Black History Month Blog

On March 19, 1866, two weeks before Richmond's first Emancipation Day celebration, a young school teacher who had traveled to Richmond to educate former slaves wrote the following to her family in Brooklyn, NY:

"The colored people want to celebrate the anniversary of the fall of Richmond, because it is their Independence Day. They are told that if the celebrate it at all it shall be with blood. One of the young men says he shall he will celebrate it, if he does it alone. What do you think I should advise him? Of course I hold it to be their right to celebrate their freedom, and I don't like to see them cowed down by the whites. Yet I don't like to risk bloodshed, though I seriously believe that more blood will have to be shed before these people will be free." (Letter reproduced in the New York Tribune, March 30, 1866)

In the years following the Civil War, the African American population of Richmond celebrated each April 3rd as Emancipation Day. The date marked the anniversary of the fall of the Confederate capitol, and subsequently, the end to slavery in Richmond and its surroundings. The events were massive. Long parades lines were headed by richly regaled black militia regiments followed by members of the African American political societies, aid societies and church organizations. The procession marched the entire length of the city -- up Broad Street and down Main Street -- until it concluded at the capitol grounds. There -- at the seat of government in the very state were slavery began -- large crowds gather around Washington's monument to hear orators champion the cause of civil rights, black advancement and racial equality.

Initially, the reaction of many white Richmonders was one of condemnation, including threats of violence -- as demonstrated in the young teacher's letter home. When an African American church was burned on the eve of the first Emancipation Day, it was perceived as an act of intimidation. But the threats failed to deter the celebration. In time even the Richmond Dispatch conceded that it was a celebration of freedom and not of Confederate defeat. In later years, the parades and celebrations continued, but the speechmaking no longer took place on the capitol grounds (that ended when Federal troops left Richmond). By the 1890s, there were efforts to change the observance date because African Americans across the state had experienced freedom at different times, and there was pressure to create a uniform celebration. Yet, in Richmond, large crowds continued to gather for an April 3rd observance as late as the 1910s.

Richmond's Emancipation Day was more than a celebration. It was a bold assertion of the right to public space and freedom of expression, sending the message that the city's black population took their freedom seriously. Yet, this once prominent part of Richmond's identity has fallen out of our public memory. Efforts are currently underway for the city of Richmond to officially recognize April 3rd as "Richmond's Emancipation Day." For more information contact Michael Rawls at rawlsmm@vcu.edu. (Thanks to Ray Bonis for providing New York Tribune article).

--Michael Rawls, Admin. Office Specialist - VCU Libraries

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The State of Virginia has just taken a huge step toward apologizing for a grievous wrong. The enslavement of Blacks in Virginia lasted for centuries before the Civil War forced an end to the institution, but the attitudes and prejudices that allowed slavery to flourish survived. In a thousand different ways, from the laws of Jim Crow to the practices of underhanded realtors and financiers, prejudice against Blacks has persisted down through the years in America. While progress has gradually been made in mitigating the effects, legal and otherwise, of prejudice, apologies for slavery--along with the possibility of some kind of reparations--have been slow in coming.

Since 1865, various efforts have been made to move the United States toward finding a way to repay Black Americans for what their ancestors suffered. VCU Libraries has a number of books about the subject.

Roy L. Brooks' Atonement and Forgiveness (call number Cabell Library E185.89.R45 B76 2004) makes a case for reparations as a means to racial conciliation, setting the issue in the context of reparations made by states for other injustices, from apartheid to the Holocaust.

Raymond A. Winbush's Should America Pay? (call number Cabell Library E185.89.R45 S56 2003) is a collection of essays from various perspectives about the question of reparations.

More books on the subject can be found here. If you'd like to learn more online, National Public Radio has a page on the subject with links to further articles and interviews.

