Black Confederates
Through most of the war, the Confederate government’s official policies toward black men maintained that those men were laborers, not soldiers.
Continue Reading »Humanities at Work
Applying the humanities to contemporary human questions.
Exploring: African American Heritage
Morgan v. Virginia
Encyclopedia Virginia tells the story of Morgan v. Virginia, an often-overlooked landmark case of the civil rights movement.
Continue Reading »Massive Resistance
Encyclopedia Virginia explores the policy of Massive Resistance adopted by Virginia’s state government to block the desegregation of public schools.
Continue Reading »Jefferson and Slavery at Monticello
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and Monticello will present “Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty,” an exhibition of artifacts from the Smithsonian’s collections and from excavations at Jefferson’s Virginia plantation.
Continue Reading »The Loving Story
Grants
Using found footage from the 1960s and contemporary interviews, this film tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving: an interracial couple who were married at a time when interracial marriage was illegal in 16 states.
Continue Reading »Step by Step
With Good Reason
Dance historian Benita Brown (Virginia State University) says stepping routines at the sororities and fraternities are part of a tradition that goes back to African tribal rituals.
Continue Reading »Race, Slavery, and the Civil War: The Tough Stuff
To mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the nation’s finest historians gathered on September 24th at Norfolk State University to discuss the role of race and slavery in the war that cost hundreds of thousands of American lives. With topics including the myth of black Confederates, the quest for black rights in the middle [...]
Continue Reading »Showdown in Virginia
On this episode of With Good Reason, the election of Abraham Lincoln as President touched off a secession crisis in the South. In his new book, Showdown in Virginia, Bill Freehling (Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) focuses on turning points in Virginia’s months-long, bitter battle over whether to secede from the Union. Also: Historians estimate [...]
Continue Reading »Civil War Reconciliation
During the Civil War, the residents Winchester witnessed some of the bloodiest battles for control of the Shenandoah Valley and suffered under Union occupation. Jonathan Noyalas (Lord Fairfax Community College) tells how the return of Union veterans to the Valley in 1883 sparked a spirit of reconciliation between former enemies. Also: Spencer Crew (George Mason [...]
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