The search results below contain listings from our website. To search our library and museum collections catalogs, please visit the Collections page.
Article
A Life Rediscovered: The Story of Emily Winfree
Image

Emily Winfree, an African American woman who lived through slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow, never...
Article
Arthur Ashe Jr.’s Family Tree: Tracing the Blackwell Family to 1735
Image

See a rare family tree, drawn by hand on canvas, tracing Arthur Ashe, Jr.’s family.
Article
Brochure, Remember May 17th
Image

Learn the importance of May 17th in history.
Article
Changing the Commonwealth with Crayons
Image

When she was in the third grade, a classmate asked her to pass the “skin-colored” crayon—a familiar request heard at her...
Article
Clemenceau Givings Scrapbook (c. 1944)
Image

In 1943, Clemenceau “Clem” Givings became the first Richmonder to earn his wings as a Tuskegee Airman, the popular name...
Article
Convict Leasing
Image

For much of the twentieth century, convicts worked on Virginia’s roads. This practice grew out of the convict lease...
Article
Duke Ellington at the Mosque
Image

Late in his career, jazz great Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899–1974) composed three "Sacred Concerts," longer...
Article
Education in Virginia
Image

The Virginia Constitution of 1869, passed during Reconstruction, established a statewide system of free public schools...
Article
Ella Fitzgerald's False Eyelashes
Image

Legendary singer and Virginia native Ella Fitzgerald, dubbed “The First Lady of Song,” exhilarated audiences with her...
Article
Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity poster
Image

The Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity promoted understanding among groups during the tensions of the civil...
Article
Equal Suffrage League of Virginia
Image

Learn about how the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia helped women gain the right to vote.
Article
Freedom Riders
Image

In 1961, a small group of white and black volunteers rode public buses into the South to demonstrate that interstate...
Article
James Jones Archive (1870s-1960s)
Image

With a coat of faded red paint and a crude hand-forged hasp to secure its lid, the simple pine chest – once used to...
Article
Jim Crow to Civil Rights in Virginia
Image

Following the Civil War, black Virginians struggled to assert their independence and make freedom meaningful. In the...
Article
Joy to the World: The Christmas Story by Visionary Painter Linda Bruton
Image

The depiction of events prior to, during, and following the birth of Christ has been a favorite topic among Western...
Article
Juneteenth
Image

Pop Civ is a series developed by the John Marshall Center for Constitutional History & Civics at the VMHC. By connecting...
Article
L. Douglas Wilder
Image

Learn about L. Douglas Wilder, the first elected African American governor in United States history.
Article
Maggie Lena Walker
Image

Maggie Lena Walker (1864–1934) was the daughter of Elizabeth Draper, a former kitchen slave and then cook in the Civil...
Article
Murals Inspired by the Story of Virginia
Image

Richmond is now home to more than 100 outdoor murals, and this popular form of artwork reflects the city’s modernity and...
Article
Proud American Day program
Image

Learn about the beginning of Black History Month.