--John Glover, Reference Librarian for Humanities - Cabell Library

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Above and Beyond: A Celebration of the Legacies of the Leonard Graduates
Monday, February 26, 2007
Tompkins-McCaw Library, Distance Education, Rm. 2-010
509 North 12th Street
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
This presentation will chronicle the legacies of the graduates of the Leonard Medical School, a former department of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Leonard Medical School was one of fourteen medical schools founded in the United States between 1868 and 1900 dedicated to the education of African-Americans. Over its 36-year history, Leonard graduated almost 400 physicians. Founded in 1882, Leonard, like its sister black medical schools, struggled to survive financially as it tried to keep up with changes in medical education and medical science during the late nineteenth century. Race issues added an extra burden. Only two African-American medical schools, Meharry University and Howard University, survived after 1923. The graduates of Leonard Medical School went on to contribute in medicine in Virginia and other states. This lecture will discuss Leonard's founding and the contribution of the graduates to the medical community in Virginia and other states. Leonard Medical School finally closed its doors in 1918.

--Irene Lubker, Research Librarian and Interim Head of User Services - Tompkins McCaw Library for the Health Sciences.

Elvatrice Parker Belsches	The Leonard Medical School Building

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VCU Health System will celebrate Black History Month
February 28, 2007, 11am to 2 pm
In the Kontos Medical Sciences Building
1217 Marshall Street.

This is a Lunch-time Black History Cultural Festival Featuring a lecture "The African Connections in VA" by Janine Bell

Other featured entertainment:
The Elegba Folklore Society - African dance performance
Plunky Oneness - musical performance.

There will also be a free tasting of African food and a "Market place" which will feature:
The Broom Lady Wedding and Event Planner
Crafts by Stephonia Owolabi
Gift items from The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.

--Irene Lubker, Research Librarian and Interim Head of User Services - Tompkins McCaw Library for the Health Sciences.

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Above and Beyond: A Celebration of the Legacies of the Leonard Graduates
Monday, February 26, 2007
Tompkins-McCaw Library, Distance Education, Rm. 2-010
509 North 12th Street
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.

This lecture chronicles the legacies of the graduates of the Leonard Medical School, a former department of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. In existence from 1882 -1918, this historically black medical school produced over four hundred graduates. Elvatrice Parker Belsches will discuss the major contributions of these graduates on the City of Richmond, the state of Virginia and various medical organizations. Parker Belsches, MA, RPh, is an archival researcher, author and pharmacist living in the Richmond area. Free and open to the public. For special accommodations contact user services at 804-828-2004.

Sponsored by VCU Libraries Friends of the Library.

--Donna Coghill, Director of Marketing and Public Relations - VCU Libraries

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Langston Hughes' Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz
Featuring the Ron McCurdy Quartet & Dr. Diane Richardson (spoken-word artist)
Friday, February 23, 2007
8:00 p.m.
W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts
922 Park Avenue
$5 general public; free with VCU student ID. Parking is available for a fee in the West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks. For advance tickets, call: (804) 828-6776, Monday - Friday, Noon - 2 p.m. Co-sponsored by VCU Libraries, Music, Multicultural Affairs, Jazz Studies, English, Campus Activities Board, and African American Studies.

For more information about these events, or to request special accommodations, please call (804) 827-1165 or (804) 827-1163.

--Donna Coghill, Director of Marketing and Public Relations - VCU Libraries

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As part of the Black History Month celebrations at Virginia Commonwealth University of the life and legacy of the acclaimed Harlem Renaissance poet and social critic, Langston Hughes, VCU Libraries has prepared a Resource Guide of articles, books, and web sites to discover more about his invaluable contributions to American culture. Hughes will be commemorated by The Langston Hughes Project on Thursday, February 22 and Friday, February 23 at the Singleton Center at VCU.

For more information, please visit the VCU Libraries Black History Month web site.

--Kevin Farley, Humanities Librarian for Collection Management - Cabell Library

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Langston Hughes & The Harlem Renaissance: A Discussion with Dr. Ron McCurdy & Dr. Diane Richardson
Thursday, February 22, 2007
7:00 p.m.
W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts
922 Park Avenue
Free and open to the public. Parking is available for a fee in the West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks. Co-sponsored by VCU Libraries, Music, Multicultural Affairs, Jazz Studies, English, Campus Activities Board, and African American Studies.

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Mutual benefit societies provided much-needed assistance and community support to African-Americans during the post-Civil War period through the early twentieth century. These voluntary organizations gave financial, educational, insurance, and other services denied to African-Americans by white-owned businesses. Some served specific sectors of the African-American community such as black Cuban immigrants. With the help of these societies, blacks were able to start businesses, attend to funereal responsibilities, locate and obtain housing, and find access to health care, for examples. Members offered strong moral counseling to fellow members. Since mutual benefit societies relied on dues-paying members, every effort was made to see that they did not succumb to vices that would threaten the societies' financial stability. After the Great Depression, the U.S. government took over many of the functions peformed by mutual benefit societies, and so they gradually faded away.

