Black History Month Blog

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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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.

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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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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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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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This image, from Special Collections and Archives at Tompkins-McCaw Library, shows registered nurses who enrolled in the public health nursing program at St. Philip School of Nursing in the fall of 1945. From 1920 until 1962, the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) operated a separate school of nursing for African-American women known as the St. Philip School of Nursing. With funding provided from the Social Security Act MCV initiated a public health nursing program at the St. Philip School of Nursing in 1936. A year later the program was accredited by the National Organization for Public Health Nursing and it attracted students from all across the southeastern United States. Standing left to right outside the Egyptian Building are: (first row) Rachael Henry, Cornie Mahome, Dorothy Woodson, Susie Peters, Inez Boldew, and Virginia Arnold; (second row) Willie MacGree, Katie Stinson, and Credella Finney.

--Jodi Koste, Archivist - MCV Campus

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As part of the Black History Month Blog, VCU Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives will post weekly images of African American life and history in Virginia from its collections. This week’s image is a postcard image of Richmond native Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (1878-1949) taken from the Hunter Stagg Papers housed in Special Collections and Archives.

This image of Robinson was taken February 6, 1932 in Harlem. The print was made by writer and photographer Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964). The image was made into a postcard and sent to Hunter Stagg (1895-1960), a Richmond writer, book reviewer and a friend of both James Branch Cabell (1879-1958) and Carl Van Vechten.

To view additional images of African Americans taken by Van Vechten, visit an online exhibit of his work at this site sponsored by Brandeis University.

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

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As part of the Black History Month Blog, VCU Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives will post weekly images of African American life and history in Virginia from its collections. This week’s image is from the University’s photograph collection and shows Jim Elam Addressing Students in VCU’s Shafer Court, 1970. Richmond native Jim Elam (1945- ) mounted his successful “The Art of the Possible� campaign to become the first African American Student Government President in 1970. His platform included a call for equitable treatment of all students, improved University relations with residents of Oregon Hill, student input on curriculum, more minority professors, and the establishment of an Afro-American Studies program. Elam graduated in 1973 with a degree in Social Work.

Visit this site for more information about African American history at VCU.

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

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As part of the Black History Month Blog, VCU Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives will post weekly images of African American life and history in Virginia from its collections.

This week’s image is of First Rock Elementary School, Prince Edward County, Virginia, 1962. It was one of nearly a dozen schools for African Americans in the county. The main building shown on the right was used for grades 1,4-5. It had a pupil capacity of 120 and was built in 1939. The "temporary" building in the foreground on the left was used for grades 2-3. This was a frame building covered with roofing paper built in 1949 and had a pupil capacity of 40. The building had no windows. The school’s out house and another building can be seen in the background.

The image is from VCU Libraries’ Separate But Not Equal: Race, Education, and Prince Edward County, Virginia. It is an online exhibit that explores the history of the Prince Edward County, Virginia school segregation issues of the 1950s and 1960s. It contains documents and hundreds of images taken from the papers of Dr. Edward H. Peeples, Professor Emeritus at VCU, whose interest in the topic spans four decades. Included in this exhibit are images documenting the disparity between black and white county schools, documents written by Dr. Peeples and others analyzing the issues, a selected bibliography of materials, and links to sites on the topic.

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

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As part of the Black History Month Blog, VCU Libraries would like to spotlight rare images of African American life in Virginia. This image of an Emancipation Day Parade, Richmond, Virginia was taken nearly 100 years ago. The parade took place April 3, 1905. The image was taken by the Detroit Publishing Company one of the most successful postcard publishers in the United States. Follow this link for more information about the 1905 Emancipation Day Parade in Richmond.

--Ray Bonis, Special Collections and Archives.

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Members of the 1927 graduating class of the St. Philip School of Nursing pose on the steps outside the St. Philip Hospital in Richmond. When this segregated hospital was opened in the fall of 1920, the Medical College of Virginia established a separate nurse training program for African-American women. Over the next 42 years, the St. Philip School of Nursing graduated 688 women many of whom went on to have distinguished careers in the profession. This image and others are among the historical materials related to the St. Philip School of Nursing found in Special Collections and Archives at Tompkins-McCaw Library.

--Jodi Koste, Archivist, MCV Campus.

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As part of the Black History Month Blog, VCU Libraries would like to spotlight rare images of African American life in Virginia. Our third image this month is from LIFE Magazine [a complete bound set is housed in Special Collections and Archives]. The image shows Oliver W. Hill, (1907-) during the swearing-in ceremony of Richmond's newly elected City Council, September 7, 1948. Hill is seen standing on the podium in front of what is now Old City Hall. The 1948 election followed the change from a bi-cameral governing system to a city manager system. Oliver W. Hill, Jr., then a Richmond lawyer and member of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, was the first African American to be elected to Richmond's City Council in 52 years. Watch (or read) the oral history of Oliver W. Hill, Sr., part of the library's Voices of Freedom site where you can access video oral histories of twelve leaders of the Civil Rights movement in Virginia.

Can you identify the person wearing eye glasses sitting in front of Oliver W. Hill, Jr. in this 1948 image? This individual has his arms folded and is wearing a light colored suit. He was present because he had been elected to the Richmond Charter Commission which had come up with the plan for the new system of government. Submit a comment to this post if you think you know the answer.

--Ray Bonis, Special Collections and Archives.

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As part of the Black History Month Blog, VCU Libraries would like to spotlight rare images of African American life in Virginia. Our second image this month is a view of a Baseball Team from the 1890s. This group of 10 young men are most likeley Richmonders. The image is from VCU Libraries' online exhibit: Through the Lens of Time: Images of African Americans from the Cook Collection of Photographs.

-- Ray Bonis, Special Collections and Archives.

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VCU Libraries has an online collection of almost 300 photographs of Richmond and Central Virginia African-Americans dating from the late 19th and early 20th century available at Through the Lens of Time: Images of African-Americans from the Cook Collection. These images are a small set from the George and Heustis Cook Collection held by the Valentine Richmond History Center. The collection run from outdoor scenes at prominent Richmond landmarks to posed studio photographs designed to reinforce negative African-American stereotypes. The father-and-son Cook photographers were one of the most active in Richmond in the first quarter of the 20th century.

--Curtis Lyons, Head, Special Collections and Archives.

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As part of the Black History Month Blog, VCU Libraries would like to spotlight rare images of African American life in Virginia. Our first image is a rare interior view of First African Baptist Church. Located at College and Broad on what is now the MCV campus, the building was built in 1876. It replaced an older structure (built 1802) that housed Richmond's First Baptist Church, a congregation made up of whites, slaves, and some free blacks. The white congregation moved to a new church building at Broad and Tenth in 1841. The First African Baptist Church building was sold to the Medical College of Virginia in 1955 when the congregation moved to a new location in Richmond's North Side. The 1876 structure still stands. It is now called the Randolph-Minor Annex.

The image of the church is taken from Souvenir Views: Negro Enterprise and Residences, Richmond, Va. This 1907 publication has nearly 50 images showing over 100 views of Richmond's African American community is part of the Library of Congress' American Memory site, what is described as a "digital record of American history and creativity."

-- Ray Bonis, Special Collections and Archives.

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