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Time Period
16,000 BCE to 1622 CE
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At the time of the great northern glaciers, Native Americans followed the game they hunted to Virginia. Ten thousand years later, as the cold of the Ice Age gave way to a warmer, drier climate, they relied also on foraging and farming. After about 900 CE they settled into villages that united into chiefdoms. In 1607, in pursuit of opportunity in a new world, English settlers intruded into an eastern Virginia chiefdom of thirty-two tribes (15,000 to 20,000 people). Its leader then was Wahunsenacawh, whom the new settlers called by his title, Powhatan.
Time Period
1925 to Today
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A century of foreign wars expanded the presence of both the federal government in Northern Virginia and the military in the Hampton Roads area. Growth in those regions helped transform the state from a rural to a primarily urban one, from a poor to a relatively affluent one, and from a state with few non-natives to one with many. Only painstakingly, however, have minorities gained equality. Since 1960, the population has doubled. The largest employer now is the government, next is agriculture, which adds billions of dollars to the state’s economy.
Exhibition
A Better Life for Their Children
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From 1912-37, the Rosenwald schools program built thousands of schools, shops, and teacher’s homes across 15 Southern...
Exhibition
A Landscape Saved
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This exhibition celebrated the efforts in preservation and horticulture made by the Garden Club of Virginia during its...
Exhibition
A Material World
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Featuring 43 iconic images from the archives of the Richmond Times-Dispatch and accompanied by historical objects that...
Exhibition
Agents of Change
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Organized in conjunction with the statewide Women’s Suffrage Centennial, this exhibition featured artifacts from the...
Exhibition
Apollo: When We Went to the Moon
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Through objects and artifacts from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s archives, this exhibition explored the social and...
Exhibition
Artists4ERA
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Artists4ERA is part of ongoing efforts to ensure that the ERA becomes the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution...
Article Set - Chapter
Brown I and Brown II
In 1950 the NAACP decided that it would no longer file lawsuits seeking equal educational facilities, but only those that
Exhibition
Coming Out, Affecting Change
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For centuries, social and legal discrimination forced most lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+)...
Article Set - Chapter
Conclusion
Throughout the twentieth century and during the past decade, apologists for John Brown have turned out imagery and
Article Set - Chapter
Danville
The most violent episode of the civil rights movement in Virginia occurred in Danville during the summer of 1963—at about the
Exhibition
Determined
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This exhibition examined the long history of black Americans in North America as they have fought for freedom, equal...
Article Set - Chapter
Elections from 1924 to 1964
This section contains information and memorabilia on the elections from 1924 to 1964. Scroll down the page to learn more
Article Set - Chapter
Elections from 1968 to 2016
This section contains information and memorabilia on the elections from 1968 to 2016. Scroll down the page to learn more
Article Set - Chapter
Equal Access to Public Accommodations
Although integrating the nation's schools was the first priority of the civil rights movement, the denial of equal access to
Article Set - Chapter
Fanciful Figures
View illustrations of Virginia Indians as they were imagined by artists.
Exhibition
Fresh Paint
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This unprecedented exhibition explored the power of murals to encourage reflection on Virginia’s past by inviting...
Exhibition
Inside Looking Out
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The first exhibition of its kind in that it displays nearly all of artist Queena Stovall’s work in one place, this...
Article Set - Chapter
Interpreting Historical Images
A historical image can be interpreted in a number of ways. Each approach brings a different set of considerations, or frame