You can learn more about mutual benefit societies and numerous other topics related to African-American culture in the 2-volume work, Encyclopedia of African American Society. The Encyclopedia spans a wide range of topics including theories, fine arts, literature, history, politics, media, health, education, music, dance, movements, popular culture, sports, and social issues, to name some. The work is ideal for researchers who are looking for an easy-to-understand introduction to this subject area. Every entry also contains lists of works for further reading that serve as good starting points for continuing your research. The Encyclopedia is located in the Cabell Library Reference Collection, call number E185 .E546 2005.

--Jill Stover, Undergraduate Services Librarian - Cabell Library

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As part of the Black History Month Blog, VCU Libraries' Special Collections and Archives will post weekly images from its collections of photographs, manuscripts, and other materials that document African American life and history in Virginia.

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The image shown here is that of a 1959 letter to members of the Lake Charles, Louisiana community encouraging African Americans to be part of the political process. The document is from the John M. Brooks Papers housed in Special Collections and Archives. From the late 1950s through the early 1970s Brooks (1917-1980) served as Director of Voter Registration and Education for the NAACP. The collection includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, promotional materials, and other items documenting his work throughout the south including Virginia. Brooks, a long time Richmond resident, was one of the founders of the Richmond Crusade for Voters, one of the city's oldest civil rights organizations.

--Ray Bonis, Assistant Archivist for Collections, Special Collections and Archives

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In 1911 a small group of women met in Richmond and formed the Phyllis Wheatley branch of the YWCA, a group that was to become an integral part of the lives of many African-American youth. Phyllis Wheatley branches formed in Richmond and other communities like Indianapolis, St. Louis, Knoxville, and Asheville during the early part of the 20th century and served as social havens for young black women in a growing industrial world.

The officers of the newly formed Phyllis Wheatley branch rented a basement room at 100 East Leigh Street. There they remained until December 1915 until moving to a more spacious house at 740 North Fifth Street. Here the first group work activities were started: Bible classes, crocheting, embroidering, and the Sunshine Group, a forerunner of the Girl Reserves. (Under a new charge put in place in 1929 by the national YWCA, Girl Reserves clubs were required to work "with the teen-age girl, irrespective of creed or race."). By 1921 Girl Reserve clubs had an enrollment of 226 members, 16 employed girls, and short-time classes in music, cooking, home nursing, millinery, tailoring, current news events, and the Bible.

The Phyllis Wheatley building also had been host to a number of community service projects through the years. At 740 North Fifth Street the first local African-American nursery school was founded. Following World War II, African-American soldiers came to the branch for parties and housing advice.

We are fortunate to have the papers of the local YWCA at VCU Libraries, including the records of the Phyllis Wheatley branch. Among the records are interesting, sometimes forgotten information like the program from the Thirtieth Annual Conference of the N.A.A.C.P. From 27 June - 2 July 1939, this national event was held in Richmond at the Fifth Street Baptist Church and the Landmark Theater, then known as the "Mosque." The Phyllis Wheatley branch of the YWCA served as hosts for the Youth Conference. Among the featured panel speakers was Thurgood Marshall, who addressed on separate occasions "How to Attack State, County, and Local Discrimination in Education" and "Methods of Combating Police Brutality."

On the final day of the conference, Eleanor Roosevelt gave the keynote address at the "Mosque" and awarded the Spingarn Medal to Miss Marian Anderson. Conveying this award held deep meaning for Roosevelt. Earlier in 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to allow Anderson to sing to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall because of her race. The District of Columbia, then under the control of the Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, also banned her for the same reason from using the auditorium of a white public high school. As a result of the furor which followed, thousands of DAR members, including Eleanor Roosevelt, resigned. In answer to the protests, the United States Department of the Interior, with active encouragement from the First Lady, scheduled a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on April 9, 1939. The Easter Sunday program drew a crowd of 75,000 people and millions of radio listeners. Given two months after the concert, this gesture from Mrs. Roosevelt at the 1939 N.A.A.C.P. Conference in Richmond might be perceived as another calculated response to her husband in what had become widely disparate opinions on social issues.

