Activities for kids and young people
Maggie L. Walker
The Penny Executive: The Maggie Walker Story at The Science Museum of Virginia
Celebrate Black History Month and experience this fascinating and compelling glimpse into the life of Maggie Walker. Learn more about this groundbreaking African-American woman who founded a newspaper, chartered a bank and worked tirelessly for increased educational opportunities for women and children.
Performed on select dates Thursday, February 6-Friday, March 7, 2014; 1 pm and select Sundays.
Celebrate Black History Month at C-MoR
The Children’s Museum of Virginia celebrates Black History Month with special performances to celebrate African American culture and history on Weekends in February at CMoR Chesterfield and CMoR Central.
African-American Schools During The Segregated Era at the Chesterfield County Museum.
Opening on Saturday February 1, and running through Saturday May 31, this exhibit will feature the story of segregated schoolhouses throughout Chesterfield built to accommodate children of African-American descent. The exhibit will include six Chesterfield schools built with the support of the Rosenwald Fund–the collaboration between Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald that led to the building of 5,000 schoolhouses in 15 Southern states.
The exhibit will present video recordings of former students as well as photos and artifacts loaned by local families, which include former students and school staff.
The Chesterfield County Museum
6813 Mimms Loop
Open Tuesday through Friday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Saturdays: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Suggested admission is $2.00.
For information, call 768-7311.
Black History Segway Tour (discount available)
Discover the rich history of Richmond’s African-American population. Glide through the old slave trading district, past sites from emancipation, the rise of the “Birthplace of Black Capitalism in America”, Virginia’s role in Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Movement and the first black Governor in the USA. Stops include the Virginia State Capitol, the Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, the Maggie Walker House, and Brown’s Island.
Length of Tour: 2-hours and approximately 8 miles.
Age: 14 years and 100lb to ride segway.
UPSTAIRS/DOWNSTAIRS AT MAYMONT
Maymont Honors Black History Month
Saturdays, February 1-22, 12:30-1:30pm, Maymont Mansion
Experience Maymont Mansion from the perspective of those who knew it as a workplace. Nearly everyone employed by the Dooleys as butlers, maids, cooks and laundresses from 1893-1925 were African American. Learn how they met daily challenges maintaining the millionaire’s home and lifestyle, as well as the challenges of life beyond the gates of the estate in the turbulent times of the Jim Crow South. See the restored spaces where they lived and worked, and learn about the demanding standards of an elite home in an era of rapidly changing household technology. $6 per person/$4 members. Registration recommended; for information, call 804-358-7166, ext. 329.
For adults
African American Read In at the VMFA
February 20, 2014 5 – 6 pm
Meet at theVisitor Services Desk.
As part of the 24th annual African American Read-In, a national event, VMFA staff and members of the community share African American literature through readings, poetry, and speeches related to Signs of Protest and works in the permanent collection.
Free, no registration.
Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute with Film
Fri February 21, 2014 in the Leslie Cheek Theatre
6 pm: Virginia Union Concert Choir 6:30 – 10 pm: King: A Filmed Record . . . Montgomery to Memphis
King: A Filmed Record … Montgomery to Memphis (1970, 181 minutes, B&W) Spanning 13 years — from 1955 to 1968, this monumental documentary tells the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s rise from regional activist to world-respected leader of the Civil Rights movement. Created from archival footage, the film features heartfelt tributes by some of the greatest stars of the era: Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Ben Gazzara, Charlton Heston, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, Clarence Williams III, and Joanne Woodward. Rarely seen since 1970, the Academy Award-winning film has been restored by the Library of Congress, mastered in HD from the 35mm preservation negative.
$8 (VMFA members $5)
Historic sites
Arthur Ashe statue on Monument Ave. Photo via Flickr
Richmond Slave Trail
Richmond Slave Trail is a walking trail that chronicles the history of the trade of enslaved Africans from Africa to Virginia until 1775, and away from Virginia, especially Richmond, to other locations in the Americas until 1865.
Virginia E. Randolph Museum
2200 Mountain Road, Glen Allen, VA 23060
(804) 261-5029
This museum, the only one of its kind in the South, honors the memory of Miss Randolph, who for 57 years worked as an educator in Henrico County, molding and shaping the lives of girls and boys so they would become worthwhile citizens.
Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site
Winter hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., November 1 through February 28.
600 North 2nd Street in Richmond, Virginia 23219.
Visitor Information (804)771-2017
Arthur Ashe Jr. Statue
Bojangles Statue
