the Civil Rights Movement. These demonstrations had local, national, and international impact by highlighting the widespread inequalities in America and by spurring change. The counter has a granite footrest and base, brown linoleum countertop, red sides with a black horizontal stripe, and a green/gray granite base.

On display in the VMHC's Treasures of Virginia exhibition. (BHM.370.1-2)

This full-scale, heroic size, plaster model of Arthur Ashe, Jr. (1943-1993) was cast from clay and made by Richmond sculptor Paul Di Pasquale for the monument located on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. The sculpture was built by Di Pasquale in 1993 with the authorization of Arthur Ashe, Jr., and approved in the months after Ashe's death by Jeanne Moutoussamy Ashe and other members of the Ashe and Cunningham families. 

The model is approximately 12 ft. 4 in. high and wears fabricated bronze glasses painted white. The left hand holds a fabricated wooden 'Head' style tennis racquet painted white. The right hand holds three books, cast in plaster, and signed "A. ASHE PROTO BOOKS, P. Di Pasquale / 1995". Arthur Ashe did not recommend titles for the books. Paul Di Pasquale selected three oversized books from his library to cast with the clay original so they fit with the scale of the statue. The books used were, largest to smallest: Janson's "History of Art"; Carl Jung's "Man and His Symbols"; "Sculpture, Material and Methods" published by Southern Methodist Press.

The model is signed by the sculptor on the right shoe. Copies of letters, photographs, and documents pertinent to this work of art were sealed in the head at the time of the completed casting.

On display at the BMHVA in the permanent exhibition gallery on the 1st floor. (VMHC 1996.169.A-D)

At the invitation of the Negro Organization Society and the Council of Colored Women, Booker T. Washington traveled to Richmond to speak and assist in raising funds toward the opening of what would become the Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls. Shown here are the cover (left) and an interior page of the program (right), printed by John Mitchell, Jr., in Richmond and presented "under the auspices of the Negro Organization Society and Council of Colored Women Benefit of Reform School for Colored Girls."

On display in the BMHVA's Forging Freedom, Justice and Equality exhibition, September 2022-April 2023. (VMHC 2008.1.42) 

A specialist in women’s health—gynecology and obstetrics—Dr. Gilpin also practiced general medicine. Shown here is a page from her medical notebook in which she recorded information about a range of ailments and their treatments. Some of her notes likely date from the summer of 1933, when she attended a post-graduate clinic held at St. Philip Hospital, in conjunction with the Medical College of Virginia.

On display in the BMHVA's Forging Freedom, Justice and Equality exhibition, September 2022-April 2023. (VMHC Mss1 G4275 a22)