Program from the 30th Annual Conference of the NAACP, Richmond, 1939 Larger Image	Program from the 30th Annual Conference of the NAACP, Richmond, 1939 Larger Image
YWCA Phyllis Wheatley Branch, Fulton "Y" Club during a drama presentation of a séance Larger Image	YWCA house Larger Image

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The Smithsonian's African American Art and Design web page is an excellent source comprising links, essays, research, and online exhibits which highlight the cultural institution's multitude of collections relating to African American art.

For those interested in the visual arts, the site includes such resources as "Cleopatra Lost and Found" an online exhibit chronicling the life and work of the nineteenth century African American sculptor, Edmonia Lewis. The Archives of American Art site on "The Papers of African American Artists" includes the papers of more than 50 African American painters, sculptors, and printmakers. "A Durable Memento: Portraits by Augustus Washington, African American Daguerreotypist" examines one of the few known African American practitioners of this early photographic medium.

The contributions of African-American performing artists are also well represented in the Smithsonian's collection. "Le Tumulte Noir: Paul Colin's Jazz Age Portfolio" is an exhibit of lithographs which capture the lively jazz music and dance craze in Paris in the 1920s. The "Mississippi River of Song" examines the richness and vitality of American music along the Mississippi at the close of the twentieth century through performances and intimate discussions with musicians.

For more African American heritage resources at the Smithsonian Institution also check out the "African American Heritage" brochure to help you plan your next trip.

--Kristina Keogh, Reference Librarian for the Arts - Cabell Library

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Don't miss out on this VCU Libraries Black History Month Event taking place today!

Film Screening: Partners of the Heart
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Tompkins-McCaw Library, LIMERC, Rm. 2-012
509 North 12th Street
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

PARTNERS OF THE HEART tells the story of Vivien Thomas, an African American determined to make something of himself during the time of segregation, and his relationship with Alfred Blalock, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Thomas, initially hired as a janitor, was soon promoted by Blalock to learn the complexities of surgery, eventually becoming a trainer of novice surgeons and a major force in the advancement of African Americans in medicine.

Free and open to the public. For special accommodations contact user services at 804-828-2004.

--Donna Coghill, Director of Marketing and Public Relations - VCU Libraries

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ARTstor has just released 7,000 new images from their collaboration with the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University. The joint venture aims to digitize and make accessible approximately 30,000 high quality images from the Du Bois Institute's Image of the Black in Western Art Research Project and Photo Archive. Several additional releases are planned for 2007. The images span from pre-history to the present and encompass a wide range of artistic media. The new addition has great potential for faculty and students in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Additional information is available at:
www.artstor.org/info/news/content_IBWA_announce.jsp

ARTstor is a digital library of over 500,000 images with an emphasis on art, architecture, and archeology. The images include descriptive information and can be analyzed by panning and zooming; saved into groups for personal or shared use; and used in offline and online presentations. ARTstor can be accessed through the list of databases on the VCU Libraries' Web site.

For more information, please contact VCU art librarians Yuki Hibben ydhibben@vcu.edu or Kristina Keough, keoghkm@vcu.edu.

--Yuki Hibben, Collection Librarian for the Arts - Cabell Library

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As part of the Black History Month Blog, VCU Libraries' Special Collections and Archives will post weekly images from its collections of photographs, manuscripts, and other materials that document African American life and history in Virginia.

View larger image | View reverse

This image shows the cover of "Sit-In Songs: Songs of the Freedom Riders" LP record which was issued by CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) in 1962 on the Dauntless label. The record contains many of the songs sung or inspired by the "Freedom Riders" who in 1961 rode buses in the segregated south to test Federal law that outlawed racial segregation in interstate transportation facilities, including bus stations and railroad terminals. Notice how the music notes resemble the bar stools of lunch and diner counters.

This record is part of the collection of papers of Dr. Edward H. Peeples, Jr. Peeples is Emeritus Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at VCU. Much of Peeples' research and writing dealt with contemporary issues of social justice and he spent most of his adult life as a civil rights advocate involved in a variety of human rights reforms in Virginia and other places across the south. A copy of "Sit-In Songs: Songs of the Freedom Riders" is available to borrow on CD from Special Collections and Archives for those interested in listening to the record.

