In 1800, a literate slave known as Gabriel planned a
rebellion that was to involve a march into Richmond. Although the
action was suppressed, it confirmed the growing outcry for justice and
the volatility of the slave economy.
VCU Libraries
will host "Gabriel's Conspiracy: Exploring the Richmond Slave Rebellion
of 1800" on Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m. in the W.E. Singleton
Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Ave.
The event will feature two prominent experts on the
subject of Gabriel's Rebellion, discussing this landmark in Virginia
history: Dr. Michael Nicholls, professor emeritus of history at Utah
State University and author of "Whispers of Rebellion: Narrating
Gabriel's Conspiracy," and Dr. Philip J. Schwarz, professor emeritus of history at VCU and author of "Gabriel's Conspiracy: A Document
History." Schwarz is also emeritus of the VCU Friends of the Library Board.
These two books, "Whispers of Rebellion" and "Gabriel's Conspiracy," both recently published by the University of Virginia Press, aim to present a
complete account of the rebellion.
Event registration: http://www.library.vcu.edu/events/gabriel/
This event is in partnership with the Year of Freedom Committee, the VCU Department of History, the VCU Department of African American Studies and the Library of Virginia, which is also hosting a related lecture at noon on March 13 at the library, 800 E. Broad St. Details:
"Pinning Gabriel's Rebellion"Wednesday, March 13Noon-1:00 PMLecture Hall, Library of Virginia
Using the new website HistoryPin, historians Gregg Kimball and authors Nicholls and Schwarz will trace the activities and events leading up to the best-planned--and potentially most damaging--slave insurrection in Virginia. The region's geography and the library's documents are merged on the website to graphically depict the actions and aftermath of the Henrico bondsman. This program is presented in partnership with VCU Libraries.