Special Collections
VCU Libraries Special Collections
Jackson Ward Historic District Collection
Richmond's Jackson Ward neighborhood was an active commercial and residential center for the African-American community in the city. This collection contains photos taken as part of a City of Richmond project in 1978, documenting the properties and streetscapes of the district.
Separate but Not Equal: Race, Education, and Prince Edward County, Virginia
An online exhibit exploring the history of the Prince Edward County, Virginia school segregation issues of the 1950s and 1960s.
Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church
Electronic archives housed as part of Special Collections and Archives' Virginia Black History Archives Project, as well as information about the church founder and history.
"Something Very Real" - Langston Hughes and Richmond, Virginia
This online exhibit explores the little known visit by Langston Hughes to Richmond, Virginia, including information on both Hughes and Hunter Stagg, and their mutual friend, writer and photographer Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964). A bibliography/links page enables researchers to continue to investigate these topics.
Through the Lens of Time: Images of African Americans from the Cook Collection
A digital collection of over 250 images of African Americans dating from the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Through the Lens of Time is a joint project between VCU Libraries and the Valentine Richmond History Center.
Virginia Black History Archives
The Virginia Black History Archives (VBHA) Project documents the history of African Americans in the Richmond and central Virginia area. Part of this collection is digitized, and the remainder is housed in Special Collections and Archives.
Voices of Freedom was produced by the Virginia Civil Rights Movement Video Initiative, a non-profit organization incorporated in 2002 to produce videotaped oral histories of leaders of the Civil Rights movement in Virginia. Voices of Freedom focuses on statewide activities from the 1950s through the early 1970s and includes stories about the "Jim Crow" segregation laws that prevailed up until the mid-1960s; stories about the struggles to change the laws and to change public attitudes; and advice from these civil rights veterans to future generations of Virginians/Americans.
Other Collections
This database links statewide electronic manuscript and archival collections, providing information about historical materials that document Virginia History and culture from 1607 to the present.