--Ray Bonis, Assistant Archivist for Collections, Special Collections and Archives

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Every February, the Academy of American Poets joins the national celebration of Black History Month by spotlighting the achievements of poets and scholars from the earliest days of America to the present time. The Academy's website features biographies of poets and extensive discussion of their achievements, as well as resources for further study of these important writers. A major focus on the Harlem Renaissance poets includes historical and cultural background for this major movement in American literature. For more information, visit the Academy of American Poets website at http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/370

Kevin Farley, Humanities Librarian - Collection Management

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For a good overview of the history and contributions of African American artists to the visual arts, check out the following reference books:

African Americans in the Visual Arts by Steven Otfinoski (Cabell Reference N6538 .N5 O86 2003) is a biographical dictionary covering more than 190 artists. Each entry concentrates on the events of the subject's life which have informed or affected his or her artistic output. The entries also include overviews of major works and a brief bibliography of further reading on each artist.

A History of African-American Artists, from 1792 to the present by Romare Bearden and Harry Henderson (Cabell Reference N6538 .N5 B38 1993) is a comprehensive survey of African American artists from the late eighteenth century through the post World War II era. Full color and black and white illustrations accompany the text, which attempts to uncover the hidden history of these artists, long neglected by traditional American art survey texts.

To search for other books and videos on African American artists in the VCU Libraries type in "African American art" as a subject in the Catalog. Titles that may be of interest include:

• African American art: past and present (videorecording). Cabell Media and Reserves Film and Video N6538.N5 A34 1992
• Farrington, Lisa E. Creating Their Own Image: the History of African American Women Artists. Cabell Stacks N6538.N5 F27 2005
• Metropolitan Museum of Art. African-American Artists, 1929-1945: Prints, Drawings, and Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Cabell Stacks N6538.N5 M47 2003

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The first-ever digital collection of historical Civil Rights publications is now available, thanks to a partnership between the U.S. Government Printing Office, the United States Commission on Civil Rights and the Thurgood Marshall Law Library, University of Maryland School of Law. Hundreds of publications from the United States Commission on Civil Rights are available at http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/usccr/index.asp, featuring everything from hearings to advisory committee reports. A sampling of PDF documents includes:

• Civil Rights Act of 1957 (Enabling Legislation for the Original Civil Rights Commission). P.L. 85-315 (Sept. 9, 1957); 71 Stat. 634.
• Southern School Desegregation, 1966-67. A Report of the US Commission on Civil Rights. Washington, DC. July 1967. Press release text.
• The Voting Rights Act: Summary and Text. Clearinghouse Publication no. 32. United States Commission on Civil Rights. Washington, DC. September, 1971.

--Renée Bosman, Reference Librarian for Government and Public Affairs - Cabell Library

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A new 39-cent stamp was released this year honoring the first lady of song, Ella Fitzgerald. The stamp is the 30th in the Black Heritage series, which includes stamps of Marian Andersen, Thurgood Marshall, Malcolm X, and Langston Hughes.

Ella Fitzgerald, a native Virginian born in Newport News, went on to become one of the most recognizable voices in music with a vocal range spanning three octaves. At an early age she began winning talent competitions, breaking into the professional music business when she was hired to sing with Chick Webb's orchestra. She became known for her scat singing and performed with great musicians and composers such as Dizzie Gillespie, Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Johnny Mercer. During her career, she won many awards including 13 Grammy's.

For more information on Ella Fitzgerald, visit her official website: http://www.ellafitzgerald.com/ or the biography on PBS.org: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/fitzgerald_e.html. For more information on the Black Heritage series stamps, visit the U.S. Department of State, International Information Programs website: http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/blackhis/stamps.htm.

--Donna Coghill, Director, Marketing & Public Relations - VCU Libraries

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Throughout Black History Month, the VCU Libraries BOOK reMARKS blog will feature reviews of literature written by African Americans and about the African American experience. If you have read one of our featured books and would like to offer your own thoughts, we encourage you to share them via our new commenting feature. Please note that all titles reviewed are from VCU Libraries' collection. To see if a particular book is available, click on the link to its catalog record, which can be found at the end of each entry.

