
Trapping Black Bears in the Great Dismal Swamp
PhD Candidate Perri Meldon shares her research into the cultural and ecological histories of Virginia’s Great Dismal Swamp.

Visions of Style
How Black Virginians used the camera to define themselves at the turn of the 20th Century.

Food for Thought
We all remember what it was like entering the social battleground known as the school cafeteria. Aside from the usual cliques, there were two types of students: those who brought their lunch and those who bought their lunch. Marcus Weaver-Hightower says public schools should offer free lunches to all students.

Dividing Lines
In 1990s South Africa, there were violent clashes between Xhosa and Zulu people. And the main way they understood how to define the other group–language. But Jochen Arndt says that 300 years earlier, Xhosa and Zulu didn’t even exist as distinct languages.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Little is known about William M. Rittase. His work photographing the C&O Railway is now considered among some of the best and most artistic depictions of American industry. But he passed away in 1968 in near obscurity with a published obituary of only a few lines. His work is the subject of a new book published by the C&O Historical Society with the help of a Virginia Humanities grant.

Save the Small Sums
In 1865, the Freedman’s Bank was written into law by President Lincoln to help newly freed enslaved people save money and buy land. But the bank collapsed less than 10 years after it was established – throwing many Black Americans into financial ruin. Justene Hill Edwards says the racial wealth gap can be traced back to the rise and fall of the Freedman’s Bank.

REPLAY: The Voyage of the USS Albatross
In 1908, the U.S.S. Albatross set off on a research expedition to the newly acquired U.S. colony of the Philippines. Today, Kent Carpenter is studying the more than 80,000 fish samples collected by the Albatross to uncover how overfishing is actually changing fish genetics. Carpenter has been named an Outstanding Faculty member by The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

Both Man and Woman
Encyclopedia Virginia editor Patti Miller in conversation with Julie Richter of William & Mary and Ren Tolson of Colonial Williamsburg to explore the life of Thomas/in Hall.

Red-Hot Consequences
City temperatures transcend climate change and reach deep into some of our nation’s most troublesome history.

The Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia
In November, our Encyclopedia Virginia published a new entry on the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia. We talked to Chief Lynette Allston about what the Nottoway tribe looks like today and what it meant to be part of the group of tribal members who created the new entry.

Donna Lucey’s Fab Four
As Encyclopedia Virginia (EV) said goodbye to longtime media editor extraordinaire Donna Lucey in 2022, we asked Donna to share some of her favorite images and objects from the thousands …