Recent reviews include a children's book entitled, Goin' Someplace Special, and Seldon Richardson's work, Built By Blacks: African American Architecture & Neighborhoods in Richmond, VA.

--Jennifer Darragh, Reference Librarian for the Behavioral and Social Sciences - Cabell Library

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The Dirksen Congressional Center, a non-partisan organization that seeks to improve civic engagement, has created a Web-based resource entitled "The Civil Rights Documentation Project", which can be found at: http://www.congresslink.org/civilrights/index.htm. Geared toward teachers and students, but informative for all populations, the project features a comprehensive timeline that spans the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Supplementing the timeline are photos, audio clips, and external links to materials from museums, historical societies, and other organizations. The content focuses on the legislative processes of the period, with a level of detail that makes this project one of the more comprehensive, yet readable, sources for the legislative histories of some of our nation's most important laws.

--Renée Bosman, Reference Librarian for Government and Public Affairs - Cabell Library

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Booker T. Washington (larger image)

As part of the Black History Month Blog, VCU Libraries' Special Collections and Archives will post weekly images from its collections of photographs, manuscripts, and other materials that help document African American life and history in Virginia.

This combination of two images is taken from Special Collections and Archives' copy of Up From Slavery: An Autobiography by Booker T. Washington published in 1901. This copy is inscribed by Washington and reads "...with kind wishes of Booker T. Washington, April 14, 1901." To whom it was inscribed has been erased presumably by an earlier owner of the book.

Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) was considered one of the most influential African American leaders at the turn of the last century. Born a slave in Franklin County, Virginia, Washington helped found the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and preached a philosophy of self-help, racial solidarity and accommodation. He closed his 319 page autobiography with these words:

As I write the closing words of this autobiography I find myself - not by design - in the city of Richmond, Virginia: the city which only a few decades ago was the capital of the Southern Confederacy, and where, about twenty-five years ago, because of my poverty I slept night after night under a sidewalk. This time I am in Richmond as the guest of the coloured people of the city; and came at their request to deliver an address last night to both races in the Academy of Music, the largest and finest audience room in the city. This was the first time that the coloured people had ever been permitted to use this hall. The day before I came, the City Council passed a vote to attend the meeting in a body to hear me speak. The state Legislature, including the House of Delegates and the Senate, also passed a unanimous vote to attend in a body. In the presence of hundreds of coloured people, many distinguished white citizens, the City Council, the state Legislature, and state officials, I delivered my message, which was one of hope and cheer; and from the bottom of my heart I thanked both races for this welcome back to the state that gave me birth.

-- Ray Bonis, Archival Assistant - Special Collections and Archives

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VCU Libraries, Friends of the Library, Black History Month 2007 Events:

We hope to see you at these exciting events!

An Evening with Elaine Brown
Friday, February 9, 2007
6:00 p.m.
VCU University Student Commons, Commons Theater, 907 Floyd Avenue
Free and open to the public. Parking is available for a fee in the West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks. Sponsored by: the Activities Programming Board - Uncommon Extras & Uncommon Ideas, the Black Caucus, the Honors College, the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, USC&A - Programs Office, VCU Libraries, and the Women's Studies Program

Selden Richardson -
"Built By Blacks: African American Architecture & Neighborhoods in Richmond, VA"
Reading and Book Signing
Wednesday, February 7, 2006
Noon - 1:00 p.m.
James Branch Cabell Library, 901 Park Avenue, 2nd Floor
Free and open to the public. Bring your own bagged lunch, beverages will be provided. Parking is available for a fee in the West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event.

--Donna Coghill, Director, Marketing & Public Relations - VCU Libraries

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St. Paul's Baptist Church (larger image)

On Thanksgiving night, 25 November 1909, members of First Union Baptist Church met near Virginia Union University at 2028 Henrico Street (now Botetourt Street) for the purposes of organizing a new church. Shortly thereafter the first members established the church known as "The St. Paul's Baptist Church" and constructed a sanctuary with a seating capacity of fifty people. They called as their first pastor Reverend George D. Pinkney. Four sanctuaries and six pastors later, St. Paul's Baptist Church has grown to become one of the largest predominantly African-American congregations in the Old Dominion.

During its ninety-seven year history, St. Paul's has called six pastors, none serving longer than Reverend Journey Archer Mosby. Mosby was called to St. Paul's in 1929, four years after the membership had constructed and moved to a second sanctuary in the Newtown neighborhood that accommodated over two hundred worshippers. This sanctuary would serve the needs of the congregation until 1950 when Mosby recognized the need for an even larger sanctuary. After several years of fundraising, the congregation sold its building in Newtown in 1957 and purchased an existing church building at 26th and Marshall Streets in Church Hill.

Reverend Journey Archer Mosby ( larger image)

Mosby retired in 1969 but St. Paul's continued to grow under Reverend James E. Leary, who served until 1983. St. Paul's sixth and current pastor Reverend Lance D. Watson assumed the pulpit on 15 October 1985. With Watson as preacher the church experienced tremendous growth and today counts over 6,000 members on two campuses in the Richmond area. Their north campus building was completed on 47 acres of land on Creighton Road in 2002. The south campus was the result of a historic act of generosity, when in 2005 the congregation of Weatherford Memorial Baptist Church voted to give its buildings located on Belt Boulevard to St. Paul's. As St. Paul's nears its 100th anniversary, the church oversees its own credit union, preschool, housing corporation, and scholarship fund for college-age youth.

VCU Libraries is proud to be working with members and staff at St. Paul's Baptist Church to document and preserve their archives as part of the Archives of the New Dominion grant initiative. Materials donated by St. Paul's to VCU Libraries include photographs, church histories, membership directories, minutes, bulletins, event programs, and the recorded sermons of Reverend Watson. For more information on the records of St. Paul's Baptist Church, please contact Special Collections and Archives at 828-1108.

--Alex Lorch, Community Outreach Archivist - Special Collections & Archives

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There's a lot to do at VCU and around Richmond to celebrate Black History Month, so mark your calendars now to make sure you don't miss a thing.

Not only is VCU Libraries sponsoring a number of Black History Month Events, but we've also put together some terrific resources, exhibits, and multimedia projects for you to enjoy. You can find out more about them on our Web site, VCU Libraries Celebrates Black History Month.

Members of the VCU community also have a number of activities planned. For example, the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) is kicking off the month with a poster celebration on Monday, Feb. 5th in the Student Commons. You can learn more about this and other events by viewing the VCU Calendar of Events or OMSA's Calendar of Events.

If you'd like to explore activities in the Richmond area, the following Web sites contain event information:

• Chesterfield Connections: Chesterfield County 17th Annual Black History Month
• Children's Museum of Richmond: Special Events
• Henrico County: Black History Month Celebration
• University of Richmond: Black History Month 2007
• Virginia is for Lovers: Black History Month Events
• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: VMFA Celebrates Black History Month

Please feel free to remark on any of these events or submit your own by adding a comment to this post.

--Jill Stover, Undergraduate Services Librarian - Cabell Library

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The first day of Black History Month also marks the 105th birthday of acclaimed Harlem Renaissance playwright, poet and social critic Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967). Hughes' work -- especially his memorable poems "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," "Night Funeral in Harlem," and the clarion call "A Dream Deferred" -- has influenced countless artists and writers. Hughes' interest in, and influence on, jazz has also inspired countless musicians, and this year VCU Libraries joins with the VCU School of Music to present "Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz," by The Langston Hughes Project, a concert by noted jazz composer and educator Dr. Ronald McCurdy. The concert -- on Friday, February 23, 2007 at 8 p.m. in the W. E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts -- features a multimedia celebration of Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance Era, including a spoken-word performance by Dr. Diane Richardson of selected poems by Hughes. The concert will be preceded by the VCU Libraries Black History Month lecture about The Langston Hughes Project by Dr. McCurdy and Dr. Richardson, on Thursday, February 22 at 7 p.m. in the Singleton Center.

For more information about this exciting event, visit The Langston Hughes Project at http://www.vcujazz.org/community/hughes/index.htm

For more information about Hughes and his contributions to American literature, visit The Academy of American Poets webpage at http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83

For more information about a journey Hughes made to Richmond in the 1920s, visit the online exhibit in the Special Collections Department at James Branch Cabell Library -- "Something Very Real": Langston Hughes and Richmond, Virgina, at http://www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/speccoll/stagg/

--Kevin Farley, Humanities Librarian - Collection Management

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